Comments on: Actions speak louder than words, thoughts on debt collection.

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:09:39 +0000

Oh, and if you get to the point where you really can’t pay everything, think about getting rid of cable tv, internet, telephone, increase the deductible for your car insurance (it makes your premium go down, have a yard sale or moving sale, sell your washer and dryer, your TV, whatever you have that is worth some money, to be able to pay your bills. You can always buy replacements, new or used, when you get in the money again. It won’t be the end of the world to watch movies checked out from the library, use internet only at work or at friends house, or just read a book, preferablly on getting your finances in order, until you do. Or, just get a second job for a while to use up all that free time you’l have when you don’t have internet, tv, or telephone. And yes, this is the very same advice I gave my daughter when she got herself in a financial mess when she was in college and I was paying her rent.

Karens last blog post..Western Tanager

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:03:22 +0000

Talina, this is such good advice. I have experience from both sides of this fence. I used to work in the collections dept of a place, and I hated it, mostly because I was in the same boat as many of the people I spoke to every day at the time. I had strict collection guidelines, which I was not at liberty to bend for any reason. But, if someone called in and offered to make payments BEFORE it got to collections, and they kept their payment arrangements, there was no problem. It was the people who let things go, who ignored their obligations who I was helpless to help.

Many years after I left that awful crap job, FabGrandpa was in hospital for 4 days and had a gazillion tests, all of which we were oligated to pay as we have no health insurance. As soon as he got home, I gathered information showing our monthly obligations, our income, our rent, and a statement from the doctor saying he would be out of work of work for 7 weeks. I took it all to the finance office of the hospital and met with a financial social worker, who took our file to a financial board meeting, who reduced our debt by 50% and gave us an affordable repayment plan. All this was done before we even received the first bill in the mail. And, if you wait until you get the first past due notice, it is already too late to get help.

My advice to anyone who has debts, and something happens so that you know you won’t be able to pay what you owe, is to call right then, talk to everyone you owe, and make a payment plan you can easily afford. It will keep the phone calls, the letters, the garnishments, the lawsuits out of your life.

Oh, and if you really do not have the funds to pay everyone, pay your rent, your utility bills, and buy groceries first, then pay on the bills you owe the most on. Most places have limits under which they do not pursue “further collection action” even though they will send you a letter saying they will. The higher the balance is, the more likely they will pursue collection.

Karens last blog post..Western Tanager

By: Donna B.

Donna B. — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 04:10:52 +0000

Good advice for when the debt is student loans or other government obligations — IRS or state taxes. But, not so good advice when the loans are credit cards or mortgages (where they can refuse your payment if it is not payment in full).

For those payments, you’re just throwing money down the tubes. If you are so in debt that you can’t make your full mortgage payment or full credit card payments, you really should consider bankruptcy, as awful as that sounds.

Seek professional advice. Not necessarily a bankruptcy lawyer (they get paid first when you file) but a reputable credit counselor. Good luck find one of those.

Yes, I’m cynical.

By: Talina

Talina — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:24:05 +0000

@ Iceel, I agree and it is especially bad for the older people too… Those creditors just bully and bull$hit you like crazy. The really young and elderly are the ones who can’t stand up for themselves as much and unfortunately get screwed the most.

@ Hyphen Mama, I know huh? What better time for a wage garnishment than right before a huge move!

@ Teeni, thanks for the stumble! I hope this helps somebody.

By: lceel

lceel — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:08:45 +0000

Good, solid, well thought out and mature advice. It’s unfortunate that many people in debt are young and just starting out and they don’t have the background or the experience to understand how to deal with this kind of thing. Good for you, Talina. Good for you.

lceels last blog post..nn404 Not FoundnnNot FoundnThe requested URL /commentluvinc/remoteCL5.php was not found on this server.nnApache/2.2.3 (CentOS) Server at http://www.fiddyp.com Port 80nn

By: Hyphen Mama

Hyphen Mama — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:47:30 +0000

Yikes! Good advice.

By: teeni

teeni — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:24:10 +0000

Great advice. This is important info and will save people money. I’m stumbling it.

teenis last blog post..Password Help

By: Talina

Talina — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:04:11 +0000

Slow payment is way better than delinquent or nonexistent payments! Making an obvious effort to repay is worth so much and people just don’t understand that these days.

By: Ree

Ree — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:57:15 +0000

I paid “whatever I could” on Shortman’s “birth” hospital bill just to keep the collectors quiet. (we were poor, insurance-less students). The hospital eventually wrote it off… and I had only ’slow payment’ rather than ‘no payment’ on my credit report.

Rees last blog post..WW - A Record