Today’s Tip: When dealing with collection agents, Tell, Don’t Discuss. On the phone, a collection agent is trained to ask you lots of questions, like “where are you working?”, “is your spouse working?”, “where is your bank account?”, and “can you borrow from your family to pay this debt?” You are not required to disclose any information to a collection agent. By telling them where you work, you make it easier for them to start calling you at work, and to garnishee your wages. So how do you talk to them?
You tell them what you want to tell them. You say “I’m not working right now, so I can’t pay you”, or “I will send you $200 on my payday this Friday”, and that’s it. Once you have told them what you want to say, you hang up the phone. You don’t give them a chance to start a discussion with you. They want to keep you on the phone to get you nervous and agitated. Don’t let them. Say what you want, and then hang up.
Tomorrow we will discuss making deals with collection agents.
A practical guide for dealing with collection agencies and your debts,
from Canada’s top expert, Mark Silverthorn.
This book is now available on Amazon.ca.
More about the book >>
