When it comes to the subject of collecting debt, there are a lot of misconceptions and misinformation. Here are some tools of the trade that you can use if a bill collector ever calls you. When the debt collector calls, the first thing you want to do is determine if this is a third party collector or an in house collector. Third party collectors are hired by creditors on contingency, while in house collectors are the creditors.

Ask the collection agent “Are you calling as a creditor or a third party collector?” Not only will this give the collection agent the impression that you know what you are talking about, but it is imperative to be aware, because third party collection agents must abide by strict regulations enacted under The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Keep in mind that most debt collectors are third party ones.

The collection agent will read what is called a “mini Miranda.” What this means is that your telephone call is being recorded and anything you mention can be used by the agency to collect debt. After this they will ask you about the debt that they are calling about. Instead of responding in any way that would acknowledge that you owe debt, politely request some initial information from the debt collector before the conversation continues. By law, a third party debt collector is required to give you the name of the agency, their address, fax and phone number, and the name of the original creditor. Ask for all of this, the debt collector’s name, and their specific phone number.

After you have obtained this specific information, tell the bill collector you are tied up at the moment and will contact them back in an hour. Bear in mind that collection agents will always try to achieve a sense of urgency and may insinuate that you must or should talk to them now, but you do not have to. Now, after hanging up, you are in control because the ball is in your court.

Take this time to try to remember if you know what debt the collection agent might have been asking you about. If you remember legitimately acquiring the debt, and the amount of the debt is correct, call back the debt collector and ask them if there is some type of repayment plan you could work out with them. It’s important to pay off this debt before the debt collector marks your credit score negatively, or even recommends that the creditor file suit against you.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on commercial collection agencies. Free reprint avaialable from: The First Thing You Should Do If A Debt Collection Agency Calls.

Student loan debt is perhaps the most grueling, tiresome kind of debt that you can owe. For you to go to school, Uncle Sam has doled out money, and he fully expects to get that money back. Unlike most other loans, federal student loans are extremely difficult to discharge in bankruptcy. A man that drove to Vegas and gambled himself into foreclosure has a much more realistic chance of being capable of walking away from the situation than a student who borrowed money to go to school. Also, federal student loans have no statute of limitations and can be collected even from debtors’ Social Security Payments after they retire.

So what do you do if you are a student fresh out of school struggling to make ends meet? Get educated, again. A Collections manual, 2009 PCA Practices, was temporarily published on a public section of the Department of Education’s website. A guide for the private collection agencies that work with the Department of Education, this manual can prove to be a valuable resource for former students who are attempting to learn more about paying back their student loan.

This article is founded on what I have learned from the manual, and it hones in on the rare circumstances under which collection activity may be suspended on a student loan account. It also goes into how you would go about ceasing collection activity on your student loan if you really wanted to. According to the manual, collection agencies must immediately suspend collection activity on an account if the borrower disputes the amount that is being owed, for example, claiming that the debt was paid off, was never owed, or should have been canceled.

Collection activity should immediately be suspended if the borrower raises a legal defense against repayment. These might include a closed school, an ability to benefit, or circumstances under which the Department of Education might not be allowed to pursue collection. If the borrower receives a 65 Day Notice of Federal Offset, or 30 day Administrative Wage Garnishment notice, and requests a written review or hearing in response, the collection agency needs to suspend collection activity. Finally, if the borrower files a written or verbal complaint against the collection agency, collection activity must be suspended.

Unlike suspension of collection activity, which is temporary, ceasing collection activity is permanent. If you want your student loan debt collector to stop contacting you, you must request in writing that the collection agency stop all communications with you. In these cases the collection agency is allowed to contact you one final time to let you know how they plan to proceed. Keep in mind that requesting that collection activity on your student loan be stopped is not a very good idea, as after the section on ceasing collection activity comes a section that informs the collection agency that the Department of Education expects the collection agency to evaluate the accounts with these requests for litigation. So even though you may experience a period of peace, that one final phone call you receive very well might be to inform you that you are being sued for all of the money you owe.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on nationwide collection agencies. Check here for free reprint licence: Straight From The Department Of Ed’s Manual – Suspending And Stopping Student Loan Collection Activities.

If you are offered a settlement by a credit card company or a debt collector, how will it affect your credit history? If you enter into a debt settlement program, and pay back a loan for less than what you borrowed, your credit score will drop substantially.

The purpose of the debt settlement program is to let struggling consumers pay back their outstanding debts for less than the original loan. Unfortunately, taking this route out will cause your FICO score to drop by up to one hundred and twenty five points, and you might even have to face a big tax bill. The good news is that there may be better options out there, and with the help of an adept credit counselor, you can sort them out.

Debt settlement not only impacts your credit score, but your wallet as well. If the card issuer, or affiliated debt collector takes your smaller repayment, it will show up on your credit report and impinge on your ability to borrow money for seven years from the original delinquency date of the debt. During these loooong seven years, your smaller credit score could mean more difficulties when it comes to juggling your finances, getting denied for apartment rentals, difficulty borrowing money, and even missing out on job opportunities.

As an extra slap in the face, because the IRS sees forgiven debt as income, a settlement could end up costing you come tax season, making debt settlement an expensive choice. Still, settling debts for less than originally agreed will most likely hurt your credit scores at first, but doing this can reduce your debt load and allow you to start reducing other debts that you may have.

