kbjmM Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Hey all, I'm sure I'm not your favorite person, being a collector and all, but I am scheduled to be on a talk radio show in the next couple of weeks to discuss debt collections and how to handle them. Just basic info consumers should know when dealing w/ collections. I intend to refer people to this website including the forums. Just wanted to check with admins to make sure they don't mind, But to also see if any of you had any input on what you think the most important things would be. Thanks Have a great day!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 You have my blessing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amerikaner83 Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 so is there going to be some sort of "ask the collector"? If so...what station/time?I've read your posts and you don't seem to be that bad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myexsucks Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbjmM Posted February 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Thursday February 26th @ 8:30 am Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrenchdevil Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 While you may have good intentions, I wouldn't trust your opinion or any other collectors opinion as far as I could throw a rock. Sounds a bit too much like your 'politicking' to me... "Trust us, we are here for your benefit"..As for input, just tell people the truth...no, wait, you collectors are NOT very good at that. You would do the community a better service if you exposed the collection business for what it really is, you know, things like how you are trained to harass, or that you buy debt for pennies on the dollar and inflate the debt with artificial interest and fees....I think you know the rest of the story..:twisted:didn't someone once say, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legal_loansharking Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 I say we give him a chance....After all, the bad ones give the racket, I mean industry a bad name. As a matter of fact, I called asset acceptance today and spoke to a really nice collector, she actually listened took my name and phone number and called me back to tell me my tradelines were going to be removed from my credit reports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerovette Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 I say we give him a chance....After all, the bad ones give the racket, I mean industry a bad name. Hee hee...Sure he's a serial killer, but look at that smile.Yes, he stole my car, but he's such a nice kidMy wallet is gone, but how could I be mad at you?Good collector's are easy to find, they are standing right next to an honest mechanic hand feeding Bigfoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbjmM Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 While you may have good intentions, I wouldn't trust your opinion or any other collectors opinion as far as I could throw a rock. Sounds a bit too much like your 'politicking' to me... "Trust us, we are here for your benefit"..As for input, just tell people the truth...no, wait, you collectors are NOT very good at that. You would do the community a better service if you exposed the collection business for what it really is, you know, things like how you are trained to harass, or that you buy debt for pennies on the dollar and inflate the debt with artificial interest and fees....I think you know the rest of the story..:twisted:didn't someone once say, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig...?Well actually to say those things about me you would have to know me! I don't judge you on how you support yourself / family so I would appreciate it if you didn't judge me.(being a single mom of 2 is not easy these days.) And ACTUALLY the reason I got into collections is because I used to be very much on the other side of the phone line. listening to collectors barking at me for money. and I hated it. I wanted to change the way collections are done here in the great state of Utah. Now I know I'm not perfect and no one is but I do my best to work with people and get things straightened out, and put them in a better financial position then they were in before. If I was just a bitter old collector I wouldn't be doing a show about how to deal with collections and trying to help people know how to handle a collection call. I say we give him a chance....After all, the bad ones give the racket, I mean industry a bad name. As a matter of fact, I called asset acceptance today and spoke to a really nice collector, she actually listened took my name and phone number and called me back to tell me my tradelines were going to be removed from my credit reports.Thanks for that. and just FYI for ya'll I'm not a him. I'm a single mother(yes technically still married but doing it on my own at this point.) just trying to support my 2 beautiful little girls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nascar Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 If I was just a bitter old collector I wouldn't be doing a show about how to deal with collections and trying to help people know how to handle a collection call.What, briefly, are some of the key points you intend to address on your radio program. For instance, what are the top 3 things a consumer can do, in your opinion, to properly handle a typical debt collection call? