Certain kinds of debt are called "Zombie debt" because they are, for some reason, undead. It could be very old debt left over from a terminated account several years ago. It could be debt that has already been discharged in bankruptcy or settled by agreement with the creditor. It could even be debt that you never legitimately incurred in any way. For example, debts incurred through identity theft. All of these forms of debts should be dead, but sometimes they come back to haunt you.

The way zombie debts come back to haunt you is very simple. They are sold to debt collectors. The debt collectors then try to collect on the debts without any real concern for their legitimacy. They will often use the usual tricks to collect, from calling and writing, to threatening litigation, to actually filing suit and pursuing you into court. Sometimes lenders see a debt on your record and require you to pay it as a condition of receiving the loan—regardless of the debt's legitimacy—sometimes because they fear that the debt could result in a lien placed against your assets, and sometimes simply for "moral" reasons.

In any event, the common characteristic of zombie debts is that they have somehow come back to haunt you long after you thought they had disappeared. How can you deal with them?

Under the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), you have the right to require a debt collector to "validate" a debt. To do this, you simply write the debt collector within thirty days of its contacting you and state that you dispute the debt and want them to validate it. Often this will be enough to get rid of the debt collector—for a time. If you do this every time you receive a debt collection letter, you will begin to take charge of the situation. The debt collector must "validate" the debt before taking any further action against you, although you should know that this is truly a very small burden. A phone call to the initial creditor to confirm its claim against you will often be enough under the FDCPA. And if a lawsuit has been filed, the FDCPA waiting period requirement will not stop the suit.

The next arrow in your quiver is the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). If the debt collector is reporting your debt as unpaid, or negatively in any way, you can dispute the debt. You write a letter to the credit reporting agencies, disputing the debt and mentioning the FCRA. This is supposed to require the credit reporting agencies to "investigate" the debt. Again this is a potentially almost negligible requirement, and the reporting agencies sometimes do no more than call the person claiming you owe the money. But this time any false statement from the debt collector will violate the FCRA and give you the right to sue it. Since this right carries a claim for attorneys fees, it is more alarming to the debt collectors. The right to attorneys fees makes it more likely you can get a lawyer to represent you.

Remember that your letter disputing your debt initially is to the debt collector.

Your second letter disputing the debt is to the credit reporting agencies, and you must send letters to each of the credit reporting agencies.

If the debt collector persists, and if the debt is illegitimate or beyond the statute of limitations, or if the debt collector lies in its report to the credit reporting agencies, then you have a legal claim against the debt collector, and a lot of lawyers like to take them because of the attorneys fees provisions under the federal law. There are also other possible claims under most states' laws.

If the debt collector pursues the matter into court and attempts to collect the debt, then you can defend yourself in the ways my web site shows you. You will probably fend off the collector if you show a willingness to fight the collection attempts. A successful outcome is usually a stake in the heart of the zombie debt. For help representing yourself, or for more information, go to http://yourlegallegup.com

Popularity: 11% [?]

Regardless of nationality or ethnicity, there is one thing that is so common among citizens and residents of the USA, and that is none other than debt. According to expert research, the personal and consumer debt of the residents of the USA has gone up by almost fifty percent since the 1950s. The figures have become truly alarming.

And being in debt in the USA is an alarming situation indeed. It is not only your reputation as a debtor that is injured, causing you humiliation and embarrassment in certain situations like when debt collectors start calling, but other areas of your financial life are also affected. Your spending power and creditability is hugely affected by the level of your financial liabilities. For some people in other parts of the USA, even their employment, the very source of income that they need in order to get out of the red, is put at risk.

If you are a debtor in the USA and if you are thinking of going into debt settlement, you should go for it and remember that you are not alone in your plight. Your situation is not unique; you would be surprised just how much of your fellow residents in the USA share your situation. Moreover, there are other people who are willing and capable of getting you out of the mess you are in by assisting you in every step of the debt settlement process. All you need to do is to find a reputable debt settlement agency in the USA.

Finding a reputable debt settlement agency in the USA can be a tricky process, however. Many people in the USA are in debt, and so some enterprising people have found that running a debt settlement agency a lucrative business. Many of these companies promise a lot but are not really capable of keeping their promises in helping you settle your financial obligations.

How can you make sure that the debt settlement agency in the USA that you are going to engage is a good one? The first thing you would need to check is the company’s reputation. A debt settlement agency in the USA with a good reputation is one that delivers what they have promised. You can do this by asking around among your friends and family – people whose opinion you trust. You can also do a search on the Internet on the debt settlement agency that you are thinking of hiring. Ask for references as well if you can.

Because debt settlement agencies in the USA are businesses and as businesses they need to make some sales, their sales people often say many big things and make so many big promises. Among the promises you are likely to come across while searching for a good debt settlement agency in the USA is that your credit rating will improve in a matter of weeks. This is not true. The negotiations between the debt settlement agency in the USA and your creditors may take months, even years, to complete. Debt settlement in the USA always takes some time, and any debt settlement agency that says otherwise is only trying to pull wool over your eyes.

Check these links to learn more:

http://www.commercialdebtcounseling.com

http://www.commercialdebtcounseling.com/business/business-y/business-index.shtml

Popularity: 1% [?]

No matter what walk of life you come from you probably count debt collection agencies as the scum of the Earth. They are the kind of operation that works down in the infested underbelly of society, squeezing money out of those least able to pay by using questionable tactics.

