If you have past due debt, you may be getting collection calls from the company you owe the debt to or from a collections agent that is working for the creditor. The creditor may also sell the debt to another collections company that has more time to focus on collecting a debt. You may be getting calls from these people throughout the day. The Fair Credit Collections Practice Act protects you from getting calls outside the appropriate times and from the collectors calling your friends and family, but should you be ignoring their calls to you within appropriate times? Many of us would like to stop hearing about our debt, but there may be some situations when you will need to speak to them.
When people think of collections, threatening phone calls are the first thing that comes to mind. Some very aggressive collections companies will harass people on the phone and threaten to take you to court or even take you to jail! Here is what you need to know about their threats. If you are 90 days past due on debt, it is possible for a collections company to start a wage garnishment or even levy a bank account if you are not employed, but it is not very likely that they can do this on short notice. A wage garnishment or bank account levy is a collection activity that is enforced by the court system and the authorities. The local sheriff’s office is involved in the organization of a wage garnishment or bank levy. The only way the authorities can enforce a collection activity is if they have a judgment in court against you. Without a judgment, no one can legally take funds form your bank account via wage garnishment or bank levy unless the money is in a bank account where you owe the money to that particular bank. In that case, the bank may just freeze your funds or use the funds to collect the debt. If you want to know whether or not a creditor is suing you in court, you need to make sure you check your mail for any correspondence from the court system. You can also answer your phone when collectors call and take their information down. Let them know that you would like to get their contact information and make sure you are clear on what they are collecting on. You should also take down their contact information in case you need to give them notice of a bankruptcy filing or your plans to file bankruptcy on their debt in the future.
What if you are interested in settling the debt for a negotiated amount of money? If you want to know what type of offer they can give to you to resolve the debt for a smaller amount, you can try to negotiate with them directly. In this type of situation, you need to pick up your phone and talk to them about possible solutions, but don’t get tricked into making a hasty decision. You can hear what they can offer and then ask for contact information where you can think about it and call them back. If you don’t like their offer and cannot pay the debt, you may want to hire a bankruptcy attorney to see if you can get the debt discharged in bankruptcy.
When you have a bankruptcy attorney, you can pick up the phone when collectors call and inform the collectors about your retention of a bankruptcy attorney and your plans to file for bankruptcy. Since a bankruptcy attorney is now representing you and they have been notified of it, the collectors can no longer contact you to collect the debt. They are obligated to contact your bankruptcy law firm to resume any negotiation.
In summary, you should pick up the phone to know who you are dealing with and identify which collections companies are trying to contact you. Once you have their information, you can make sure they are liable if they break any collections rules. You should also pick up your phone if you want to negotiate your debt or see if they have any offers for you. Hear out their offers, but don’t get tricked into making a bad decision. If you hire a bankruptcy attorney, pick up the collections calls to tell them you have hired an attorney. This will stop them from calling you and require them to call your bankruptcy attorney’s office.
Bankruptcy Law Professionals is a bankruptcy law firm based in Southern California with office in Riverside and Santa Ana, CA. Our Riverside and Santa Ana bankruptcy attorneys are available for free consultations. Contact us at 855 257-7671 to ask any questions about our bankruptcy services or to schedule an appointment with our bankruptcy attorneys.
