Dealing with collection agents

[Jason]

If you get one that is being a dick, just ask them a question...

"How do you keep an a$$hole in suspense?"








































"I'll tell you tomorrow..."

Then hang up on them...

 

[RetArmySgt]

I had one that kept calling for a non-existing debt so i started to play with them after the first couple weeks. i would answer in spanish so they would call back with a spanish speaker. at that time i would answer in german again they would call back with a german specker. I would then answer in Korean and so on and so forth until hey got tired of calling back. did that for about a week then the calls stopped.

 

[Harley Rider 55]

At the city, when debt collectors called for an employee, I'd forward the call to the city attorney's office.

 

[txinvestigator]

I read through this and am left scratching my head. To everyone who has taken the stance "A debt is a debt until you pay it off" What about bankruptcy?

If I was to run up a bunch of unsecured CC debt, then file bankruptcy the debt goes away and I get a bad mark on my credit for 10 years. Do you consider bankruptcy wrong? Do you think people should pay off debt after the bankruptcy, even when the court nulls the debt?

I think a person who steals money from others (running up a bunch of unsecured CC debt) then gets the government to clear the slate has serious problems, including that of character.

 

[XDMAR]

I think a person who steals money from others (running up a bunch of unsecured CC debt) then gets the government to clear the slate has serious problems, including that of character.

No worse then the thieving bankers themselves.

 

[txinvestigator]

No worse then the thieving bankers themselves.

And that means what, exactly? You think you can justify bad behavior by pointing out other bad behavior?

 

[TexasRedneck]

No worse then the thieving bankers themselves.

Nice try - but not all the bankers are thieves - or would you like folks to paint you with the same brush as they do the gun nuts?

 

[Cyberlink]

I think a person who steals money from others (running up a bunch of unsecured CC debt) then gets the government to clear the slate has serious problems, including that of character.

So They are scum and thieves, Lets see who you feel has character problems.

Mark Twain, (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), 1835-1910 filed for bankruptcy in 1894 and discharged all his debts,
Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, acclaimed poet and author declared a bankrupt on November 12, 1895
Henry Ford, 1863-1947, automobile manufacturer Filed for Bankruptcy in 1901
Jerry Lee Lewis, 1935- filed for bankruptcy in 1988
Burt Reynolds, 1936- filed for bankruptcy in 1996
Walt Disney, 1901-1966 filed for bankruptcy in 1920
Donald Trump, 1946- filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004
Jose Conseco, 1964- filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2008

The list goes on, heck even Abraham Lincoln filed for bankruptcy but my favourite is the fact that Thomas Jefferson filed for bankruptcy several times.

The point was not if you thought they had moral character issues, it was if you felt that they should pay back the debt even when the courts had nullified it.

 

[TexasRedneck]

I think you're intentionally missing the point. Sometimes things happen that makes a person unable to pay debts. Maybe a bad business decision, maybe simply "life" took a turn for the worse. In those instances, bankruptcy provides a "safety cushion". When somone intentionally creates debt with the plan to file bankruptcy and discharge those debts - THEY ARE WRONG. When someone can file bankruptcy without a feeling of regret/shame - yeah, IMHO, they ARE WRONG. Bankruptcy, IMO, should be an act of last recourse - there's simply no other way to correct the issue at hand. When that happens, it's a shame, but that's the only realistic option. In my personal experience, many bankruptcies in the past have been filed more as a matter of convenience than need - those involved didn't want to take the steps necessary to dig themselves out of the hole THEY created. Believe me - I KNOW it's not fun - I've been there, done that - and have a wide selection of the t-shirts. Do I have animosity towards them? Not really - unless they go around bragging about it. I've had friends that took the path of least resistance by filing bankruptcy that will tell you today that it's the biggest mistake they made, because while it got them out of the bind, the experience wasn't painful enough, and they found themselves in the hole yet again. I've got one friend that filed, and 3 years later was driving a NEW truck w/zero down, bought his wife a NEW car w/zero down....and was VERY lucky to be able to keep it all together. He and I spent a lot of time figuring out ways for him to make extra $$$ to keep up with the payments until they were finally able to get their debts down to a manageable level again. Today, he refuses to charge ANY thing - period. Some lessons are best learned hard, I guess.

 

[Cyberlink]

I think you missed the point, I never said intentionally run up the debt.

If I was to run up a bunch of unsecured CC debt, then file bankruptcy the debt goes away and I get a bad mark on my credit for 10 years. Do you consider bankruptcy wrong? Do you think people should pay off debt after the bankruptcy, even when the court nulls the debt?

There is no intent, the debt could be run up by buying things that I could not afford, to keep up with the Smiths as they say. The point was that lots of people have taken the stance that a debt is a debt until paid. Dont matter if it is 7 year, 10 years, or 50 years. I put forward the simple questions of "Do you consider bankruptcy wrong?" and "Do you think people should pay off debt after the bankruptcy, even when the court nulls the debt?" It does not matter if there was intent to defraud or no intent to defraud.

 

[TexasRedneck]

But it DOES matter - to do it with intent is wrong. If it happens because of unplanned events (even if the planning was stupid), then I'm "okay" with it so long as the debtor makes at least a reasonable attempt to rectify the situation. But that's just me - each of us has to decide what's right for us, and understand that our actions WILL be subject to the judgement of others, who have the right to their opinions. Lots of folks thought me decision to avoid filing bankruptcy was "stupid" on my part....and in their eyes, maybe it was. I just know that in MY eyes, I did what was required by my own personal Code of Honor - and for that, I make no apologies.