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbjmM Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 What, briefly, are some of the key points you intend to address on your radio program. For instance, what are the top 3 things a consumer can do, in your opinion, to properly handle a typical debt collection call?Ok, Ok. I'm willing to play the game. haha #1- and this is the biggest one of all. Is don't talk to a collector on the phone, & Get everything in writing.#2- After receving a "dunning" letter DV them always!!#3- And most probably won't agree with me on this one. BUT Don't try and hide from us. Not to toot my own horn, But I am very good at skip tracing and finding people. If you hide I will find you, and if I've got to spend 6 months searching it's gonna tick me off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustaTexan Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 If you hide I will find you, and if I've got to spend 6 months searching it's gonna tick me off.Sorry, but this comment right here sounds like every other collector I've ever heard on message boards. Same tone, same intimidation tactics, everything. And I'm curious at how you treat people who have "hidden" from you and have "ticked you off." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbjmM Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Sorry, but this comment right here sounds like every other collector I've ever heard on message boards. Same tone, same intimidation tactics, everything. And I'm curious at how you treat people who have "hidden" from you and have "ticked you off."Ok so I'm not very itimidating. I'm first one to admit that. hahaha but generally if someone hides from me and they are doing it on purpose(generally you can tell whether someone is genuine or not, & not just in collections I mean in general) I'm probably not as willing to back off of any interest or Atty fee if my boss has put one on there, as I would be if someone is very open and willing to communicate with me, whether it be on the phone or by mail. This is what I tell most people as long as you still communicate with me, and keep me informed on your situation, I don't care if you can't make a payment right now. Family comes first I get it. But once you start playing games and ignoring me, then I can't really keep it on my desk and I have to send it to the atty for litigation. I know most collectors suck and are jerks and play crappy games and will do pretty much anything to collect that extra penny. I'm not like that, I really do try to help people, Yes they are on my desk because they owe a client or us money. But I've built that rapport with most of them that my boss & I & my company I work for have helped quite a few people with their debts and how to resolve them to fix their credit. My goal here is to help people get their credit fixed so that they can go on and do the things I wanted to do when my credit really sucked and I had 50 collectors calling a day. I guess my whole point of being on this website is to make sure I stay in touch with real people. Not just the collectors. & to make it known that not all of us are horrible people. When I tell people what I do for a living they are so surprised. I'm not exactly a very intimidating person. I'm a dance teacher who couldn't support a family doing that. so I had to find something else. I just happen to be good at collecting. that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nascar Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Ok, Ok. I'm willing to play the game. haha#1- and this is the biggest one of all. Is don't talk to a collector on the phone, & Get everything in writing.#2- After receving a "dunning" letter DV them always!!#3- And most probably won't agree with me on this one. BUT Don't try and hide from us. Not to toot my own horn, But I am very good at skip tracing and finding people. If you hide I will find you, and if I've got to spend 6 months searching it's gonna tick me off.If you suggest that people don't talk to collectors on the phone, then what difference does it make whether you find them or not. Wait, I know. ... "I've been looking for you for six months because I want to make sure you know about your right to dispute this debt. Where would you like me to send your initial communication letter?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zfire Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Here's one for ya..Why the heck do I keep getting calls for someone who had my number 5 years ago? And how do I get rid of you when you keep calling?...because telling you I am not T.T. is not doing the trick, nor is telling you not to call again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbjmM Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 If you suggest that people don't talk to collectors on the phone, then what difference does it make whether you find them or not. Wait, I know. ... "I've been looking for you for six months because I want to make sure you know about your right to dispute this debt. Where would you like me to send your initial communication letter?"Ok so first let's ammend that don't talk to collectors to say don't make an agreement for settlement and/or payments over the phone. that goes a long with get everything in writing. I do talk to a number of people on the phone everday and it's actually very pleasent usually. Secondly...well let's put it like this. From my personal experiences....Those who are "hiding" are the ones who do not have any intention to pay their debts, and usually have more than a few accounts in collections. and they are generally