Posts Tagged ‘collection agencies’
No, it’s not a new special on Fox TV. It’s an all too familiar practice by some shady debt collectors – they have the debtor on the phone and the barrage starts. The debt collector starts insisting on money immediately, following the demands with threats of property seizure, wage garnishments, and even jail time. The problem is, most people don’t know that the moment a debt collector or a debt collection agency begins to use these tactics, they’ve broken federal law.
There exists a set of federal statues known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. It safeguards debtors from rough conduct. Under the Act, a debt collector cannot carry out any of the conduct listed above. If debt collectors are found practicing any of these tactics, they can be punished under the Act’s provisions.
Some of the other practices that are not allowed under the act include the following. They are explicitly not allowed to use profane language. They cannot threaten people under any circumstances. They cannot misrepresent themselves as anything other than a debt collector. They have no legal power to garnish wages. In order to garnish wages, they need a judge’s signature.
What many people don’t realize is that debt collectors usually work for bonuses. Under their bonus structure, they can bring home five figure checks every month dependent on how much money they are able to collect. When people go shopping and are faced with by that annoying salesperson who is looking to make a commission, this is the same idea. That salesperson and the debt collector both make money off of you.
Debt collectors can sometimes labor under as much strain to collect these debts as the debtors. Depending on the type of debt collection agency, they may acquire the bad debt and have to try and recoup it as fast as possible. There is increased pressure involved when trying to collect a debt in this situation.
It’s important for consumers to be educated about the legal protections afforded them. Otherwise, there will be unchecked abuses that are completely unnecessary and stressful, not mention illegal. In these stressful economic times, the more help that consumers have, the better.
Rapid Recovery Solution is an attorney based debt collection agency that collects consumer and business debts. Contact them today for more information and to request your FREE quote!. Unique version for reprint here: When Debt Collectors Attack.
Being sued for credit card debt is one of the worst things to happen. It’s never a good thing, especially if you have no idea how to handle it. That can easily change though. It doesn’t have to be a horrible experience like it is for some people. There is a way you can win your credit card suit even if you don’t have the money to afford some fancy lawyer. I’d like to help you be better educated about this type of lawsuit and am here to tell you that if I can win, so can you.
When being sued for credit card debt, it really makes a difference if it is by the original creditor or a collection agency. We all hate receiving those calls. For example, if you’re being sued by an original creditor, it is quite likely that they will have all the documents on file to prevail in court. However, they could till slip up and break a court rule during the process, which allows a win for you. On the other hand, collection agencies really never have any documents to prevail in court.
Another thing you need to consider when facing this issue is the age of the your debt. Find out just how old the debt is. I bet you didn’t know that the older your debt is, the harder it is to prove. Trust me! Your debt could very well be beyond your Statute of Limitations so make sure you take a look into that.
Collection lawyers usually believe that by simply giving you a Summons they are going to win because they assume you’re not going to hire a lawyer or even fight the credit card lawsuit. If you do not fight it, they win by default. Please don’t plan on just ignoring your Summons. This could be one of the biggest mistakes to make and I’m here to testify. Take it from me. You can actually win your suit just as I did.
In my own personal experience Capital One was the original creditor, but I was still able to defeat them. You might ask ‘how did I do that?’ I made sure to become well informed, learn my Court Rules and follow them. There is no need to fear. We as citizens have rights, and it’s just a matter of educating yourself on the correct way to go about handling your lawsuit. Usually, to get out of this mess you have two choices: hire a lawyer or defend the lawsuit yourself. Well, it’s so much easier than you think it is so be sure not to back down. I was able to win my case, and with my package I think you can use the information from my personal story to help you do the same.
Learn more about how to win a credit card lawsuit. Stop by my website where you can find out all about court summons and how you too can win your case, even without a fancy lawyer.
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It was recently revealed in a study that laws that ban cell phone use while driving fail to reduce crashes. According to the new Highway Loss Data Institute, there have been no reductions in crashes since cell phone bans have taken effect.
This information was obtained by a comparison among insurance claims for crash damage in four United States jurisdictions both before and after these bans.
Month to month fluctuations in the rates of collision claims in the place with restrictions were taken into account and it was shown that there was no difference between either jurisdiction. Despite the fact that the cell phone bans have reduced hand held phone use, several studies have established that talking on the phone increases crash risk. It has been determined by two independent studies that people who use cell phones are four times as likely to crash.The information that the HLDI uses doesn’t identify drivers using cell phones when their crashes occur. But the reductions of observed phone use have been so large, one would suspect that crashes should be reduced as well.
