I was going to discuss how to get around the feeling that you can't afford your bills this time, but I decided to switch to dealing with collection agencies instead. If you are in the same boat I was, there's a good chance you already have a bill or two...or five in collections. First thing is to remember that this is not the end of the world. There is always a way out...always.
Most collection agencies are willing to set up a payment plan with you, if you contact them. The important thing to to call them as soon as you get the first bill. When you call, you will give them your account number or social security number and they'll pull up your file. When they ask you how you would like to pay, simply say that you can't pay the entire amount right now and you would like to set up a payment plan. Tell them how much you can afford to pay...whether it's $50 a month or $20 every paycheck. They'll most likely ask for your account information to set up direct deposit on said dates. If you're not comfortable with that, you can say that you will either pay them via check or online...even if they say they don't prefer that method of payment, if you send a check...they'll deposit it and it will come off your bill.
The most important thing to remember is that all they want is the money. It's nothing personal against you, they were hired by the credit company or loan company that you originally owed money to and they're just doing their job. What a lot of people don't realize is that they are often willing to settle and allow you to pay less money to satisfy your debt depending on the bill and the time that you're willing to pay it off in. I was in a situation that I owed $900 to Sprint and I told the collection agency that I could afford to pay them $100 a month, which I did for about 3 months. Then someone at work told me that you can negotiate with them, so I called again and asked if they could set up a deal with me. They said yes and brought the total amount due from $600 to $400 if I could pay it off it 2 months time. They took $200 out of my bank account on that day and set up the other half to come out at the same time next month, giving me enough time to budget and set aside enough to pay the remainder. This way, all I had to do was be a little tight with money for 1 month so I could save $200!! What a deal! Well, not really. The reason they're willing to negotiate is because chances are, a good chunk of the money you owe is either in late fees or finance charges, but whatever...it's still less than you thought it would be.
Negotiating works with most debt collections, but not with all. Medical bills are non-negotiable if you had insurance pay for part of it. I had to go to the emergency room after a root canal because my whole faced swelled up on a Saturday (no dentist is open) and I got some meds. After my insurance paid their part, I still ended up owing $700. I set up a payment plan with the hospital but missed too many payments and they sent me to collections. Recently, I called to see if I could negotiate, the woman said I could, only if my insurance didn't cover the procedure so I ended up having to pay the full amount. I was disappointed because I had negotiated before and now I was stuck...so I set up a payment plan with the collection agency and I stuck to it until my bill was gone.
Another common misconception is that the second your bill goes to collections, it's noted on your credit report. This is not the case. It normally takes about 9 months for your debt to show on your credit report, so if you're afraid of having more negative things on your credit report (I sure was) you have time. But don't take that time for granted. They will report it once that time is up. A payment plan should prevent your debt from being reported because you're paying them something...not just ignoring it.
Another thing that people often don't realize is that you have rights. The debt collector has boundaries that they cannot pass otherwise you can report them to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). They are not allowed to call you before 8 a.m. or past 9 p.m., talk to you in a demeaning manner, curse or swear, badger you with constant phone calls, or call you at work if you told them not to. My boyfriend and I rented an apartment together and decided to get a puppy. This cute little dog decided to rip apart the carpet and pee on everything. We tried to fix what we could and get the stains up, but it wasn't enough. When we moved out, we got slapped with a $1600 fee in addition to taking our security deposit! We didn't read the fine print that stated that if we didn't pay the bill in 10 days it would be sent to collections, so it was. They started calling and we immediately tried to set up a payment plan, but they wouldn't have it. They said all or nothing. So we waited until we had some money saved up and called again, still no. Then the calls started. This man called at all hours of day and night, called my cell phone, my boyfriend's cell phone, and started calling us "worthless deadbeats", "liars", "low lifes" and worse. So I went online to www.ftc.gov and filed a complaint. The company is still being investigated and the result can be getting money back, or us being able to sue them.
Just remember that they are just doing their job and they are often friendlier than you may think. Just call and ask to negotiate some sort of deal, the worse they can say is no!
No comments:
Post a Comment