Allied Interstate Inc. is a collection agency not in the good books of most. It has gained popularity for various wrong reasons like faulty debt collection practices. They are known to have violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FTCPA) rules several times. They have been known to call individuals repeatedly for debts they do not owe. They have also been known to threat individuals if they refuse to pay them the money asked for.

There are umpteen complaints against this debt consolidation company. They have a long track record of harassing people and being rude with them.

Problem: Peter Smith has had several collection calls from 4 collection agencies. He was being harassed by all 4 of them to which he brought a stop with his cease and desist letter. Then one day Allied Interstate called for an individual's debt that was not Peter Smith. Allied was informed about the wrong call, but they took no heed and continue calling him several times a day despite telling them that it is the wrong number they are calling. The executive who calls does not give their address either and hence Peter has not been able to send then a registered letter.

Solution: According to Fair Debt Collection Practices Act "If a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease further communication with the consumer, the debt collector shall not communicate further with the consumer with respect to such debt."

Peter, the next time Allied Interstate calls you for a debt ask them to communicate with you in writing and not over the telephone. Ideally, they should have sent you a letter within 5 days of calling you for the debt that tells you that you have the right to seek debt validation. If they do not listen to your request, you do not have to listen to theirs either.

I would suggest try and Google their address out and send them a 'cease and desist' letter. This should stop Allied Interstate Inc. from calling you further for the debt. However, if they continue to call you will have the right to seek punitive action against them. The FDCPA has strict guidelines related to debt collection practices to be followed by debt collectors. Make yourself aware of these guidelines, violating which can get the collection agencies in to trouble. Peter you have the right to take action against debt collection practices that violate FDCPA.

Here are 3 steps you can immediately take if they persist calling you:

• File a complaint with your state attorney general

• File a complaint with the FTC

• File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau

• File a civil suit in your federal or state court

When you file complaints you will need evidence. So, if Allied is communicating with you only through phone, tell them that you are recording their call and do record the call.

Allied Interstate is popular for its notorious ways of seeking debt collection. They are known to:

• Constantly call to harass people with false collection calls.

• Be rude when they call individuals for any debt.

• Refuse to provide any contact details when asked.

• Not identify themselves properly when calling an individual regarding a debt.

• Not stop calling even if the debtor asks them to saying that they are violating FDCPA rules.

• Review credit reports without permission.

• Call at weird times of the day when the individual has already restricted the time to call for debt collection.

Popularity: 12% [?]

In many circumstances, the consumer has rights against the collector which might avoid the need for bankruptcy relief. One weapon is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or FDCPA.

The FDCPA prohibits contracts from third parties if the collector knows the debtor is represented by a bankruptcy attorney, otherwise contact with third parties is permitted but only to locate the debtor. In practice, writing is required in advising of bankruptcy attorney representation to avoid he said she said dispute.

The collector must inform the debtor in every communication that the communication is from a debt collector. The collector must send the consumer dispute verification invitation within five days of initial contact, and the collector must suspend collection until the debt is verified if the dispute is received within 30 days.

A debt collector may not harass,   oppress, or abuse a consumer, but this is not defined and is left up to the courts. The collector may not publish a list of nonpayer’s, except to credit bureaus, or use obscene or profane language, or make repeated telephone calls for annoyance purposes. Debt collectors may not use false or misleading means to collect a debt, and may not collect more than what is justly owed. Actual damages, $1000 statutory penalties, and attorney fees may be recovered. After filing personal bankruptcy, and the automatic stay is in place, it's taboo for collectors to call you at all.

From your bankruptcy attorney’s point of view, a tape recording of an abusive call is best. Second best is a detailed narrative of what took place and how you felt. Be aware that it is very difficult to convince a judge or jury that you are in the right, so the more proof you have the better.

The easiest and often most effective action you can take is to simply ask the creditor to stop calling you. You may have to remind the caller that the firm has violated one or more of the provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Act, but the calls should cease. Should you be dealing with a collection agency and not your original creditor, you may also create and send your own cease and desist letter stop their debt collection harassment. Always send a cease and desist letter by certified mail, return receipt requested so you'll have proof of its receipt. Also, make every attempt to send this letter to a physical address of the collection company, not to a P.O. Box. You can report harassment problems to your state Attorney General's office, the Federal Trade Commission, the American Collectors Association or your local State Bar Association. Should problems persist, you have the right to sue a collector in either state or federal court within one year from the date of the violation. If you are successful you are eligible to recover money for damages, court and bankruptcy attorney costs plus an additional amount of up to $1000. If you have no way out to catch up you will probably have to file chapter 7. The beauty of this is, once you file chapter 7 bankruptcy, all of the calls will stop.

The Fair Debt Collection Act specifies the rights of both creditors and debtors. If you have been subjected to any of the actions noted, you are the victim of creditor harassment for the FDCA regulations. Collectors are prohibited from calling before 8 AM and after 9 PM or even constantly using the phone to harass you. Next, they can't deposit a post dated check prematurely. Another very common complaint is that creditors cannot use profane language. Something else they have been known to do is give false information of any type concerning your account to someone else. Once you file for bankruptcy in the automatic stay is in place that creditors will be notified and they can't even contact you at all. This is probably the largest benefit of filing personal bankruptcy besides wiping your debts clean.

Popularity: 12% [?]

