We have considered the first contact situation and your rights in the previous parts of this series.  In this, final part we are going to talk about useful tips you should know.

As soon as the collector called you it is in your best interest to respond immediately. Delay can mean the collector will continue to contact you. The collector may even file a lawsuit and get a judgment against you. The result can cost you more time and trouble in the long run.

Within five days after the first phone call, the collector must send you a written notice. The notice must tell you how much you owe and the name of the creditor that says you owe the money. The written notice must also tell you how to file a dispute if you don't agree that you owe the money.

Payments should be made to the debt collector and not the original creditor unless you are expressly instructed to pay the creditor directly. In this case, you should confirm such instruction in writing to both the creditor and the debt collector.

Never pay a bill you don't owe just to get the collector to "go away." Any payment of the debt is considered an acknowledgement that you are responsible. Even if you pay, that will not erase a negative entry on your credit report.

The person who calls you from a collection agency has to give you his or her name and the name of the agency. The caller cannot pretend to be someone else. A collection agency cannot lie about who it is or send documents that mislead you.

You can write a letter to the agency telling it not to contact you by phone, not to call at certain times or locations, or not to make any further contact at all. This last request does entitle the collector to contact you one more time to inform you of what, if any, action it intends to take to collect the debt, but not to threaten you. You should send such a letter by certified mail and request a return receipt. If the company has a fax number, send the letter by both fax and by mail. Telling the collection agency not to contact you should stop the phone calls, but it won't stop the collection efforts.

Often, a single collection action will result in multiple negative entries on your credit report. For example, a delinquent account may be reported under the name of the original creditor and again under the section of the credit report for "collections." If the matter resulted in a court judgment, it may again appear on your credit report under the public records section. If you find the same account is reported in multiple areas of your credit report, dispute this with the credit bureaus and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. Dual reporting of a single account can unfairly lower your credit score.

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<i>Ring. Ring. Ring.

You know who is calling.  It's the fourth time today, and ironically enough it's during dinner time.  That pit in the bottom of your stomach starts to churn.  You know who it is: the collection agency.

You also know that if you answer that phone that your dinner will be ruined.  But your dinner is already ruined just thinking about it.  What do you do?  Why don't they just go away?</i>

If you have ever had a collection agency come after you for a past due debt, you can relate to the above situation.  These unholy hell hounds are unleashed when creditors cannot get you to pay a debt that is owed.  Now, they don't care WHY you can't pay, they just know you don't.  And there are many good reasons for not being able to pay.  If you lost your job, you may not be able to pay a credit card bill because you are focused on keeping your family fed with what little you do have.  If a family member is gravely ill (say with cancer or some other life threatening disease), you may not be paying because you are doing the right thing by taking care of their medical needs.  Either way, creditors and bill collectors don't care.  They don't typically have a sense of ethics or nobility or responsibility.

With that being said, let's examine the creditor and collection agency relationship and finds the weak points in it.

According to <a rel="nofollow" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" href="http://www.debtorkungfu.com>DebtorKungFu.com</a>, a debtor's rights informational website, collection agencies are NOT your original creditor.  They are independent third parties.  They do not typically own your debt; they are merely trying to collect someone else's debt.  They are governed by both state and federal laws, specifically the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

A collection agency is hired by a creditor and given full rights to help collect a debt.  They are tasked with doing whatever is necessary (and lawful) to get you to pay.  Oftentimes, though, collectors step across the line and abuse and harass debtors both mentally and emotionally.  Keep in mind, this is what they are paid to do and they are VERY good at it.  They will try to make you feel 2 emotions:  fear or anger.  But that is a topic for later on.

Now the key to the creditor-collection agency relationship is simply this:  money.

Creditors are outsourcing their headaches on collecting a debt hoping to make a profit once the collector gets the money from the debtor.  The collection agency makes a profit by earning a commission on the amount of money they collect.  That is why collection agents always try to get the most amount of money out of you they can.  They more they collect, the more they make.

<b>Key #1--Thus, if you can find a way to take away the motivation for having such a relationship(i.e., remove everyone's profit), you will get rid of your collection agency.</b>

Knowing this alone is the first step in the art of making collection agencies absolutely hate collecting money from you.

But knowing how to make collection agencies stop wanting to collect your debt is only part of the equation.  Actually GETTING them to want to stop contacting you is another thing entirely.  For that, I give you part 2 of this article: How to Make Collection Agents Hate Collecting from You.

