The Real Estate and Business Blog

Many are experiencing difficult economic times, and some of you have fallen behind on your credit card bills.  When the calls start coming in, you answer them and cooperate with the debt collector feeling as though you’ll be able to catch up with the payments soon enough.  You also don’t want your credit score to suffer.  You’re thinking that if you cooperate with the “nice” debt collector, he won’t rush to report you to the credit bureaus and ruin your credit score.

You may have been able to make the next month’s payment or even catch up, but then you fall behind again and possibly miss payments on other credit cards.  And eventually those collectors start calling too.

Whatever and however you ended up here, you never meant to fall behind.  And you swear that you want to pay them back, but can’t.  Unfortunately, the calls do not stop.  What at first were friendly reminders and request for payments, turn into persistent and menacing calls for immediate payment.

Once the calls become undignified and insulting, the debtors collectors may have crossed the line and violated the FDCPA.  We’ve covered this law extensively in our other tutorials and recommend that you listen to them if you believe they may be misleading you, or if they begin to use profanity or other tactics which are harassing in nature.  If they do these things, you may have a claim.  You can also call us at 305 771-DEBT or visit us at www.defendusnow.com.

Now let’s suppose that the calls are respectful and, while firm, do not insult, threaten you or violate the FDCPA in any way.  But they are consistent. You’re tired of asking for more time, more understanding.  They give you time, but ask for some sort of payment.  You eventually stop answering their calls.

Now the ringing of the phone itself becomes the constant reminder that you’re behind on your payment.  When the phone rings, you’re thinking “I hope that’s not a 1-800 number”.  When you check the caller ID, if it is a debt collector, you may let it ring and may even delete the messages without even listening to them.

Well, it doesn’t have to be this way.  Simply answer the call and get the person’s name, their business name and business address and mail them a letter asking that the phone calls stop and that all communication be in writing.

Now, there are a lot of things you could have done better.  For example, you could have asked that they validate the debt.  This would have ceased all communication until they validate the debt.  Sometimes they may never be able to.  These calls will stop until they do.

Either way, send the letter, whether it be a letter asking that they validate the debt (which I recommend you do first) or a letter asking them to stop calling, but send the letter certified so that you can later prove that the letter was sent and received.

If the calls continue, they have violated the FDCPA and you have a claim against them.  You may never be able to pay them, but if you ever negotiate with them, be sure to know that a lawsuit for an FDCPA violation will certainly give you the leverage you need to get the terms that work for you.

If you’d like to get a FREE consultation with us to review your situation and tell you whether or not you have a claim, call us at 305 771-DEBT or visit us at www.defendusnow.com.  It is totally free.  It’s our way of giving back.  And if you do have a claim, you won’t have to pay us.  We’ll make sure that the debt collector pays our fees and costs – and if we don’t, then you still pay nothing.  But you have to call us now.  Call 305-771-DEBT or visit our website now at www.defendusnow.com.

A free online service is now available that provides the credit counseling course (and certificate of completion) that is required to be taken by individual debtors prior to filing a voluntary petition.  This course, offered by ConsumerBankruptcyCounseling.info as a public service, has received authorization from the Executive Office for the United States Trustee, United States Department of Justice, to service all districts except for the District of Alabama and the District  of North Carolina.  Click here to link to the website.

To view a list of all approved credit counseling providers in Florida’s Southern District, visit the United States Trustee’s website here.

Prior to choosing any provider, verify that it is still on the approved list and that it can provide the service that permits a debtor to timely compy with the pre-filing credit counseling requirements.