Tips for dealing with collectors

Posted on March 14 2010

If you have debt in collections – whether it’s from medical bills, loans, credit cards, or anything that is past due – chances are you are catching some harassment from those collectors who want their money. There is action you can take to, at the very least, slow down the phone calls and have a little peace and quiet in your life.

First of all, you will want to make sure that the debt they are trying to collect on is legitimate. You can write the collector a letter asking them to validate the debt itself. Tell them you want to know what the debt is and why they are trying to collect from you. It may be possible that they are trying to collect on something that you don’t even owe! If they respond to you with details of a debt that you know is not yours, seek legal help from a local attorney or legal services corporation.

If you know what the debt is for, but you just can’t take the phone ringing five, ten, or fifty times each day, you can ask that they stop calling you. To do so, write a letter and send it certified mail (so you can get a receipt of the delivery), saying “Cease and desist all calls to these phone numbers…” You can even ask that they stop sending any mail to you as well. The collectors must honor these requests under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This doesn’t mean that the collectors can’t take legal action against you, or that you don’t have to pay the debt any more. It only means that you don’t have to change your phone number or move to a different house to get them to stop calling you all the time.

When all else fails, don’t be afraid to seek legal advice. If you are really struggling and can’t afford legal council, you can call an attorney and ask for a free consultation to get some legal advice on your rights and what else you can do. Also, each state has legal services available that you could qualify for depending on income levels. You can check out what is available in your state by going to www.lsc.gov.