While the debt collection industry has never been popular, it has done nothing to alleviate this bad image. In fact, more and more collectors are employing aggressive tactics, tactics that walk a fine line between what is legal and what isn't. As a result of increased business, and as a result of these extra-legal tactics, complaints against the collection industry top the charts. During the first half of 2009, FTC complaints against collection firms had risen nineteen percent when compared to the same period in 2008.

You do not have to be a victim of debt collectors and you do not need to be forced by them into making payments that you can't afford without compromising necessities such as shelter, food, and utilities. No one has the right to demand this of you and certainly no one has the right to be abusive to you or to threaten you in any way.

At the Federal level, there is a law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or the FDCPA. Under this law, you have the right to demand that collection agencies stop contacting you by phone. You also have the right to have the debt verified and to know whether or not the collection agency has the right to collect it.  

The next time a debt collector phones you, immediately get the name of the company and ask for a fax number or a mailing address. Ask, as well, for a reference number for your file. They may ask why you want this: tell them the truth: you want the calls to stop. Some may hang up on you at this point, but most will be cooperative. If they hang up on you, look up the company name in Google to find the address.

Now you need to craft your "cease and desist" letter. Stick to a format appropriate for a business letter, and tell them two things:

1: To stop contacting you by phone per the FDCPA
2: To verify the debt and their right to collect per the FDCPA

While a cease and desist letter will not dissolve the debt, it will at least get the collection agencies off your back for a while as you figure out a permanent solution.

Popularity: unranked [?]

At one point in time my life was absolute hell. Living in fear of answering the phone because I knew it was a debt collector. I was looking for a way to stop the collection calls once and for good. They would call me at all times of the day and night, weekends, holidays, it just didn't matter. I would answer the phone and feel like I was being attacked, it almost felt like I was in court being tried and found guilty of not being able to pay my debt. And believe me they can make you feel guilty alright. It's their job, Relentless people with no heart or care for your situation whatsoever. Finding a way to stop collection calls was near impossible.

As manipulative as they were, I was able to manipulate them. But it was only for short time. I would ensure them that I would pay my bill and give them some kind of outline how I would ensure my financial obligation. This would stop collection calls from coming to the house. But when the payment was not made it was back to the same old cat and mouse game.

Unable to make payments, I needed to find other arrangements to start paying off my debt. Something that I could handle and make my monthly payments. Then I found it, I discovered organizations that could help stop collection calls. Organizations who's sole purpose is to deal with debt collections and help put your life back on track. These are nonprofit organizations that are able to consolidate all your bills into one lump sum and give you a monthly payment that you can handle.

A debt settlement company is extremely easy to talk to and will only take a few minutes out of your day. They literally take on your whole debt for you and can even stop collection calls. They are even able to sometimes have your interest rates dropped to 0%. Which can make life a lot easier on you.

Having the ability to lift my head out of the water and not feel like I was drowning was a huge relief. How would you like to feel the same way? Unfortunately if you wait too long they may not be able to help you. This is why you need to act now and stop collection calls from ruining your life. I found out that waiting to long can have dire consequences. Such as liens on your account, losing your job, and basically deemed an outcast in the financial world. This can become an embarrassing situation for you. Avoiding this embarrassment is as easy as picking up a phone and making a quick call take the initiative and change your life before it's too late.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Chances are good, if you are anything like the average consumer these days, you are facing an uphill battle with keeping your credit card payments current. With that struggle, comes the task of trying to stop collection calls. The problem is that the collections department of most credit card companies are relentless. They call day after day, all times of the night, and their main goal is to guilt you into giving them money that you obviously don't have.

The worst part is no matter how hard you try to stop collection calls, they just keep coming. Generally the people calling you don't care what your "story" is. They don't care if you are sick, lost your job, dealing with major family issues, or if you are on your death bed. All indications point to these people being heartless, manipulative, and overly aggressive. If you have ever had a collection call, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

>>Click here to => Stop Collection Calls for good

The truth of the matter is, there is only two ways to stop collection calls:

1. Pay the money you owe - For most people this option isn't even remotely possible. I mean, if you had the money to pay, they wouldn't be calling anyway, right? In some cases, consumers will reach out to family and friends for loans to pay the money owed in an attempt to stop the collection calls, but generally that only puts them in a position to owe a close friend or family member money that they can't pay.

2. Make other arrangments - In my experience, this is the most effective way to stop collection calls. However, your probably wondering what "other arrangements" or if it is even possible to make other arrangements. Well, it definitely is possible, and we will get into how that is done here in a minute.

It is largely unknown by most consumers that there are programs out there that can assist them into getting their credit card debt back in order. Basically what they do is a consolidation of sorts. Essentially, they take all of your debt, put it into one big lump, and they pretty much assume the debt for you. The best part is, this can be done even if you have an absolutely horrendous credit history. As long as the credit card company that is pestering you hasn't charged the debt off as bad, there are programs that can help you.

>>Click here to => Stop Collection Calls for good

In most cases, the programs are admistered by non-profit organizations whose sole purpose is to aid consumers in getting their unsecured credit card debt in order. One of the best parts is, from the minute you enroll, they take over all communications with your credit card companies. So, you essentially will never have to talk to your credit card company or their collections department again. How's that for telling them to pound sand?

The only thing that you really have to keep in mind is that if the money you owe gets charged off, it's too late. So, if you are in a situation where you are 30, 60, or approaching 90 days late on your credit card bills, now is the time to take action. Too many people wait until it is too late and then have to suffer the consequences of having years and years of bad credit. It doesn't have to be that way, but it is up to you to take action for once, and finally get your debt in order. Most of all, by taking action, you can effectively stop collection calls.

Popularity: unranked [?]