Terry has several serious problems. Not only is he dealing
with staggering credit card debt, he's unable to make his
payments on time because his job was downsized.
He's back to work now, but he's still playing 'catch-up' -
and he makes much less money than he did before. In the
meantime, he's enduring an endless stream of daily
collection calls from credit card companies demanding
immediate payment.
If this describes you and your situation, keep reading,
because in this issue I'm going to give you some tips about
how to deal with an aggressive collector.
When a credit card company - or any other creditor - calls
about a delinquent account, extracting money is their only
goal. They're trained to use every weapon in their arsenal
to get that money. They don't care what they have to do to
get it. They'll use psychological weapons, threats,
coercion - whatever it takes. The best thing you can do is
to know your rights and keep your cool.
The very best thing you can do when dealing with a creditor
on the phone is take control of the call. Because you're
the debtor you may feel like your options are limited. The
fact of the matter is you have a lot more power than you
realize. They're calling you because you have something
they want: Money. That gives you an amazing power over them
so use it to your advantage.
Use that psychological and financial weapon to your
advantage. Tell the collector - firmly - that you'll talk
to them as long as they remain polite and respectful, but
the minute they blow it and treat you like a stray dog,
you're out of the call. Don't be afraid to follow through.
Trust me; they'll call back another day.
If you don't have the money right now to pay them, tell
them that. Ask them what options are available. Don't be
surprised if the only option they give you is a check by
phone transaction. Whatever you do, don't authorize one. If
you give them electronic access to your checking account,
they could potentially clean your account out. And a judge
is unlikely to be sympathetic to your complaint that they
stole money from you...considering you owe them money.
Instead, tell them what you're willing and able to do - and
then do it. But do it by mail and pay them with a money
order. Don't send a check drawn on your personal checking
account because checks are routinely being converted to
electronic transactions. Do you see the danger?
I'm not trying to needlessly scare you, but I am trying to
educate you on some of the underhanded tactics that some
unscrupulous collectors will use in collecting.
If the collector shows his true colors and begins to make
threats or demands, stay calm. Here's an excellent tactic
that's worth its weight in gold. The louder and more
strident they get, the quieter you should get. Instead of
raising your voice - lower it. Continue talking while you
drop the level of your voice. Whisper if you have to.
They'll have no choice but to shut up, if only long enough
to listen. When they do, drop the hammer. Tell them very
sweetly that Canadian law only requires you to talk to them
if you want to and you no longer want to. This should stop
the problem at least on a temporary basis.
To recap this technique:
Take control of the call and don't relinquish it Offer to
make the payments by mail only DO NOT permit electronic
access to your account If they yell at you or raise their
voice - lower yours to a whisper if necessary Tell them to
discontinue calling you
----------------------------------------------------
Darrin Roseborsky is a Refinance Specialist with OMAC
Mortgages, seminar speaker and president of
HomeRefinanceCoach.com. Darrin shows people how to MAXIMIZE
their equity PROPERLY and how to choose options that make
the MOST SENSE for their situation! An example of exactly
how this works, is at: http://www.homerefinancecoach.com
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