Don’t Take Phone Calls from Credit Card Debt Collectors

Posted by Matthew Highlander

October 13, 2009

by Matthew Highlander

There is little or no legal weight to a phone call from a credit card debt collector. Anyone can say anything and get away with it. Debt collectors use that to their full advantage. The telephone is their weapon of choice. Once things get reduced to writing, they become toothless.

What matters in court are the written communications, or the lack of them, between a consumer and a credit card debt collector. Mail sent certified return receipt requested further helps the consumer put the debt collector on the defensive.

Over the telephone credit card debt collectors lie a great deal. These are some of those lies:

1. They claim you are the target of a lawsuit in your local court and that you’ll get your summons any day.

2. Or they may ask you for a small payment, which is well within your means - surely that is acceptable? Not so, if you make this payment then you have legally documented admission to the debt, and made things worse.

3. They tell you you may be arrested, knowing no one can be arrested for a civil matter.

4. They will tell you may have your wages reduced to pay your debt, and you will get a negative listing on your credit report.

5. They tell you they can seize your bank account.

Each of these lies is punishable with a $1000 fine with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Credit card debt collectors use the phone attempting to get personal details such as your bank account number, Social Security number, and work number, as well as getting you to confirm your credit card number and admit to the debt in question. The Credit Card Debt Survival Guide advises that you should never share any personal information with people on the telephone, as they could be anyone, and that you should always dispute and deny the debt to which they are referring and hang up the phone.

If you end up taking a call from a credit card debt collector, you should only stay on long enough to find out what debt they are telephoning about. Before hanging up, advise them that you need written notice of this debt and that you will not talk about it over the phone.

Fortunately, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act allows you to write to the debt collector instructing them to stop all collection calls. Once this has happened, any calls are subject to a $1000 penalty because they then violate the law. You can keep a log of every call and then contact a consumer rights attorney about suing the debt collector, fee paid on the contingency of winning.

About the Author:

Matt Highlander is a consumer who learned how to beat credit card debt collectors and collection attorneys at their own game.If you cannot afford to pay, read his Credit Card Debt Survival Guide

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Don’t Take Phone Calls from Credit Card Debt Collectors

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