Life Credit Cards

Posts Tagged ‘collection agency services’

The majority of people do not think anything of it when they hand over a debit card to purchase something, but not those that have been burned by debit cards, debit cards that can be used like credit cards. Last summer, a native of San Jose, California utilized his debit card to book a rental car that he aimed to drive from Memphis Tennessee to Saint Louis while he took a vacation.

The car supposedly would have cost him about two hundred and forty dollars. When he went to buy something in Memphis, he found out that his bank account had been frozen. What had happened was that the rental car agency had put a five hundred dollar hold on his account, an amount that was high enough to trigger a fraud alert at his bank. The man got his account reactivated immediately, but the five hundred dollar hold remained. Not even until he turned in the car, but for two days afterward.

Although an oldie, apparently still a goodie. Enjoying a boost in popularity recently, the fake bill collector scheme still fools unwitting victims.

First, you will get a phone call from a number that will not be recognizable. Sometimes, it will seem legitimate, but ultimately, not familiar. When you get the call, the person calling will let you know that they are a debt collector with so and so debt collection agency, and that this is an attempt to collect debt. At times, the phonies have been known to claim that they are working in addition to a local lawyer to get your delinquent account settled. The conman will tell you that you have accumulated a large amount of debt from a previous account. Typically, the crooks will tell you that you potentially owe them thousands, but if you are willing to settle, they will “settle: for, oh say, five hundred dollars. And could you wire the money via Western Union?

From 1999 to 2009, premium costs for family insurance have risen by one hundred and thirty one percent. That’s easily over three times the rate at which working wages rose during this time. In this period of economic hardship, millions of jobs have been lost, putting workers who have just lost their jobs at risk of living without health insurance also. For those who remain employed, employers are pushing more of the costs of health insurance onto their employees as they struggle with economic uncertainty. Then there are blue collar and retail workers, waitresses and the like who are paid less, work harder and are not offered health insurance plans at their jobs. No wonder that Americans are struggling to pay their medical bills.

When does a collections agent over the phone cross over the line into harassment? Collection agencies are restricted from utilizing obscene language or threats of violence. However, they are allowed to insult your integrity and make you feel bad about the person you are.

Anecdotal stories about collectors asserting that a debt cannot be negotiated, settled or paid off more slowly have been circulated. Collectors have been known to rudely ask when a debtor is going to pay, and then reject a debtors offer as not enough. This is not true or acceptable, as a consumer you always have the ability to negotiate.

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.

Would you be mortified if a man in a tuxedo and a top hat followed you into a restaurant and silently joined your lunch date? How about a trio of men with more to love dressed like superheroes asking your neighbors for donations to assist you in your financial situation?

In Madrid, make sure that your bills are paid or you might be visited by one of these crazy characters. The recession has slammed Spain. Official figures show that the unemployment rate has sky rocketed, reaching 19.3 percent. That’s one of the highest rates in Europe. About four million people aren’t working. That’s the same number of jobless people as France and Italy combined. One business is flourishing however, that business is debt collection.