Posts Tagged ‘debt collection harassment’

A Look Into Payday Loan Collection Agencies And How You Can Stop Harassment

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Services of a payday loan collection agency are hired by lenders of instant payday loans when borrowers fail to repay their money. An instant cash loan is taken by people when they are in urgent need of money for some sudden expenditure, which has managed to rear its head and refuses to wait. While these loans are a definite boon, they are not without their share of drawbacks, and collection agencies are just one of them.

The main job of collection agencies is to try and get payment on loans, which have managed to go into default. A payday loan collection agency works by tracking down borrowers who have failed to repay their loans and trying to get the money. In return, the lenders let these companies keep a sizable portion of the recovered money.

It is a well known and acknowledged fact that payday loan collection companies sometimes stoop to threats and harassment in order to get their money. This is where you can protect yourself with debt collector laws. These laws have been designed to make sure that the borrowers are not hounded, threatened and/or harassed.

Why Borrowers Get Caught With Agencies

Most people tend to think that instant payday loans are an easy way to get their hands on some quick cash, but what they tend to forget is that these come with very heavy interest rates. Once you get caught up in the habit of taking out these loans, interest rates tend to become very taxing. This is when people find it difficult to pay the money back and collection agencies come into the picture.

Payday loan collections are mostly done by companies stooping to some unethical practices like threatening and harassing. While this is unacceptable under any circumstances, it becomes even more unbearable when the borrower is being contacted unnecessarily and given threats that transcend the boundaries of civility and decency. Now is the time to study protection laws, which will inform these companies to back down. You can also choose to get a legal expert involved so that you know about these laws more clearly.

What You Can Do To Stop Any Debt Collection Harassment

If, at any time, you feel that you are being harassed by collection agencies, you can make the most of various laws, which require these firms to behave properly with debtors and treat them with respect. In order to keep the collection agency totally away, you can send a certified desist notice demanding that you should not be contacted by the agency at all over the phone or otherwise. The companies are legally bound to agree to this.

Other protective laws bind companies by giving them a time frame in which they can call and forbidding them to contact anyone who is not directly involved with the loan, among other things. If you ever feel that you are being unnecessarily harassed, you can take advantage of these laws and stop payday loan collection agencies from troubling you.

How To Prevent Debt Collection Harassment

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

Unfortunately for many, debt collection harassment is unavoidable – bills pile up and the phone calls start and seemingly never end. With careful management and some assistance, it is easy to end this cycle of nuisance.

Most creditors outsource to collection agencies to enforce payment through traditional methods like phone calls and letters. When that doesn’t work, the collection agencies resort to other tactics. It comes in many forms, from threatening legal action and wage garnishment to downright verbal abuse.

Before becoming the victim of debt collection harassment, try to work with your creditor. Avoid having your debt reported to a collection agency by calling your creditor and explaining that you are under financial duress, but understand your obligations. Attempt to negotiate a payment plan to end your debt with your creditor.

There are many online tools and calculators that you can use to establish a time frame of when you will be debt-free. With realistic milestones in place, you can in turn, give your creditor a guarantee that you are actively working to end your debt and will ensure regular payments in the future.

If you are already experiencing debt collectors harassment, you can send a letter to the collections agency asking them to cease communications with you. American consumers are protected from this trouble by federal law after a collection agency has been written a cease letter. Be sure to keep a copy of this letter for your own records.

In the worst-case scenario, if the problem does not cease, you can pursue legal action against collection agencies. Consumers have increasingly found that a cease letter needs to be paired with threat of legal action for harassment to end. Consumers that are represented by a lawyer are protected from debt collectors harassment and agencies must end contact as long as your lawyer responds to the collection agency’s inquiries. 

Another resource for those in debt is, to seek the assistance of a debt consolidation firm. With counseling and guidance, a consumer can not only make a plan to eliminate their current debt, but will also gain the education to prevent getting into future debt.

With a debt consolidation firm, you will have just one debt-carrying bill to pay each month instead of several. This will give you opportunity to get your finances back on track and perhaps even put money aside each month for savings. A debt consolidation company can also work with your creditor to make sure that the harassing phone calls and threatening letters are all but eliminated. Again, because you are only dealing with one company—who is working to help you eliminate debt—you will no longer have to dodge phone calls from collection agencies.

The Federal Fair Debt collection Practices Act protects American consumers from being abused and harassed by debt collectors. If you feel that you are a victim of severe debt collection harassment, take action and fight back.