During the present economic crisis, one in every four Americans is delinquent on their debt. The reason for this could be loss of a job, illness, divorce or for any other reasons where economic slowdown adding fire to the problems facing by the people across the nation. Once you took loan from the lender and signing agreement you are legally bind to pay the loan under any circumstances. When you fall behind on the payments, one thing is of sure you get collection calls from debt collectors. This is the main problem faced by most people who come to me. Therefore I decided to discuss about this issue. If you are one among those who are getting calls from collections agencies then keep reading further to know how to deal with collection agencies calls.

Do not get depressed with calls nor avoid them. The first thing you must do when you think your account is in collections is to get an idea about the debt collection process. The idea about debt collection process can be achieved through fair debt collection practices act that outlines what way the debt collector must follow in his debt collection process. While rules regarding collection may differ from state to state but few things that are common that every debt collector must follow are
• A collection agency must notify you in writing at your last updated address mentioning your account has been assigned to them for collection.
• Debt collection agencies must get written permission from your creditor to take any legal action to collect debt from you.
• Collection agencies can’t call any other persons related to you like family members, friends, relatives or neighbours other than to the phone number and address provided by you.
Don not get scared off attending phone calls from debt collector but start acknowledging that you do owe money and you are very much willing to work out something with them to clear the debt. Make sure to let them know that if they are rude towards you will hang up.

Know the debt collector information like the name of the caller that is representing the debt collector and contact information.

Record the debt collection agency call which is mostly done by the collection agencies when you attend their call. So, be prepared to do the same and tell the caller that you are recording the call.

When the debt collector approach you ask him the debt validation notice as proof that you owe money and it is totally legal that you have a right to dispute their debt collection efforts. Your rights can be known by reading fair debt collection practices act.

When you are working out to clear the debt, you must know exactly how much you can afford to pay each month while working with debt settlement. Keep this figure in mind because the debt collection agency will demand more but you need to stand firm.

If everything went out well according to your financial situation then stick to your agreement will help you get rid of collection calls and at the same time debt.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Issues such as what course to study, where to study and whether to stay at home are central to any would-be-student’s concerns. But the latter of these issues simply isn’t an option for many students, unless they are lucky enough to live within commuting distance of their university of choice. Also, many see moving into halls and meeting new people as being an integral part of student life. So, even before university life has begun, there are real financial obligations that must be met.

Furthermore, there is now more flexibility in terms of what universities can charge for tuition fees, meaning students can pay anything up to £3000 per year in fees, almost three times the amount of only a few years ago; so in short, studying is a very pricey venture and for many students debt is a simple fact of life that has to be faced and managed accordingly.

It’s also worth noting that even after graduation, that lucrative dream job may not – and frequently does not - happen immediately. With this in mind, it’s worth perhaps looking at the numerous debt solutions that are out there, to help stave off the creditors and manage the debt sensibly, sooner rather than later. It probably goes without saying that the last thing that is needed is to go down the bankruptcy route.

Before bringing in any external parties to help manage the debt, there are small steps that can be taken to help alleviate the burden of debt. Firstly, check all the interest rates on those maxed-out credit cards, as the rates may not be as favourable as they could be. Many credit cards offer 0% interest on balance transfers for anything up to a year; so a considerable amount of money could be saved by doing very little.

There are also graduate loans available at most banks, tailored specifically for recent graduates. These are becoming an increasingly popular method of debt-consolidation for graduates and are a much easier way of managing the debt. Once these options are explored and there are still clear, seemingly insurmountable financial hurdles, it may be worth looking for help externally.

A debt management company can be used to help administer the debt and act as the middle-man with the creditors. They will negotiate an affordable set monthly payment and even collect the money themselves and distribute accordingly amongst the creditors. Alternatively, there is an IVA (individual voluntary agreement), whereby a formal plan is drawn up with creditors to make reduced payments towards the total debt, and after 5 years a percentage of what is owed is paid and the debt can be considered as settled.

With rising university fees and increased living costs, debt is a simple fact of life that must be faced for many students. It’s how this debt is managed that will be key to financial security for many years after graduation.

Popularity: 12% [?]

If you are trapped with multiple debts and every month the situation is turning more tensed then opting for debt management is the right option. Debt management help the borrowers before they get into real trouble and find tough to make payments. Debt management clears borrower’s debts within a stipulated time period.

In Debt management, borrowers multiple high rated debts are considered for eliminating debts at earliest possible time. It makes sure that borrower doesn’t face any problem in paying off the debts.

The first step in debt management includes budgeting; where borrower specifies net income and net expenses including debt amount and interest charged. This budgeting helps the lender to offer the desired solution like consolidation or negotiation for managing the debts.

If borrower possesses high rated debts then debt consolidation is considered as viable solution for it. Here, borrower merges all his existing debts under a single manageable loan. It helps borrower to wipe out his multiple debts and in turn enables him to stabilize the financial condition. In this option of the debt management borrower finds easy to wipe out his multiple debts with features like lower interest rate, flexible repayment period and the desired loans amount. To simplify more, it can be said that debt management offers borrowers to manage their multiple high rated debts by unifying them into one suitable and manageable debt.

Whereas in the debt negotiation option of debt management inculcates negotiating with the lenders for lower interest rate, discounts or some sort of financial assistance. This step too helps to lowered down the stress of the borrower.

The borrower must make sure that the company from which he is availing debt management help is reputable. Debt management options can be availed from online mode, banks, financial institutions or leading lenders.

Lastly, debt management relieves the borrowers from the burden of multiple debts with feasible conditions in stipulated time period. Borrowers manages their debts and live a stress free life.

Popularity: 12% [?]