Credit Card Debt Collection

https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/the-waste-stream-of-consumer-finance/

8 1 3 years ago

Terr_• 3 years ago

While I highly encourage everyone to read this in its entirely, I think it's worth a quick summary of the bits that may be personally-useful to those who don't:

* If it comes to a lawsuit in a court case, DO NOT IGNORE IT. If you don't show up, collector gets a kind of automatic win called a default judgement, and that's how you end up losing your house or having money vanish from your bank-account. If you do show up, they might instantly offer you a discount deal, often because they know their position is very shaky and they don't actually want to spend money fighting a court case that might be unwinnable against a strong opponent.

* Ask for proof. Debt collectors often lack documentation that you are legally-entitled to. ("Debt verification" under the "FDCPA".) Many never got it form the original bank, and don't want to spend time/money getting it. Asking for that proof means they may just give up and move on to a cheaper/easier person.

* Don't be fooled into paying for other people's debt. At least in the US, debts end when the original debtor dies, except in the sense of money taken away from the debtor's stuff before it reaches heirs. You can't ever "inherit negative money". Spousal stuff is more complex, but don't get fooled into paying something you don't even owe.

* Debt collectors will often make threats that are both impossible and illegal. This means you can only benefit from having everything in writing. (Or by clearly announcing that you will record a call, and then recording it.)

* The law (FDCPA) only allows debt collectors to call family members in order to get your contact information... But some of them use this as a form of harassment/coercion. There's no magic-wand for this part.

* If you agree to a vague "payment plan" and then send them the first check or bank-account info, watch out: Even if you don't write another check, they will find ways to withdraw money out of that account at the exact worst moments for you... but the best for them.

Credit Card Debt Collection

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