If you cannot find part 2 of this article, please visit <a rel="nofollow" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" href="http://www.debtorkungfu.com>DebtorKungFu.com</a> for more information.

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Harassing collection calls when you owe debt can be a nightmare. People tell me all the time how relentlessly the phone can ring when they owe money. There is a way to minimize this and actually stop it in most cases.

Adopting these techniques is also effective in stopping the horrible telemarketers that call you every evening offering windows, doors, lawn care and the like.

The first thing you must understand is most collection agencies, telemarketers and banks have adopted predictive dialing systems for making outbound calls. They are highly effective because each agent doesn't have to manually dial a number each time they call out. Instead they will hire 300 collectors for every 1,000 lines that are dialed out. The computer actually dials more numbers then agents available to take the calls. This minimizes time spent dialing numbers and getting disconnected numbers or no answers.

The way it works is when the computerized dialer recognizes a human voice on the receiving end of the call, it immediately connects the call to the first available bill collector. Sometimes there is a delay in the connection because the collectors are busy wrapping up another call, which is why you can sometimes end up saying "hello" several times before you talk to a human.

Your first step you should take is ordering a call privacy feature from your phone company. This feature essentially prompts the inbound caller with a message like "the person you are trying to reach does not accept calls from unknown or private numbers, please state your name before we attempt to connect you". The computer isn't able to state a name so the call drops and the call is not connected. Your phone doesn't even ring.

This feature is offered by almost every phone company and goes by names like: call privacy, anonymous caller ID or anonymous caller rejection. I have looked at several phone providers' websites and the price seems to range from $2/m to $5/m.

The other preventative step you should take is a telezapper. I have tested this myself and they work well. This is a device you attach to your phone. Essentially when you or your answering machine pick up it detects a predictive dialer calling and it plays a tone that tricks the dialer into believing your telephone number is disconnected. The predictive dialer removes the number from its calling list to limit wasting its calling resources at a later date. It is a very effective tool for $39.99 on the telezapper website; I got mine off eBay for $15.

Since the majority of the debt collection calls you will receive are made by a predictive dialer, you will stop collectors and even telemarketers in their tracks. I am not advocating hiding from your payment obligations to your creditors, but adopting these tips will let you fight back and at least give you an opportunity to minimize the collection harassment while you work out a debt elimination strategy.

If you need help getting out of debt, take 15 minutes and get a free consultation from our debt settlement specialists by calling (866) 833-1992 or fill out the form on our website at http://www.totaldebtfreedom.ca to learn more about debt settlement.

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This article describes some of Future prospects and opportunities for the international debt collection industry which has been created by the recent global recession.

1. FUTURE PROSPECTS for the collection industry in THE CARIBBEAN

The survival and growth of the collection industry in THE CARIBBEAN in the current environment will present significant challenges: the tough will have to get going; new business will be need to develop more of a “regional presence” as opposed to one which is “national or domestic” only; increased skills training, more efficient cost / expense control, as well as diversification of revenue streams and other forms of structural adjustments will start to have a positive effect on the bottom line. Nevertheless, in my opinion the excess capacities in many sectors will lead to much tighter competition, and this will result in:

2. OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES for the collection industry in THE CARIBBEAN :

Increased mergers and acquisitions to achieve economies of scale; the elimination of weaker players; a greater emphasis on outsourcing of pre-write-off “ledger management services” as against “bad debt recoveries” and more opportunities for debt purchasing of international or regional portfolios of which the Caribbean Barrister at Law – Chairman, A.V. Knowles & Co. Limited Newtown, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad forms a part. There will also be regionalization of credit delinquency database information as a powerful “collection tool” utilizing the “Trinidad” base model, and in this respect an online credit delinquency data base based on verified information, is made accessible to members (without any Privacy Act being in force and has become a recognized force in achieving faster settlements.

3. FUTURE PROSPECTS for the collection industry in CANADA

Opportunities for collection agencies in CANADA will come mainly from the Banking / Credit Card / Distress Lending (Payday Loans) industries as unemployment produces more delinquent customers; credit granters react quickly to potential risk factors; re-financing options for consumers will be further limited because of tighter credit adjudication policies; and more consumers will have to resort to payday lenders for money in order to survive job losses and or income reductions.

4. OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES for the collection industry in CANADA :

Although volumes of assignments in 3rd and 1st party outsource areas will increase, revenues are unlikely to keep pace because collection agencies will be forced to accept more long-term payment arrangements as opposed to immediate payments or settlements due to a fall in consumer income. Access to funds will be restricted following changes to lending policies, and this will make it much more difficult for consumers to qualify. Average size balances will diminish as lenders assign accounts earlier before the balance has a chance to grow. And pressure is applied by clients and/or creditors to reduce commission rates, thereby reducing their recovery costs.

5. FUTURE PROSPECTS for the collection industry in LATIN AMERICA

General Increase in timing and quantum of the default rate is being experienced by creditors due to the debtor’s deteriorating financial condition. As a consequence most collection industry firms will experience visible increases in new account placements from creditor clients. However, such creditor clients will also tend to demand lower and more competitive commission rates in order to reduce their costs of recovery, thereby compensating and attempting to offset their continued losses in this global crisis situation.

6. OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES for the collection industry in LATIN AMERICA

The priority for LATIN AMERICAN agencies will be to implement a much higher degree of flexibility in all of the following areas: accepting more generous compromise settlements, especially in one time lump sum payments.; accepting extended repayment terms with smaller installments suited to each individual debtor; proactively exploring new sources in the BANKING sector willing to focus on Refinancing and consolidation facilities for qualified debtors. Their willingness and commitment to innovation and flexibility will affect their ability to maintain growth in this projected prolonged downturn with adverse economic conditions.

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Copyright (c) 2008 Stephen Lau

In the present financial climate, debt collection is commonplace and many people may have to deal with debt collectors due to delinquencies. To deal with creditors is an art.

If you are among one of them, you may think that debt collectors are inhuman: they may have harassed you relentlessly.

Nowadays, many individuals have become debt collectors simply because they need a job, because they want to help others, or, for some, because they have a strong need for control and power. Whatever, debt collectors get trained, but do not go to school to become debt collectors.

Remember, debt collectors are just human, like everyone else. They, too, may have problems paying their own bills.

Understanding the human side of a debt collector may help you deal with one successfully. You must understand that their work environment is always filled with negativity. They need to call you incessantly and relentlessly: they would like to see as many as possible their clients become current. Like most other types of work, they have their own daily, weekly, and monthly goals to meet too.

As a smart consumer, learn how to deal with a debt collector. Dealing with debt collection is less of a hassle if you have the know-how.

According to Sun Tsu's famous book "Art of War", "Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril."

So know your debt collector (your imaginary "enemy") and know yourself, and you will resolve your financial problems successfully.

As a smart consumer, it is important to make your account current. It is to your own advantage if you do. Ignoring your debt or delinquency problem - what most consumers choose to do - will not make the problem go away. Make your account current through a plan (knowing yourself, such as how much payment you can afford, and what to do with your current emergency debt situation) and good communication with your debt collector (knowing your "enemy", such as making the debt collector help you resolve your financial problems).

Knowing yourself also implies adopting a positive and confident attitude before and when you make your initial contact with your debt collector. Remember, you are not a bad person just because you cannot pay your bills. When you put down your name on the dotted line to obtain a credit or loan, you probably did it with good intention. When you are having a financial problem, take care of yourself first and foremost. Do things that may lift up your spirit - things that do not require further straining your finances, such as going camping or fishing (but certainly not going on an expensive vacation).

Be open-minded; avoid being neither defensive nor aggressive when you contact your debt collector. Remember, he or she is human, just like you. An attitude is never a good communication skill, and will not get you anywhere.

Rest assured, your debt collector knows your name and address, your home and work phone numbers, the amount of loan, whether it is secured or unsecured, your payment history, your late payments, and your last payment date and amount. Your debt collector has everything in front of his or her computer when speaking to you. Therefore, you must have the same level of information, otherwise you might feel being intimidated while speaking to a debt collector. That is to say, you must also be as prepared as your debt collector to stay in the same level of information.

As a smart consumer, always request a copy of the payment history and a copy of your contract for the delinquent account (if you have not already done so), and have them mailed to you. This may not only buy you more time, but also show your intention to resolve the problem. To protect yourself, you must read your contract in its entirety and review your account payment history. If errors occur, use them to your advantage.

Review your state's laws regarding collections and the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to know your rights as a consumer. Know what a debt collector can and cannot do. If you do not wish your debt collector to call you at work, fax a request to that effect. A debt collector cannot disclose your debt information on a telephone answering machine without your prior permission, or by mailing you a postcard.

If you are knowledgeable of the law and your rights, your debt collector will know that he or she cannot intimidate you.

(Part Two will be on the communication with a debt collector.)

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