What You Should know about Debt Collections

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   bolt1951posted 13 years ago

   
   Interesting subject I managed then owned a collection agency.At one time hey even had credit jails, However nowadays things have changed quite a bit simply because of the collection stratagies people were using. I myself was very good at what is know as skip tracing, I was able to tap into the phone companies and you'd be surprised at some of the information the postal service use to give you. There are many resorces including the Public Library, the chamber of commerce the list goes on and on. Yes their are some states that have limited statutes, however what most people don't realize is that banks sell their credit card porfolio to the best bitter, the same way they sell your mortgages to other mortgagees or banks, Country wide was the only bank that didn;t sell their portfolios untill a few years ago then they wee forced to do so, because of the economy. They sell them in bulks and most depending on the age of the note can start at 50 cent to the dollar and everything is done in tiers. And this is how it works any thing over 30days they attempt to collect after around 90 days they send them toa collection agency and the way that works is the younger the note the lower is the fee you get in return so , you have Primes, seconds, Thiruarie and sometimes quads, I always went for secondaries because yhey for the most part are 50%'ers. alot of states most collection agencies stay away from Texas being number one because their collection laws are super strict, Florida is another. However it is important for people to know that in the past 10 years attorneys have gotten into the game so when people hear the word attorney they get intimedated. Now they buy paper that is over 10 years old and make money off of this and lots of it. One of the most important things to remember when you owe money and haven't paid it in over a few years and you decide to attempt to make a payment the process starts from the beginning. So Don't bother the other thing people should know are the FDCPA Laws which at this moment I can't recal but it's something like the federal dept of collection practices act. I believe that is it. and look at law call 95-109 which pretty much applies to most states and that is you can only get but an ex amount of calls per day which happens to be 3  morning afternoon, and once in the evening and it can noit be past 9pm If they call you at your work place and you tell them bot to they can not. And you also have what is called a cease and decist letter which you should always send certified mail. once that is done everything must come to a halt. plus before they call you they must send a letter first then after I believe it;s one week they can proceed with the calling. they can never, ever mention the word sue unless they really intend on doing so. Otherwise it is considered a false statement and you can sue them. Most agencies do not follow this to the tee because they aren't regulated enough and for the most part they can always blame it on what is called an auto dialern J'm sure most of you know what that is. And last but not least postdated checks is illegal however most people do it in the form of the way they present it. Which is "IF" you'd like to you can send me an ex amount of checks and I will record it as if you paid more towards your debt by adding all of them up, which is a lie. I hope I helped someone here take care and peace to all.

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   recommend1posted 13 years ago

   This should be a hub - it is useful information.
   
   For a time when I was younger I was a hard debt collector, mostly for small companies who had big companies owe them money but would not pay.  The usual way they would avoid paying would be continually bringing small allegations to the court to get the case put off another 3 or 6 months.  They would do this until the small company would go broke, or just give up.
   
   I worked for 40% commission and collected most of the money I was contracted to get.  This would inevitably entail a visit to the Financial or Managing Director and a threat of violence - usually with some small act to back it up, that included on different occasions physically ejecting the security guard the guy called, another I ripped out his phone, another I went through his desk to get the company cheque book for him to etc etc.  I am totally reformed now and would never consider such acts again - unless the money was owed to me

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   ForeclosureDJensposted 13 years ago

   First of all, great post! I'm happy to see some people are willing to shed some light on this topic. The law you're referring to is The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), most commonly used and quoted part is U.S. Title 15, Section 1692. 
   This law is a consumer protection act that was put in place to safeguard consumers against harassing creditors and false claims. A couple of the most important points you have already brought up -
   
   1. Contact by Harassing Creditors, and
   2. Proof of Debt.
   
   The parts of this law that address these two issues are critical to consumers who are disputing debt by lenders or collectors, and/or fighting against unfair creditor harassment.
   
   Again, great post! Thanks for the info.

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