Consumers who are 'between jobs' have seen their credit card balances explode as they swipe plastic to make ends meet. Their interest rates have soared too, thanks to something called the Universal Default Provision in their credit agreement: miss any payment, anywhere and Slam! You're at 29.9% everywhere. Add late payment fees and over limit fees and…Surprise! Some folks just can't keep up.
So they stop paying. That's when the collection calls begin. And when they try to be reasonable and explain their good intentions and ask for a payment plan they can afford, the debt collectors spin their head just like Linda Blair.
Debt collectors are trained - perhaps bred – to bully consumers into paying money under duress. A client of mine received such a collection call, and when she explained that she was a single mom raising two kids and had just lost her job, she was met with this compassionate reply: 'You're lying. You probably quit so you could stay in bed and watch TV all day. How do you expect to raise good kids with morals like that? I'm gonna call Child Services. They'll find your kids a decent home. CLICK.'…… Not everyone can do this work.
So, how does one cope with overly aggressive debt collectors? When you are under the money gun, you are not on your 'A' game to begin with. So, how can you keep your head on straight in the face of even permissible levels of collection pressure? Here are a few tips which, by the way, apply to any negotiation not just collections.
Rule 1: Threats and abuse are simply tactics – no more, no less. In a collection context, they are designed to scare you into making payment just to end the pain. Although prohibited by the federal and the California Fair Debt Collection Practices Acts [FDCPA %26 CFDCPA], these tactics are common because they work. People quiver and pay because they don't understand what you know now: Threats are bait. If you don't bite, you can't get caught. If you stay cool, they don't work. Remember: Harassment is not personal! Debt collectors recycle the same trash on every call – over and over. It's not about you. It's only a tactic. So don't buy in. Instead, remember this axiom: 'The effectiveness of the threat is determined by your reaction to it.' Read it again. ' The effectiveness of a threat, etc. etc…' It means that you have the power to disregard and, thereby, neutralize any abusive collection tactic visited upon you. The key is to recognize when you are being 'gamed', and then to !
step back, take a deep breath, and 'name the game': 'Oh, I get it. You are trying to bully me into paying by using an illegal collection tactic. Well… thanks but no thanks. Good bye. CLICK. ' Round one to you. Then, make a note of the call: Who, what, when and what was said. And prepare for round two with a note pad handy. [The laws on tape recording are complicated and vary from state to state.]
Rule 2: While debt collectors are often rude, threats and abuse may signal a weak case against you. When you are depressed by debt, it's easy to assume a collector holds all the cards. Au contraire. All debt collectors are not equal, and some may have no cards at all. Here's how to tell: original creditors – the banks that issue credit cards such as Capital One, Chase, Citibank, American Express, etc. – keep all documents, including your signed application, if any, monthly statements, copies of checks, etc. While some banks keep better records than others, an original creditor can likely prove its case in a collection lawsuit against you. Not so for subsequent owners of the debt. Defaulted credit card accounts are not always kept by the original creditor, but instead are sold to third parties called 'debt buyers'. These companies, which buy millions in debt for pennies on the dollar, may take a few whacks at you, and, if they can't collect, sell the debt again for even less.All this buying and selling is done by computer. By the time the debt is sold once, twice, or three times, it is unlikely that the debt buyer can establish a clear 'chain of title' – that is: document in court that they own the right to collect your specific credit card account .
Even if they have documents showing transfer from A to B to C – and they don't - chain of title is expensive to prove, requiring witnesses – known as custodian of records – often from other states to authenticate the records in open court. Without proof of ownership, there is NO case in a debt collection lawsuit. Sure, they may be able to prove you owe SOMEONE. But can they prove that someone is THEM? No way. Knowing this, how can they get your money? Collection PRESSURE.
