For those who get calls from creditors:

[rbnyc]

I have some debt that I've worked hard to re-finance and get under control. Unfortunately, I am still not always able to make full payments on time and get occasional calls from people trying to collect what I owe.

I'm sure there are at least a couple people here in a similar situation, so I just wanted to share with you the way I handled a call tonight. Maybe you'll like the idea.

Essentially, I made a partial payment over the phone and was asked when the rest of the payment could be expected. I'm really not sure. When pressed on the issue I asked the woman on the phone if she were registered to vote. She said that she was. I suggested to her that she vote for the Democratic Presidential candidate in 2004 to increase my chances of being able to pay off my debt within the next few years. She gave me a kind of friendly chuckle and said she'd keep that in mind. It was a pleasant and productive way to get off the phone with her.

It's also a pretty good viral marketing idea for election 2004. So I thought I'd go ahead and share it with you. Maybe you want to pass the idea on to someone you know.

[BruinAlum]

1. LOL! Very clever.

#Wish I'd thought of that a few years ago.

[lcordero]

2. way to go

:toast:

[CBI]

3. Outsourcing

These days many of such calls are done from India call centers.

[rbnyc]

7. OH CRAP!!

God, it's awful!

[newyawker99]

11. Hi CBI!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[ignatius]

4. I was there 2 years ago. We had to close our bookstore, mine

was the only income and it didn't stretch far enough. I wish I could have been so creative and funny, but I was so damned depressed I finally just quit answering the phone. I told my son to hang up after 2 rings and I would call him right back.

We worked out of it in a few months time, I was lucky enough to have had a bonus paid to me but I always feel really bad for those who fall behind and are not as forunate as me.

Keep your sense of humor and hang in there, hopefully these punks will be out of office soon.

[DoctorMyEyes]

5. Never EVER EVER

Give a collection agency access to your checking account over the phone. EVER!

They can LEGALLY clean out your account!

I used to work in banking and I know from which I speak. I've had so many upset customers call in wondering what happened to their rent and utitlity money, after authorizing a SMALL payment to a collection agency.

You cannot, cannot trust these people!

If you have funds in your account that you don't want them to take you should get yourself to a Mac machine and withdraw EVERYTHING over the amount you authorized until after they take their payment.

[ignatius]

6. That happened to my sister. She owed some medical bills

and was making payments. She got behind and when the colletors kept calling she authorized them to take 30.00 from her account. Her house payment overdrew her account, they had taken every penny.

We could not believe that could happen, but the bank told her it does happen a lot. I believe they have to have a court order, but its been a while and a honestly don't remember.

[rbnyc]

8. I didn't know that.

I've made payments with this same company in this way before and never had a problem.

Thanks for the heads up.

[liberalhistorian]

9. AMEN!

I cannot emphasize enough how correct you are. Debt collectrolls, especially the medical collectrolls, are the lowest form of pond scum lower than dirt. They have no problem with emptying out your account, and I will NEVER EVER give them access to ANY of my financial information.

I've had many dealings with these bloodsucking inhuman vampire fuckers, and I have a good time playing with them now and telling them exactly what I think of them and where they can stick it and what they can do with it after they've stuck it. Then I fax them written notice that, in accordance with the Fair Debt Collection Act, they are absolutely NOT to contact me by phone at home or at work; by law they MUST comply. If they don't, I report them immediately, make no mistake. They don't like dealing with people like me who know our rights under the law and who do not and will not hesitate to stand up for said rights, and to let them know just what scum they really are, preying off the misery and misfortune of others.

I never let them forget that they have a nice job because others don't or have fallen on hard times. The lowest scum are the ones who harass people who are very ill and can't work, or with an ill family member, especially for fucking medical bills. Only slightly above them are those who harass unemployed and desperate people, such as I was once. No job, no money, unable to find work, and these vampire fuckers harassing me day and night. Instead of getting calls for interviews, it would always be a goddamned fucking debt collectroll. The medical ones were the worst.

And here's a tip, and as a paralegal, I know what I'm talking about: DO NOT LET THEM INTIMIDATE YOU INTO MAKING PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T AFFORD. They will demand a certain amount before "any arrangements can be made", and will demand a certain amount per month after that, usually pretty high. These numbers are ARBITRARY and mean NOTHING. You DO NOT HAVE TO COMPLY. Whatever you can afford is what they have to accept, DO NOT LET THEM INTIMIDATE YOU OR MAKE YOU FEEL GUILTY! And if you just don't have any money, make that clear and slam the fucking phone down on them if they persist. YOU DO NOT OWE THESE PEOPLE ANYTHING, NOT EVEN RESPECT! Your debt is not to them, but to the company/hospital/doctor who hired them. They only get paid if they're able to squeeze any money out of you, which is why they're so fucking harassing and persistent.

These vampire fuckers simply cannot or will not understand that you just don't have the fucking money, and they make you feel like the lowest form of criminal alive. How in the hell these people can sleep at night, and can look themselves in the mirror without puking, is totally beyond my comprehension.

[brokensymmetry]

10. Bravo!

Well said!