Many debt collectors are notorious for profiting from people that are struggling to pay their debt. They take advantage of the fact that most debtors don’t know their rights regarding the collection of a debt.
If you are in default (delinquent) with one or more of your debts, please take a few minutes of your time to understand your rights as a debtor. It will save you much heartache. See what the debt collectors don’t want you to know. This is a simple- to- understand article that explains the set of laws that the federal government established to protect the rights of consumers.
Many Debt Collectors Inject Fear As Their Primary Weapon
Many debt collectors will do almost anything to get a debtor to pay a debt. The following are several of the many possible lies and deceits that the debt collectors utilize:
- informing the debtor that if the debt isn’t paid in full, they will repossess his home or auto.
- scaring children by telling them that their parents will go to jail if they don’t put them on the phone!
- threatening a debtor to pay an old debt that she is no longer legally responsible to pay, or a debt that isn’t her’s.
- unlawfully discussing an unpaid debt to a debtor’s family member other than his spouse; discussing the unpaid debt with a neighbor or the debtor’s employer.
- calling during prohibited hours.
Protect Yourself By Knowing Your Rights
Credit card debt is unsecured. This means that your creditors don’t have any collateral for the credit that they extend to you. They cannot: repossess or make you sell any of your assets in order for you to pay your debt. This includes your home, car, or savings/investments. Furthermore, they cannot garnish your wages or send you to prison!
In order for the debtor to buy more time, 債務舒緩 or not being held liable to pay the debt, he may demand that the debt collector validate the debt. This means that the debt collector must prove that the debt attempting to be collected is actually his legal responsibility.
A copy of the original contract with his signature must be delivered to the debtor. If the debt collector cannot, or will not provide him with a copy of the original contract, by law, the debt collector may no longer collect on that debt. Therefore, the debtor is no longer responsible to ever pay the debt. Also, the credit bureaus must delete the negative account from the consumer’s credit file. As a result, his credit score will raise.
Outwit The Debt Collectors At Their Own Game!
Debt collectors are like flies. You swat them, but they still keep coming back. They will try to fill your head with lies and scare tactics in the hopes that you will pay the debt in full.
Collectors of debt are also like detectives. Their goal is to elicit incriminating information. Armed with that information, they can use it as leverage and threaten to sue you. Or, they will try to make you feel guilty to a point where you agree to immediately pay them in full. Remember, you may not even be legally responsible for paying your debt in full, or at all.
When they call, you may tell them that you are making a written request for them to validate the debt that they are trying to collect. Don’t acknowledge that the debt is yours.Then immediately hang up the phone. Don’t allow them further discussion. There’s nothing to be gained but a headache if you continue to speak with them.