So, now that you're not taking the bait, here are your marching orders: When you get a call, find out whether the caller is, or represents, an original creditor or a debt buyer. Then ask them for written proof that you owe THEM. If they can't or won't provide it, ask yourself how much money you want to pay someone you may not owe.
www.creditcardsettlementadvice.com is a matchmaker in the debt settlement industry. They have paired up thousands of consumers up with debt settlement companies who are most likely to get consumers the best deal.
http://www.creditcardsettlementadvice.com
contact us for free debt advice = 8886916918
Is the UK hushing in the Anti-Christ or Will the UK be the launch pad of the Anti-Christ?
Jacqui Smith unveils the UK's new identity card - with no sign of Britain (Point1)
The UK's first identity card for 60 years has been unveiled by Jacqui Smith - with no sign of the union flag or mention of the word Britain(.Point2)
Instead, the credit card-sized plastic cards carried a picture of a bull - (Bull witha horn)in common with other European Union identity cards - as well as five stars drawn from the stars on the official flag of the EU.
The card is to be initially issued to people outside the EU renewing their permission to stay in the UK as students or on the basis of marriage.( Using the weakest link in the society to manipulate example: Judas Escariot)
Between 50,000 and 60,000 cards, which will initially cost £30 each, will be issued by the end of next March and ministers predict one million a year will be handed out from 2010.(2010 research the Maya calendar)
Officials said the image of a bull represented the Greek myth in which Zeus turns himself into a bull and abducts Europa, a beautiful princess. (Point4)
Campaigners said it was bizarre that there were not more outward symbols of Britishness on the card, given that it will be used as a proof of residence.
Lorraine Mulally, spokesman for campaigners Open Europe, said: "The use of EU symbols, instead of national ones, is part of a wider attempt to promote the idea of a common European citizenship, which EU federalists have been pushing for some time.( A new world order)
"The Government seems happy to buy into this." How about the people?
Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party, added: "A British ID card without a British flag on it?
Instead we have the symbol of Europa, and we know what Zeus did to her.
Do we need or want ID cards in the first place? Is the UK really free? People in a free country don't require them.
Does Miss Smith, the former Home Secretary acting out the plot of the Devil? Bribe Judas and get out of the picture
She pointed out that the pink and blue card displayed the Government's coat of arms on the front.
On the reverse, the four national flowers or plants of the countries that make up the United Kingdom are etched into the plastic - the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock
This is not science fiction.....
The cards contain the individual's name, their photograph, the card's expiry date and details of how long they can stay in the country.
Other information includes people's date and place of birth, their gender, nationality, and whether they are entitled to benefits.
Biometric data, including copies of all of the person's fingerprints, will be stored on a special security chip.
Miss Smith admitted that it would be impossible to include fingerprints of some people on the card. But she denied that taking 10 prints from the elderly or those with missing fingers would be a problem.
She said: "It is so exceptional that it will not undermine the fundamental nature of the scheme. In the very few cases of people who cannot give a fingerprint, we are looking at mechanisms to deal with those categories."
The card will start to be issued on November 25 to foreign nationals at offices in Croydon, Glasgow, Sheffield, Liverpool, Birmingham and Cardiff.
From next year anyone working in the restricted areas in Britain's airports would need to have an ID card and it will be made generally available to British citizens from 2011.
Those cards, which will be voluntary,(?) may look different and display different information but they will enable the holder to travel without a passport around the EU.
Miss Smith said the cards would protect against identity fraud, illegal working, and help people prove their identity easily.
She said: "Many people want securely and quickly to be able to prove their identity and want to be able to check people are who they say they are."
The Conservatives reaffirmed the party's commitment to scrapping ID cards if they win the next election, likely in 2010.
The party pointed out that ID cards will not be required by foreigners who are here for less than three months.
Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said: "ID cards are an expensive white elephant that risk making us less - not more safe. It is high time the Government scrapped this ill-fated project.
Answer
Is this the credit card antichrist, the cellphone antichrist or the barcode antichrist? Enough with the nonsense already!
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