07 Mar 10 Debt Collection Not What It Used To Be

As usual, it’s a good news, bad news scenario. The good news is that you’ve made a commitment to reform your spending habits. But the bad news is that there is a remnant from the past that has stuck up its ugly head as is ready to bite you. Each time you hear the phone ring you jump. The debt collection company is after you. The creditor harassment has begun.

The phone is ringing at all hours, and the voice at the end of the line is getting less and less friendly. You have heard them refer to the “pre-litigation department”. And now they’re saying they intend to “investigate your assets and mark an involuntary recommendation on your file”.

You have been accused of refusing to pay and the aggressive debt collectors have threatened to put a lien on your house. A few times they even mentioned the possibility of being thrown in jail if you don’t pay. Don’t they know you’d pay if you could?

But you should try to keep it in perspective. A few centuries ago in the British legal system a person who could not pay a debt would be declared bankrupt and imprisoned. They didn’t fool around in those days. Laws in the 15oos and 1600s even made it illegal to help a bankrupt person. In some cases a person could even be hanged, although that was not very common. Imprisonment was far more common.

Prior to this, the Greeks and Romans had a simple solution for the poor soul who could not come up with the cash. They simply condemned the slacker to slavery and recouped the debt by eking out hard labor.

So as bad as you are feeling, take a deep breath and be thankful that things are a lot better today. Today in most countries punishing people who can’t pay their debts is against the law.

In fact even the practice of harassing a debtor is illegal in the United States. The law designed to stop abusive and overly aggressive collection practices is called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act – FDCPA for short. This law exists to make illegal some of the more common tactics used by debt collectors. The things you are experiencing could very well be turned around and used against the collection agency that is hounding you.

If you think that is the case your best course of action is to be proactive, and contact a fair debt attorney. But before you do, it’s a good idea to get your facts straight and make a special point of documenting what is happening to you. Make a note of the phone calls. Do not exaggerate, just put down the facts. An experienced debt relief lawyer may find that you are entitled to monetary compensation at the expense of the collection agency.