Posted on March 26, 2009 at 10:14 am Now don't get me wrong, I owe money I shouldn't to creditors, too. And there are certainly those collections agents that bend and break the law to intimidate you into giving them money.BUT PLEASE REMEMBER you made a legal contract when you accepted the line of credit, whether it be on a credit card, auto loan, rent-to-own contract, phone bill, whatever. Remember you REALLY DO owe these people money. Basically, you stole it from them, because you promised (legally contracted yourself) to pay it back, and you didn't.I understand it is upsetting to receive these calls but these companies have a right to call you. You owe them money, THEIR money. It is not fair to call collections agents or their methods "stupid," no more right than it is to call you "stupid" because you did not pay back your loan. Things happen in life, sometimes we do not have the money. Other times we really are stupid (I am the first to admit I was being stupid when I maxed out my credit cards as a teenager). However collections agents are people, too. Times are hard for EVERYONE. Just because they are doing what they can to make money doesn't mean they don't have feelings or a reason to do what they do or say what they say. Who knows, they probably even have debts of their own.It might be amazing to you how nice a collections agent can be, if you are nice to them. If you treat them with respect and they don't respect your effort to pay back your debts, then you have the right to ask for another agent to handle your account because the company will want to get their money back. If that means letting you talk to someone else that is a pretty simple request to fill. Now if you do this too many times, they will catch onto you but think about it, guys, whatever happened to treating others as you would have them treat you? Does that not count when the other person is on the other side of the phone line or computer screen?

Posted on March 26, 2009 at 10:56 am These people can be really scary, but as you say they are just human beings. Hopefully the collection agents will follow the law and only call when allowed by law and not use harrassing tactics that might scare people.

Posted on March 31, 2009 at 12:29 am My mom got a credit card once that only gave her a line of credit up to $300, so she used it, couldn't work any more, (she was 70 with a bad back), so the company kept adding late fee after late fee till it was up to $2,000! Then it was sent to a collection agency and they have been after her ever since! Hell, she only owed $300 and tried to pay it but they wouldn't take it because they said she owes $2,000! Everyone told her to not to worry because she offered to pay it, they wouldn't take it and she is now 76 and on a very low fixed income of social security. They keep calling her and she keeps worrying after 6 years!

Posted on March 31, 2009 at 5:07 am exactly , they are just human beigs who have to abide the law just like us so we dont have to be to scared of them do we?

Posted on March 31, 2009 at 6:10 am Yes collection agents are human beings but on phone they sound very threatening. I feel very nervous even if I receive a normal call may be from a friend or a family member because of the impact the collection agent has made on my mind. I think they should follow rules and should not forget that the customer has taken a loan and not stolen something from the bank.

Posted on April 2, 2009 at 1:14 pm Thinking back now, I had a very positive experience dealing with one of my credit card companies. I called the company to dispute a charge and the woman (customer service not collections) helped me resolve the matter.

Posted on April 3, 2009 at 8:14 am I also work as a collection officer before, i was handling overlimit section, so its quite hard to talk with credit card holder, but i was being polite to all our client even sometimes they ignored my call and always making such excuses, i do understand them since i also have my own credit card but sometimes it sucks lol!

Posted on April 4, 2009 at 9:49 am To all the collectors who have posted in this thread - congratulations to you if you are one of the 10% in the business who take the high road. You are tainted by the remaining 90% who are complete sleaze bags. You also have chosen the profession and if working on commission is a problem, find a job paying an hourly wage. I work for commission so I can empathize with the demands of the pay method. Also, if anyone cares to do a little research on the true nature of the people who comprise the debt collection industry start at the FTC website, read Collections & Credit Risk magazine, google the term debt collector abuses and pay attention to your local paper. Every once in awhile they will actually run a story about debt collector abuse in the local area.  

Posted on April 4, 2009 at 6:22 pm Sir, I make hourly wage in addition to my commission.  I'm not complaining about my job at all.  I love my job to be honest, and when times are better I actually am able to make a handsome sum of money.  Right now with the "economic atmosphere" and people having the overall attitude like they shouldn't have to pay their bills times are tight.<brI'm merely stating that debtors can be childish and abusive and humiliating as well, when I always maintain a professional attitude when I am at work.  I work for a client, my clients do not want to build bad relations with their insureds.  They retain my agency because we are a huge agency, we have very strict professional and legal standards.  My supervisors watch me and the rest of their collectors like hawks to make sure that we are not breaking standards of common decency or violating the FDCPA.  I'm in commercial debt, which is exempt from the same FDCPA standards are consumer in most states, but they still make sure we obey the FDCPA regardless  We each have to complete courses in contracts, FDCPA standards, legal practices, and so on, and we have to renew completion of these courses every couple months. </br<brI'm not complaining that debtors not paying their bills is the reason I'm not making commission.  I get it.  Times are hard.  The point is, when you are in collections, its because you owe a debt.  If you agree to pay your deductible when a claim is filed at your business, the insurance company pays out 15 grand in loss payment, and you're refusing to cough up the thousand bucks you owe on your deductible, thats unreasonable.  Forming a vendetta against collectors is an interesting and childish anomaly I have struggled to understand since I started out in this business.

Posted on April 6, 2009 at 1:07 pm I'm sure there are collection agents who are professional. I've just never come across one. If only law enforcement could be more aggressive in going after the bad apples, the rest of the bunch would think twice before they threaten somebody.