pretty high balances. Very rarely do I ever see someone who has actually hit hard times and has a legit reason for not paying the debt "hiding" those are the people who want to fix their credit and want to do the right thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrenchdevil Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Ok so I'm not very itimidating. I'm first one to admit that. hahaha but generally if someone hides from me and they are doing it on purpose(generally you can tell whether someone is genuine or not, & not just in collections I mean in general) I'm probably not as willing to back off of any interest or Atty fee if my boss has put one on there, as I would be if someone is very open and willing to communicate with me, whether it be on the phone or by mail. This is what I tell most people as long as you still communicate with me, and keep me informed on your situation, I don't care if you can't make a payment right now. Family comes first I get it. But once you start playing games and ignoring me, then I can't really keep it on my desk and I have to send it to the atty for litigation. I know most collectors suck and are jerks and play crappy games and will do pretty much anything to collect that extra penny. I'm not like that, I really do try to help people, Yes they are on my desk because they owe a client or us money. But I've built that rapport with most of them that my boss & I & my company I work for have helped quite a few people with their debts and how to resolve them to fix their credit. My goal here is to help people get their credit fixed so that they can go on and do the things I wanted to do when my credit really sucked and I had 50 collectors calling a day. I guess my whole point of being on this website is to make sure I stay in touch with real people. Not just the collectors. & to make it known that not all of us are horrible people. When I tell people what I do for a living they are so surprised. I'm not exactly a very intimidating person. I'm a dance teacher who couldn't support a family doing that. so I had to find something else. I just happen to be good at collecting. that's all. Wow kbjmM, do you really believe half of what you said? it's almost delusional for a myriad of reasons,..btw, what is your commission rate?PS, I don't fault you for providing for family, but you know that in the end, you are doing so at the expense of others who must provide for their families, correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbjmM Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Here's one for ya..Why the heck do I keep getting calls for someone who had my number 5 years ago? And how do I get rid of you when you keep calling?...because telling you I am not T.T. is not doing the trick, nor is telling you not to call again.This is just my opinion on that. I can't give you an answer as to why they are doing it. But my opinion on that one is Some people are just plain crappy!! and desperate to keep their numbers up so they'll bug anyone at any phone number they have.The second possible reason I can see, is a lot of places have different skip trace departments who cannot see the collectors note (stupid I know, but true) so a lot of times they'll skip trace a number back and just stick it on there to get it off their desk.To get rid of them?? hahaha J/K The only tactic I can see is try using the fdcpa where it basically says you can only contact a third party once to find the whereabouts of the debter. If unkown you can't contact them again. Or the harrassment clause. Other than that. Try to go as far up in the company as possible and complain. Most collection companies have a high turnover rate. Firing another one won't make a bit of difference to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbjmM Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Wow kbjmM, do you really believe half of what you said? it's almost delusional for a myriad of reasons,..btw, what is your commission rate?PS, I don't fault you for providing for family, but you know that in the end, you are doing so at the expense of others who must provide for their families, correct?I'm not paid on comission, and I don't exactly make good money either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 If you suggest that people don't talk to collectors on the phone, then what difference does it make whether you find them or not. Wait, I know. ... "I've been looking for you for six months because I want to make sure you know about your right to dispute this debt. Where would you like me to send your initial communication letter?"Thanks for that laugh. You've made my day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Nashville/Savannah Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Well actually to say those things about me you would have to know me! I don't judge you on how you support yourself / family so I would appreciate it if you didn't judge me.