What If I Want A Collection Agency To Stop Calling Me?
A third party collection agent is able to call the debtor’s place of employment, but they are restricted in what they can disclose. They are not permitted to inform an employer about a debt, or attempting to get a debtor fired. In general, a debt collector is restricted from discussing your debt with anyone but you and the credit bureaus, however in some states speaking with a debtor’s spouse is permitted.
While it may not be the best idea, according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a debtor can notify a debt collector in writing telling them that they want to cease further communication and the debt collector must comply. The collection agent is generally allowed one more contact to inform the debtor how they intend to proceed with their case. While ceasing communication with debt collectors might seem relieving, it is essentially relinquishing control over your financial situation, and a debt collector is still fully capable of negatively marking your credit score or taking you to court.
A request to stop communicating has to be written, preferably citing the FDCPA and sent by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. If a creditor was on the fence about whether or not to file a lawsuit against the debtor, the decision will usually be made right after this point, instead of being further delayed.
Again, just because the debt collector can’t contact you any further doesn’t make the debt go away. After a consumer has sent a “cease and desist” notice to their debt collector, their debt will either be returned to the original creditor, passed on to another third party agency, or in rare instances, filed away simply as uncollected, all depending on the circumstances.
Try to keep in mind though, when the collection agent calls, they usually have the authority to offer you a repayment plan or a reduced amount to pay, which will absolve you of your debt so you don’t have to worry about it anymore, and make it easier for you to pay. Although they get a lot of bad press, most debt collectors are for the most part friendly and more than happy to work with you if you want to work out some sort of payment. It’s a win-win situation for both parties: your debt has been paid and the collector gets a nice commission check for the week to bring home.
Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on new york collection agencies Check here for free reprint licence: What If I Want A Collection Agency To Stop Calling Me?.
Bankruptcy: What Is It And What Do The Chapters Mean?
Bankruptcy in the United States is a constitutionally (Article 1 Section 8, Clause 4 to be exact) approved way for individuals and business entities to settle good sized amounts of debt. In charge of making the bankruptcy laws is Congress, and the most recent change was an amendment to existing laws through the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. For other laws that are relevant to bankruptcy, refer to the United States Code.
Bankruptcy cases are filed in United States Bankruptcy Court, so federal law will govern the procedure in bankruptcy cases. But state laws are also applied when property rights are being determined. One example is that rules that protect property from creditors (the people who you owe money to) will come from state law.
Bankruptcy comes in a number of forms, or Chapters. Title 11 of the United States code contains nine chapters. Six of these will require you to file a petition. The remaining three have rules to govern these petitions.
Chapter Seven is the most well known form of bankruptcy. This involves a trustee who is appointed to obtain the property of the debtor that is not protected by law. Then, they sell it and distribute the proceeds to the creditors. Every state lets debtors keep essential property, so most Chapter 7 cases will let the debtor keep all of their property.
A Chapter Nine bankruptcy is only available to municipalities. It’s a form of reorganization, not liquidation. One notorious example of this was when Orange County, California filed. Bankruptcy under Chapter 11, Chapter 12, or Chapter 13 is more complicated. It involves letting the debtor keep some, or all of their property, and reorganization. They will use future earnings to pay off creditors. People generally file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. Sometimes an individual will file for Chapter 11, but this is rare. Chapter 12 is similar to Chapter 13, but is only available to “family farmers” and “family fisherman” in some situations. Generally, chapter 12 has is more generous for debtors than a similar Chapter 13 case.
In 2005, Chapter 15 was tacked on to the list. It deals with foreign companies with U.S. Debts.
Rapid Recovery Solution is a commercial collection agency. Click here to get your own unique version of this article with free reprint rights.
If You Have A Debt Collector On The Phone….
If you owe money to a creditor debt collectors are permitted to report your debt to credit bureaus, file lawsuits against you, and should be taken extremely seriously. The best way to protect yourself and your financial situation is a methodical approach. First, know why you are being contacted. Know where the debt is from and exactly how much it costs.
Request the name of the person that is calling, the name of the agency, the name of the creditor, and the agency’s address and fax number. You have the right to tell a collector over the phone that you want all future contact to be in writing. Follow up all requests with a written request.
Keep in mind if you tell the debt collector that they are not permitted to contact you at all it the agency is entitled to contact you once more to inform you how it plans to proceed. Another request that can be made is that you are the only person that can be contacted. It might be a good idea to keep a file including dates and details of phone conversations and when you mail out or receive letters.
If you do send any correspondence to the collections agency you should do this by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. This means that the letter reached the collector, providing you with a signed receipt as proof that it did. If you negotiate a re-payment plan over the phone, ask for the terms of the plan in writing. Additionally, any promise to remove or adjust credit history should definitely be documented.
Make sure that you pay the right party; payments should be made to the debt collector, not the creditor, unless otherwise instructed to do so. Carefully look over the amount you are being asked to pay. Get an assessment of any interest, fees or charges that have been added.
If you feel that your collector is being abusive, be certain to complain to the agency and keep this complaint on file. Finally, never ignore a collector even if you feel that the debt isn’t yours; they will continue to contact you and it may mean more trouble and time in the long run.
Rapid Recovery Solution is a third party collection agency. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
Texas Toll Booths Cater To Consumers
In Dallas, the North Texas Tollway Authority, an authority that is responsible for collecting tolls, has been scrutinized for months due to its toll collecting policy. This policy charges drivers who do not pay up at the toll booth fines of hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars. Because the NTTA has been under fire in the public eye, it announced today two steps it says that will target improving customer satisfaction.
The first part of the plan that the NTTA took was to permit all drivers to utilize the electronic toll collection lanes, including those who do not have one. They can do this without being punished with a twenty five dollar fine.
Before this plan, drivers without toll tags that utilized the electronic lanes on the Dallas North Tollway were looked at as violators and would subsequently be fined twenty five dollars for each time they passed through an electronic toll booth, rather than a cash booth.
But after February eighth, the drivers who don’t have a toll tag who use the electronic lanes will be given the chance to pay off the tolls before being hit with the additional twenty five dollar fine. But these toll charges will continue to be calculated at the cash rate, which is twice as high as the rates paid by toll tag consumers.
Unfortunately, the change won’t affect the NTTA’s collections policy in any other way and it will not stop consumers without toll tags who do not pay toll bills mailed to their homes from being charged twenty five dollars for every unpaid toll. This is a policy that can turn a week’s worth of tolls into a thousand dollar bill.
The NTTA’s second measure was to appoint an internal auditor as a mediator of some sort, which will be on hand to help frustrated customers who have first complained their way through NTTA customer service hierarchy without a result that they deemed to be satisfactory. The auditor will then review the account and determine if customer service and billing reps have followed their own rules.
Mallory McGuinness is employed by a debt collection agency. She also writes pieceson the credit industry , business, finance, and debt collection You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.