collection agents

In our tip on how to talk to collection agents we said to Tell, Don’t Discuss. Collection agents are trained to ask questions, but you don’t have to answer any question to you don’t want to answer.  That’s why you have more power than you may think.
If they ask you where you are working, you [...]

All week we have discussed ways to deal with collection agents, including advice to not panic, to only tell them what you want them to know, to not make a deal you can’t afford, and to have a plan. Our final words of advice:
The best way to stop collection agents from calling is to eliminate [...]

The biggest mistake you can make in any negotiation is to not have clear objectives at the start of the negotiation. When a collection agent calls, you should know exactly what you want to accomplish. You need a plan. Are you trying to negotiate a payment plan where you pay $200 per month for 12 [...]

If you can afford to make a payment plan with a collection agent, great, do it. But if you can’t afford what they are asking for, don’t agree to what they want just to get them off the phone. Making a promise you can’t keep will only upset the collection agent, and make them even [...]

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 [...]

This week we have a special series of tips on dealing with collection agencies. If you owe money, it’s likely a bill collector from a collection agency will be calling to collect. Our first tip for dealing with collection agencies: don’t panic.
The bad news is they are calling because they want to collect money you [...]