(being a single mom of 2 is not easy these days.) And ACTUALLY the reason I got into collections is because I used to be very much on the other side of the phone line. listening to collectors barking at me for money. and I hated it. I wanted to change the way collections are done here in the great state of Utah. Now I know I'm not perfect and no one is but I do my best to work with people and get things straightened out, and put them in a better financial position then they were in before. If I was just a bitter old collector I wouldn't be doing a show about how to deal with collections and trying to help people know how to handle a collection call.I believe you are operating under a false premise - I don’t believe you can be a “different" kind of collector and be successful at it.I submit that you will either succumb to the “dark side” of collecting by using the abusive tactics most collectors use or you will be fired for non-performance (or quit of your own accord; either because you aren’t making enough money to feed yourself or because you simply refuse to become the kind of collector that can be successful at it).Collectors use the tactics debtors hate because those tactics work – getting $$$ in is the only thing your or any other collection agency cares about and frankly, it’s all they really should be expected to care about.The collection system we have in place in this country simply doesn’t reward collection agencies/agents who actually follow the law so ultimately, they don’t follow the law...occasionally, they get taken to task for their non-compliance by paying for their violations but ultimately that downside is minor compared to the upside of the revenue they bring in by not following the law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMGWhatHaveIdone Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Kbjm, If you really want others on these boards to take you seriously, first off, remove the hahaha's from your posts. They are only convincing everyone that you aren't all that serious. Secondly, how do we really know that when you do your talk show, that you won't bash this board for all the good that the members do here? I mean, we (CIC) are a CA's worst nightmare so exactly what are you getting out of mentioning CIC?Also.... Don't you think your employer would be just a tad bit annoyed to find out that you did a talk show to help the very people they depend on making their money off of? Don't you feel like you're putting your job on the line by doing this sort of thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astiman Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 You ALMOST had me believing ya there, but then I came across THIS:"I cant leave it on my desk..."LOL(You Must pay NOW or I'll have to make a decision...it's ON MY DESK....)You're just a collector. LOL"My goal here is to help people get their credit fixed"...You're seeing a whole TEAM of doctors, aren't you? if you think we believe THAT..... Those of us who make the big bucks laugh at the likes of you.....not a value judgement, but a moral judgement about a troll....Now I'll stop feeding the troll...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbjmM Posted February 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Ok, so I'm not gonna try to defend myself. it's not worth it. But I am who I am and I've always been honest on here. To OMGWhatHaveIDone?(and others) Who says a collector can't laugh. Just cause I have a not so fabulous job in the eyes of most people that doesn't mean I can't have a sense of humor about it. And Yes I agree CIC is a CA's worst nightmare. BUT like I've said 100 times. My company I work for is not like most CA's in this Country. No we're not huge. We don't have a lot of employees. We're a rather small operation, and we do things a lot nicer way than most collection agencies. So yes we can operate the way we do and be sucessful because most people will respond to Kindness w/ kindness. And My employer does know I'm doing the show. They'll be listening as well. They are all for helping people understand how to deal with the mistakes we've all made at some point, and with the collection agencies that that use bullying & scare tactics to dominate this business. I have worked for several companies like that and that is the exact reason I quit. I do understand most people's situation when I call/corespond with because believe it or not I've been there. I've been burned by an ex, and some stupid choices I made when I was younger. But I will always hold up to the fact that Yes, my company does operate diferently than most CA's and I'm proud of that fact. I think this website is awesome and have used it many times myself to try and dig out of some of the credit holes I've created for myself. So No matter what my job title is people need all the help they can get these days in fixing their credit and moving past it all. And if I can provide some of the answers they are looking for or just that little bit of information they need to find the answer then that's great. To the Astiman: I never said Pay now or I'll have to make a decision. I SAID "Just communicate w/ me. I don't care how long it takes to resolve the debt, as long as you communicate with me." But at some point if the communication stops I do have to give it to someone else, I can't have a billion people not talking to me. Yes I am a collector. Your right. But I enjoy the freedom I have in my job to give people a chance and options as to when/how to resolve the debt. I love my job. And I intend to show people that not all collectors are evil people searching to suck the last penny out of you. The End. Thanks for listening to my rant. Have a good day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astiman Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 "Yes I am a collector. Your right. But I enjoy the freedom I have in my job to give people a chance and options as to when/how to resolve the debt. I love my job"I think the two bolded areas on your statement above are all that debtors need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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