Most of us are terrified at the thought of debt collection companies calling us to chase our debt. It’s never a pleasant experience but there are some things you can do to help yourself. If in doubt though, you can also contact credit repair or debit collection companies who will support you throughout the credit repair process.
Top 5 Ways To Deal With Debt Collection Companies
The first thing when dealing with collection companies is to try to remain calm. Panicking never helps but of course, this is often easier said than done. Nevertheless, sometimes a little bit of knowledge, as detailed below, can help you stay calm when facing credit repair issues:
- Make sure you get everything from them in writing
- Cease and desist letter
- Goodwill letters
- Pay for delete letter
- Know your rights
Make Sure You Get Everything From Them In Writing
Sadly, there are many scam collection companies. Therefore, it’s important to tell them to send everything to you in writing. This helps you confirm that you’re dealing with a legitimate company and with real debt. You’ll also be able to verify that the statute of limitations hasn’t expired on your debt.
This would mean that debt collection companies can no longer collect on the debt. Then again, you can also ask your credit repair company to do this for you.
Cease and Desist Letters
Natrually, everyone has a different level of risk that they are happy to deal with. So, depending on the amount of debt you have and how old it is, you can send cease and desist letters to your collection companies.
This means that they can no longer harass you per month about that debt. In fact, they have one last opportunity to contact you to update you on their next move. This is usually when people reach out to credit repair services.
As you might expect, there are good chances that the collection companies will sue you at this stage. You therefore need to be sure that you’re ready for this moment.
Naturally, this isn’t necessarily for the faint hearted though and at this stage, you might be grateful for credit dispute letters of credit repair companies and their help. Then you can enjoy your improved credit reports.
Goodwill Letters
Life events happen to all of us and certain moments can completely throw us off course. Personal loss, for example, could enable you to appeal to your collection companies to ask them to let it go that you forgot to pay this time. This does usually mean that they’ll assume you’ll make the payment now though.
If you’ve been a good debtor for a while though then your debt collection companies might be feeling helpful. This is good news for your credit score because they will agree to remove your negative items with the credit bureaus.
Don’t forget also that scams and identity theft issues happen to the best of us. This can be terrifying but you can easily fix this and improve your credit score again thanks to the help of a credit repair company. They’ll essentially make sure that all negative items are removed from your credit history.
In fact, the best credit repair companies will go so far as to guarantee success and give you your money back if they don’t achieve anything.
Pay For Delete Letter
Another way to avoid the credit bureaus lowering your score if you’ve missed some payments is to send a pay for delete letter to your collection companies. This doesn’t always work but again, credit repair companies can advise you on how successful they think it might be.
Either way, a pay for delete letter is very similar to a goodwill letter except that you’re negotiating this time. The idea is that by paying off perhaps a good proportion of the debt, if not all, then the collection companies will remove the negative items from your credit report. Overall, this improves your credit score. Of course, this also assumes that you can pay.
Know Your Rights
Collection companies can be intimidating so it’s worth knowing what they’re allowed to actually do. This also allows you to look out for any scams. Amazingly, there are many scammers out there who resurrect old debt and try to pass it off as current.
Regardless, make sure that any calls you receive from collection companies are within the daytime hours of 8am to 9pm and that they can provide you with a call back number Even if you don’t really want to call them back, it’s an easy check to verify that they’re a real company with a real office.
Finally, collection companies aren’t allowed to harass you and threaten you in any way. If anything does happen then you should report them to the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Also Check: How To Get A Debt-Free College Education?
How to Find Great Credit Repair Or Debt Collection Companies?
There’s nothing stopping you from doing all this alone but you can also work with any of the credit repair companies out there.
They’ll help you clean up your credit score, communicate with the credit bureaus on your behalf as well as with your collection companies.
Remember also that credit repair companies have legal experience and will be able to take all the emotion and fear out of the process.
When looking for credit repair companies, it’s worth noting a few key points so that you choose a reputable one:
- Registered with the Department of Justice
- Track record and BBB status
- Guarantee policy
Registered with the Department of Justice
A good check for credit repair companies is to ask for their registration number with the Department of Justice. Each state has slightly different requirements but essentially the Credit Repair Organizations Act requires credit repair or debt collection companies to comply with certain rules.
The easiest and best way for them to do this is to register as an official agent.
Track Record and Status
Every company will have a different approach and only you will know what works for you. Either way though, ask for their track record and if you can even talk to referees.
Guarantee Policy
Another good indicator is their guarantee policy. For example, some of the more reputable credit repair companies offer a full 90 day money back guarantee which is a testament to their transparency. Last but not least, you can also review their status on the Better Business Bureau.
Also Check: How To Deal With Debt – 5 Things You Should Know About
Final Thoughts on Credit Repair Companies Helping You Deal With Debt Collection Companies
Dealing with collection companies is a daunting experience but you don’t have to do it alone. There are very good credit repair companies who can help you throughout the process.
Overall, they’ll give you the confidence you need to face this difficult time as well as some good results for your credit score.
Also Check: Here’s How Much of Your Monthly Income Should Go Toward Your Debt Repayments
Photo by Alexander Suhorucov