“So the new data that we have collected doesn’t match what we currently know about the risk of phoning and texting while driving,” An analyst asserts. “Clearly, if crash risk increases with phone use and there are less people using cell phones, we would expect to see a decrease in crashes. But we aren’t seeing it. Nor do we see collision claim increases before the phone bans came into play. This is surprising, too, given what we know about the growing use of cell phones and the risk of talking on the cell while driving. We’re currently gathering data to figure out this mismatch.”
There are a number of factors that could be diminishing the effects of hand-held phone bans on crashes. One factor is that drivers in areas with cell phone bans might be switching to hands-free phones because no state forbids any type of these phones. If this was happening, crashes wouldn’t go down because the risk is about the same whether the phones are hand-held or hands-free. D.C. and twenty one states do ban beginning drivers from using hands-free phones, but these laws are difficult to enforce.
Rapid Recovery Solution is a third party debt collection company. lawyer based and equipped with skiptracing tools. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
It was revealed in recent news that top legal prosecutors in Washington and Louisiana announced actions they had taken against accounts receivable management firms and their owners and managers.
Louisiana’s attorney general James Caldwell announced on Friday that his office had gotten a hold of injunctions against two collection agencies and their owners. On the same day, Rob McKenna, Washington’s Attorney General said that his office had settled charges with a collection agency that had promised to stay on the straightened arrow. In a press release, Caldwell’s office stated that in late December they had gotten a hold of an injunction against Bush and Kennedy, Inc, a Baton Rouge based collection company. The order he won placed restrictions on the business, banning them from operating further, and specifically, ordered that two of the firm’s principals, Quay W. Pattott Jr, and William S. Fesguson were banned from conducting business together.
Late last week, a judge hit Ferguson and Parrott with additional injunctions as was requested by Caldwell’s office. Ferguson is barred from using deceptive and unfair acts and practices at his current place of business, Franklin, Grant and Associates Incorporated, a collection agency based out of Metairie Louisiana. Parrott is completely restricted against conducting any new business at his new place of work, Metairie based Halsey and Associates, LLC.
McKenna’s Washington office said that Topco Financial Services Inc, a Washington based collection agency agreed not to threaten, harass or curse out consumers as part of a settlement. The collection company must pay around $38,000 in legal fees and penalties. An additional $82,000 in fees and penalties were suspended pending that the company agrees with the settlement terms.
In accordance with their agreement, Topco is prohibited from harassing, intimidating, threatening and embarrassing debtors, including using profanity. They are restricted from implying that failure to pay a delinquent bill will result in suspension, a revocation, or impairment of the debtor’s driver’s license. They are banned from threatening debtors with impairment of their credit rating. However, the company is allowed to legally report debts to credit reporting agencies.
Mallory Megan works for a debt collection company. She also composes stories on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies. You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.
If the person in debt agrees to pay, the bill collector will record this commitment and will check up later to make sure that the payment was made. If a debtor does not pay, the collector will draw up a statement about their delinquency for the credit department of whatever company they are working for. In extreme cases, debt collectors may request repossession, hand over the account to a lawyer or disconnect service.
Debt collectors have to be careful to follow the Federal and State laws that apply because people’s financial problems can be sensitive issue. The Federal Trade Commission states that a collections agent must positively identify the person who owes the bill before they are able to tell the debtor that the purpose of the call is to collect debt.
The collections agent will then read a prepared statement, which is also known as a “mini-Miranda” that lets the debtor know that they are in fact a collections agent.
Additionally, debt collectors must abide by the state laws that dictate how they must proceed. A lot of companies use electronic systems now to help bill collectors remember all of the laws and regulations regarding each call.
Debt collectors use computers and an assortment of automated systems in their jobs. Companies will keep track of their accounts by using computers, and debt collectors are able to keep track of past collection attempts and other information in notes that are kept on the computer. As with most call centers, collectors use headsets instead of regular phones. Automatic dialing lets bill collectors work efficiently and quickly and with no chance of dialing the wrong number. Typically, in house bill and account collectors work in an office environment, people who work for a third party agency may work in a call center type environment.
The work has the capacity to be quite stressful; people get angry when they are questioned about their debts. The best collectors must face rejection on a regular business, but still be ready to make their next call in a positive voice. Fortunately for them, some customers appreciate help in resolving their debts.
Mallory Megan works for a debt collection company. She also composes articles on business, finance, the credit industry and collection agencies. You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.
The debt collection industry’s techniques might be taking a turn for the….better? Bearing in mind the number of recent lawsuits against bill collectors, ACA International, the largest trade group of professional creditors and collectors, alleges more and more collection companies are working towards training collectors to take a more of an empathetic position.
Empathy might just be the answer that can turn the industry around. A lot of people in debt are being called by numerous collections agencies, and if they do have money, they aren’t going to want to give it to the aggressive threatening collector, they will give it to the person they can work with.
