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Posts Tagged ‘bill collection agency’

If you are being inundated with phone calls from debt collectors demanding money, and advertisements that blare “get out of debt now,” debt settlement and debt consolidation businesses might be looking pretty good right now. With debt settlement and consolidation centers, you combine your debts and pay a portion of the total. However, many of these businesses might be just too good to be true.

Any debt consolidation place that wants to satisfy your debt for “pennies on the dollar” should most likely be considered dubious. After all, it is hard, heck, even near to impossible to make and keep a promise like that without being aware of the details of how long you have owed the money, how much money you owe, and to which creditors. These debt consolidation businesses don’tknow your past payment history. They do not know which company you owe. Additionally, each person has different assets that can be used to satisfy the debts. You can never make a blanket statement.

Ten Tips on how to collect debt:

PREPARE: Review the paperwork on the debtor before making the call. Know the history of the account, credit record, the promises kept/broken. Have all records in front of you, ready for reference.

ATTITUDE: Adopting a straight, professional, business-like attitude is important. You have a contract or you delivered the goods, money is now owed and you have the right to expect payment. Do not let it become personal. Don’t yell or raise your voice; and NEVER curse. Don’t make idol threats; legal action is your recourse.

U.S. Bankruptcy Code imposes something called an automatic stay the moment that a petition for bankruptcy is filed. The automatic stay will typically prevent the enforcement, commencement, or appeal of actions and judgments against a debtor from the creditors they owe money to who are trying to collect these debts incurred prior to the bankruptcy petition. The automatic stay also protects property of the bankruptcy estate itself from collection actions and proceedings.

If a creditor violates the automatic stay their actions are voided out. Any violation of the stay might cause the violating party to have damages assessed to them. But, like every complicated law, there are exceptions. A creditor might be allowed to take their collateral if they obtain permission from the court first. They’ll get this by filing a motion for relief from the automatic stay.

Beginning November First of 2009, financial institutions and other creditors were told to comply with the Red Flag provisions of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. The purpose of the Red Flag rules is to prevent and alleviate identity theft. Identity theft might be defined as any fraud involving people getting particular benefits by pretending to be someone else.

Broad in scope, the Red Flag rules definition of financial institutions is any organization engaged in insurance, banking, or similar activities, and a good amount of the definitions come with leeway to expand compliance demands. Any consumer account involving multiple payments or transactions that is offered to organizations can be subject to the rules.