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Found a really good article in Parade Magazine on how to stand up to debt collectors. Here is the essence of the advice:

Don’t reveal personal information - Debt collectors don’t care anything about you and you are not obliged to tell them your place of employment, the name of your bank, or your checking-account number. Stay calm and focused when you speak to them. Ask for details of the debt and written proof of the collector’s claim. Remember you are not talking directly to the company with whom you ran up the debt but rather to a debt collector trying to earn pennies on the dollar.

Know what to expect - Debt collectors may contact you in person or by mail, telephone, telegram, or fax at home or at work between the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. If they can’t get you to pay up, they can ruin your credit by informing credit bureaus of your unwillingness to pay. They may take you to court and garnish your wages or slap liens on your property.

Don’t be intimidated - Debt collectors must meet standards set by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. It is illegal for debt collectors to threaten to hurt you physically, to say you’ll be arrested or deported if you don’t pay your debt, or to use obscene language while trying to collect a debt. Nor can debt collectors threaten to take your property unless the collection agency can win a legal settlement in court.

Don’t pay money you don’t owe - Because debt collectors often work with old data sometimes their records are wrong. If you don’t think you owe the money of if the amount is incorrect, dispute the claim in writing. If the collector is calling about a debt you incurred long ago, be aware of the statute of limitations, which differs from state to state but typically runs three to six years. If a collection agency states or implies that you have to pay a debt whose age exceeds the statute of limitations, it has broken the law. Always check the date of you debt: Paying even a small portion of an expired debt may reaffirm the debt and tirgger the obligation to repay it in full.

If you need help, know where to turn - You can file a complaint against a debt collector with the Federal Trade Commission or your state attorney general’s office.

If you would like to learn more about what your credit scores mean visit us at Bad Credit Blues and see our post on Explaining Your Credit Score

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