Bank finance articles and tips

Here are the top 3 best ways to deal with a bill collector:

Communicate! Don't ignore the debt - talk to them and explain your situation. They can't help you if you don't communicate. When you don't communicate it sends the message that you either don't care what they do - example - place the account with a collection agency, report it to your credit report, take you to court - or whatever they have to do to get paid. It also makes a creditor mad - they feel as though they have a relationship with you, and when you ignore them, it is a slap in the face. I have been a collector and when a customer doesn't respond - we take action to get the debt paid in a more aggressive manner - BUT if you tell us the problem we may be able to help. It costs money for a business to write off your balance due, they lose all profit, and then they have to pay someone to collect the money for them - they would rather work with you and have you just pay them. That is a win-win for them and you.

Make realistic payment offers. Don't accept a payment plan a collector is pushing on you if you don't intend to make that payment or can't afford that payment. You are only hurting yourself - the collector doesn't care - they can take legal action to get paid. Stand up for yourself - make a realistic payment offer that you can make and if the collector won't accept that hang up. Don't be ridiculous and offer $5 a month on a $5,000.00 debt or you won't be taken seriously. If you really want to pay off your debt and work with the collector you need to be:

• Realistic
• Firm
• In control
• Educated

Know your rights. If a collector won't agree to your suggested payment - let them know that is all you can do and you have no control over that - so they can accept your offer or "do what they have to do". This will cost them more money and time and they might not ever get paid, when they could easily work with you and accept the payment plan even if it is for a limited time. Like the phone company did with me, they offered me help with a time limit - 6 months. Before you talk to a collector learn and know your rights. I tell people that if they are dealing with collectors they need to print out the FDPCA, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and know what a collector can and cannot do and what they can and cannot do. You can find the FDPCA at http://www.FTC.gov.

Michelle Dunn is a 24 year debt collection industry veteran, entrepreneur, award winning author, self-syndicated columnist, one of the Top 5 Women in Collections and one of the Top 50 most influential collection professionals in her industry.

Learn more at http://www.Credit-and-Collections.com & ww.MichelleDunn.com & amazon.com

By Michelle Dunn