As agencies are working on training courses to include techniques on how to be gentler with debtors, a focus is being put on mentoring, coaching and counseling people who owe money, rather than aggressively threatening them. Trainees are encouraged to reflect on their personal experiences with collectors or someone that they know has dealt with them.
One trend in the industry has been to suggest that people who owe money talk to their parents or grandparents about taking out a loan against their life reverse mortgage insurance policies against their house. The collectors who practice this technique claim that our grandparents remember the Great Depression. They may not want this generation to feel that kind of pain and may be more apt to take a loan against the life retirement account or the life insurance policy.
Collectors who adhere to this philosophy think that it is in actuality a positive thing. They claim that it doesn’t hurt anyone. If a person borrows against life insurance it might be preferable to borrowing against a 401(k) or a retirement plan. That is because the person will be counting on that money to live on.
Right or wrong, it might do the debt collections industry some good to re-evaluate its situation, and keep on trying to find new innovative ways to collect in a suffering economy.
Mallory McGuinness is employed by a debt collection company. She also writes articles on business, finance, the credit industry and collection agencies. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
Seeing as debt at an all time high, owing a debt could seem overwhelming. Many people have looked to the internet for an answer and without a doubt they have seen advertisements claiming debt relief as a quick fix. Engaging as these ads may appear to be, it is crucial to be on the lookout for the validity of the claim.
A good deal of these promise a quick fix, but that quick fix might be bankruptcy. Yes, bankruptcy is one way to address your financial problems, but in most cases it should be a last resort. The fact that you claim bankruptcy remains on your credit report for ten years which means that your chances of getting credit, employment, a place to live or insurance are significantly lowered.
It’s always a good idea to consider other options before deciding to file for bankruptcy. Talk with your creditors. Many times a re-payment plan can be worked out that is modified or can be paid in installments. Credit counseling services can work with you and your creditors to make debt repayment plans.
When you are thinking about a second mortgage, be cautious. These loans will require your home as collateral. Bankruptcy also has the capacity to stop foreclosures, debt collection activities and it may get rid of unsecured debts. Exemptions are provided that let you keep certain assets. However, personal bankruptcy does not usually take away child support, fines, taxes, alimony and in a few cases student loans.
It will not usually allow you to keep your property if your creditor has a security lien or mortgage that has not been paid. A relatively recent tweak in bankruptcy laws creates certain hurdles that you must overcome before you can even file for bankruptcy, no matter what type of bankruptcy. First, you have to get credit counseling from an organization approved by the government within six months before filling. Also in certain cases you have to pass a test that requires that you confirm that your income doesn’t exceed a certain amount.
Mallory Megan works for a debt collection agency. She also writes articles on business, finance, the credit industry and collection agencies. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
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Flourishing numbers of patients that cannot pay their medical bills due to the economic plunge will be the greatest challenge to hospitals going forward, according to more than half (54%) of those answering a survey conducted this month by MedAssist.
The survey, which canvassed health-care executives attending HFMAs Annual National Institute in Seattle, Wash., June 14-17, showed that 1 in 3 respondents believe the next big challenge facing providers will be changes to the American health-care system as a result of President Obamas health-care reform.
Additionally, 80% of those surveyed speculate health-care providers will need more aid administering their revenue cycles in the coming year. Closely reflecting this wide consensus, more than 80% of respondents chose outsourcing financial/revenue cycle services and establishing new IT programs ” over cutting fixed cost ” as the best strategies to reduce hospitals administrative costs. At the same time, three out of four (75%) executives acknowledging the survey believe customer-facing functions (e.g., patient access services, financial counseling) should continue to be handled by providers staff.
Its clear that health-care providers are facing a perfect storm that combines growing costs, declining revenues and industry reform, said Michael Shea, president of global health-care solutions and CEO of North America for MedAssist. Whats also clear is that providers will need to become more innovative than ever in finding ways to boost economic efficiencies without lowering standards of care.
The survey confirms our belief that certain functions are core competencies that belong in the domain of health-care centers, while other areas will continue to be addressed most effectively by experienced providers of financial and revenue cycle management services, said Brenda Snow, executive vice president, strategic planning and analysis at MedAssist. The question is how soon health-care providers can make this transition.
Asked which categories afford the greatest savings opportunities for hospitals, 29% of respondents pointed to improved technology (e.g., electronic health records, computerized physician order entry), while 26% mentioned preventative care and chronic disease management (e.g., asthma, diabetes). Survey participants also cited streamlining administrative costs and reimbursement contingent upon quality outcomes (both at 21%) as viable areas for cutting costs.
Mallory works for a debt collection agency. Also, she writes stories on business, finance, and collections. .