Over time, your credit scores will begin to clear up. But, if you do decide to go through a settlement, you should not agree to anything over the phone. Obtain a copy of the contract in writing and read through it carefully before you sign. To Be Continued In Part Two…

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If you are being inundated with phone calls from debt collectors demanding money, and advertisements that blare “get out of debt now,” debt settlement and debt consolidation businesses might be looking pretty good right now. With debt settlement and consolidation centers, you combine your debts and pay a portion of the total. However, many of these businesses might be just too good to be true.

Any debt consolidation place that seeks to satisfy your debt for “cents on the dollar” should be considered dubious. After all, it is difficult, near to impossible to make and keep a promise like that without being aware of the details of how long you have owed the money, how much money you owe, and to which creditors. These debt consolidation companies aren’t aware of your past payment history. They don’t know what creditor you owe. Also, each person has different assets that can be used to satisfy their own debts. You can never make a blanket statement.

Debt settlement centers that guarantee that you will be debt free in three months should also be taken with a grain of salt. Again, the business is unaware of how much you owe, or who you owe it to. Also, some obligations, such as back taxes, child support, and student loans can’t be covered in a debt settlement plan.

Companies that claim that you can not obtain help without paying an upfront fee or deposit may be less than reputable. While some debt consolidation companies might accept an upfront fee of as little as fifty dollars, typically, the debtor pays the debt settlement company a percentage of the debt owed, often fifteen percent, for negotiating the debt.

Generally, the firm will negotiate a payment between you and the businesses and people you know and will accumulate enough money to make that payment. The debt settlement company will hold on to the money until you reach the settlement amount. To Be Continued…

Rapid Recovery Solution is a medical debt collection agency. This and other unique content ‘accounts receivable management’ articles are available with free reprint rights.

During the present economic climate many UK citizens consider that bad credit loans have ceased to be.

This lack of complete understanding of the situation regarding bad credit loans does make sense as after all it was to some extent due to the lax lending and slack underwriting criteria connected with bad credit loans includiing the advancing of bad credit self certification secured loans, mortgages nd remortgages which helped precipitate the current economic climate.

It has always been extremely difficult for people who do not own a property to get a loan of any kind even if their credit file is good. For those with a poor credit rating it has always proved difficult to get a bad credit loan. Welcome Finance did offer small bad credit loans to tenants at high rates of interest, but with the demise of Welcome these bad credit loans are no longer available at all.

However for homeowners the situation is different. Until 2007 it was fairly easy for a homeowner to obtain a bad credit secured loan up to a maximum 75% LTV, even with extremely poor credit. Some homeowners who were on the verge of having their property repossessed were saved at the last moment by receiving a bad credit loan.

Though not as easy now as two or so years ago, it is still possible to obtain bad credit loans..

Bad credit secured loans are available at between 60% to 70% LTV for homeowners with minor credit problems.

For homeowners with C.C.J’s , defaults and mortgage arrears there are still two bad credit secured loan lenders who will consider looking at advancing a bad credit loan to homeowners with extremely bad credit files, and they accept unlimited adverse points.

The best LTV available however is restricted to 50% and the loan limit is 23,000.

Nevertheless these bad credit loans can help homeowners who are really struggling and have fallen into bad debt often at present through no fault of their own. Therefore the bottom line is that there are bad credit loans out there but are not so readily available now.

Looking to find the best deal on bad credit loans then visit www.championfinance.com to find the best advice on bad credit loans for you.

People who are dealing with the issue of foreclosure are usually in need of some guidance in relation to mortgage foreclosure solutions. These solutions can help you keep your home and limit family problems related to foreclosure.

There are lots of nonsensical, dramatically emotionally ways to deal with foreclosure. For example, you could run screaming down the street. The grand majority of these style solutions, however, are not going to do anything to help you in any real way. In order to keep the banks loan officers off of your back, you need a strategy that has been better thought out.

Let me just say that blowing up the bank, while assuring you national television coverage, is also not one of the effective or practical mortgage foreclosure solutions that you can turn to. Just when it seems like your options are limited here I come with some of the best advice you will ever get and I am going to give it to you for free. Thats right! For free and you can thank me later!

One practical and effective solution to mortgage foreclosure is to use machine gun nests. This might not seem like a real solution, but it can be. Whenever someone comes to home with the intention of serving you with eviction papers, the machine gun nests will encourage them to turn around and leave you alone.

You never load the machine guns, heck you can even use fake machine guns if you want. But intimidation is the basis for fear and you can absolutely use fear as one of your mortgage foreclosure solutions that helps you to keep your home just a little bit longer before they send you off to county jail.

The Circus Is In Town!

Do you have a big back yard? Then have a circus and pay your mortgage from the admission proceeds! This solution is so simple it is hard to believe that more people are not employing it as one of their mortgage foreclosure solutions. All you need is a backyard at least the size of 3 football fields. Then you need a huge canvas tent big enough to accommodate a three ring circus and at least 5,000 spectators.

The next step is getting together the other things you will need for the circus. That means clowns, peanuts, popcorn, and elephants. Once you take care of that, the money will just start rolling in. This will require a bit of work, but it could be what saves you from losing your home. Opening a circus is a great idea because your neighbors are sure to love it and you will love the money you earn.