Dealing with Third-Party Debt Collectors
Debt collectors are the annoying people who call your phone all evening asking you to send money for a bill you owe. They're not
the people you really owe, just another business collecting on the first business' behalf. There's not much good to be said
about debt collectors - they call at inconvenient times, they ask for money you don't have, and they don't care that you don't have it.
If you want to get rid of a debt collector once and for all, there are a two ways to do it. Tell them not to call anymore or pay them.
Send a letter telling them not to contact you anymore.
The Law on Debt Collection The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a federal law that spells out what debt collectors can and cannot do when they're trying to collect a debt from you. For example, when it comes to phone calls, collectors can only call you between 8 am and 9 pm your local time. If you tell them a certain time is inconvenient for you, they can't call during those hours. They can't call you at work, if they know (or should know) your employer doesn't approve.
To stop debt collector calls all together, you can send what's called a cease and desist letter. The cease and desist letter essentially states that you no longer wish to be contacted by that collection agency. By law, debt collectors only have to abide by a written no-contact request. If you only say it over the phone, the collector doesn't have a legal obligation to follow.
Should You Pay a Collection Account? Before you pay a debt collection, make sure it's your debt. Collectors have been known to make up false debts or simply get debtors' identities confused. Within the first 30 days of being contacted by a debt collector, you can send a written request to have the collector verify that the debt is yours. This verification should be some kind of proof from the original creditor showing that the debt belongs to you and the collection agency is allowed to collect on it. If the collector can't verify that you own the debt, then it can't continue to collect the debt from you. That includes listing the debt on your credit report.
Once you've confirmed the debt is still yours, decide where it falls on your priority list of things to pay. If you have to miss a mortgage payment, car note, or some other important payment to pay the debt collection, you should hold out on paying the collection account until you can afford to. But, if you can squeeze the money out of your budget, paying the collection is probably the right thing to do. After all, you really do owe the money, right?
If the collection account is on your credit report, you might negotiate with the debt collector remove it in exchange for payment. Not all collectors will agree, but it's worth trying. When you make a deal with the collector to remove a listing from your credit report, get it in writing before you make payment. That way you have recourse if the collector reneges on his part of the deal.
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