Clik here to view.
How to Tell If You’re Talking to a Fake Debt Collector
Debt scares people. Losing money is pretty terrifying, too, so getting a call from a debt collector and paying what he says you owe, only to find out you’ve been scammed out of your money, is pretty...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Can My Credit Keep Me From Getting a Promotion?
A reader, Brittney, like many of us, made lots of financial mistakes when she was a young adult, and she has spent the past few years trying to correct them and rebuild her credit. She pulled her...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I Was Hospitalized Against My Will. Should I Have to Pay?
When police came to John Albers’ door one night in June, he could not have been more surprised. When they told him that they were taking him to a nearby psychiatric facility because they had been told...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Charity That’s Taking On Debt Collectors
The Samaritan Center in Jefferson City, Missouri cares for the poor by providing groceries, free medical and dental care, Christmas gifts and Halloween costumes for kids….and lawyers to fight off debt...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Help! 2 Debt Collectors Are Calling About the Same Debt
Receiving a notice from a debt collector is generally unpleasant. Getting two such notices is even less enjoyable. Getting two collections letters from different companies regarding the same debt? Not...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is This Legal? 40% of My Paycheck Is Being Garnished
Jennifer’s paystub is downright depressing. It’s bad enough that she earns less than $11 an hour as a single mom in Wisconsin. Her gross pay of roughly $800 every two weeks would challenge anyone...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A $30 Bounced Check for School Lunches Turned Into a $700 Debt Collection...
A Washington state mom owes nearly $700 after bouncing a $30 check for her children’s school lunches, Reuters reported Oct. 3. North Thurston High School officials in Lacey, Wash., sent the unpaid...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Strange But True Stories of Debt Collection
In 2005, our reader who goes by the screen name “frustrated in California” stopped paying on one of his credit cards. Now, nearly 10 years later, a collection agency is suing him and claims he made a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Debt Collectors Try to Repossess Man’s Car While He’s Deployed in Afghanistan
“Around 3 a.m., I heard the truck in the driveway, and when I looked out the window, I thought someone was stealing his car,” Carolyn said. “I woke my mother and my sister and started to the door....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Have You Called Your Nana Lately? Debt Collectors Have
Gripes about debt collectors are the most common complaint filed by older Americans, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday. Collection gripes are roughly one out of every three...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Debt Collector Now Owes $33K to Woman Harassed Over $350 Debt
In what some people might find a satisfying turn of the tables, a debt collector has been ordered to pay a debtor $33,000 for harassing the woman over $350 of late payments on a used car, ABC News’...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Holiday Package You Don’t Want to Get
The doorbell ringing around the holidays can often be a welcome sound: It could mean a neighbor is dropping off a plate of cookies or a gift is being delivered. But if you are in default on a debt, it...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Slacker’s Guide to Dealing With a Debt Collector
Are you getting collection calls and wish there was an easier way to handle the problem? Here’s a guide to dealing with a debt collector … using the least effort possible. DON’T ignore bills, letters...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Should Debt Collectors Be Able to Use Government Letterhead?
Debt collectors are legally prohibited from misrepresenting themselves as police or lawyers when communicating with consumers. Of course, that hasn’t stopped some collectors from breaking the rules,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Loophole That Lets Debt Collectors Come After You Again & Again & Again…
It’s a tricky practice from inside an industry that often mystifies consumers. Consumer groups have called it “debt laundering.” Debt collectors call it “withdrawal.” The strategy is simple, but...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why a Debt Collection Letter Doesn’t Look Like It’s From a Debt Collector
The most difficult part of a debt collector’s job has been, and always will be, establishing communication with the consumer they are collecting from. Debt collectors go to great lengths to establish...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Can a Debt Collector Sell My Debt If I’ve Started Repaying It?
A Credit.com reader Kierra recently wrote in with a question about a debt she was trying to pay off: I owed an energy company $580. I settled with their collection agency for $480 as long as I paid...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Yikes! Woman Gets $153,000 Bill From Debt Collector
A Texas woman says she has been dealing with a debt collection fiasco for months, all because of a clerical error. The woman, identified in the local news report by only her first name, Yolanda, said...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Can I Bypass a Debt Collector?
When I am assisting people to resolve unpaid bills I’m often asked, “Why do I have to pay the debt collector? Why can’t I just pay my creditor or lender and avoid the collector all together?” A reader...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The 2 Words Debt Collectors Don’t Want to Hear
While much of the debt collection world is straightforward and, quite honestly, a little boring, some people in the industry treat it like a free-for-all. “There are widespread attempts to add charges...
View Article