I don't know how it is elsewhere, but here (New York at least) you a RIGHT to stop the calls.

You can tell whomever calls you that you want them to stop calling, and that any communication from now on needs to be done in writing. You then log the date & time of your call, and the date/time of the next 2 or 3 calls (since they won't take you seriously). Then advise them that you will be filing a complaint with whatever agency governs them (I can't think of it right now, it's not the Better Business Bureau, it's an actual agency).

Also, it is against the law for them to threaten you, demean you, and contact anyone OTHER THAN YOU.

People don't know their rights, and often when dealing with delinquent debt they feel so ashamed that they do whatever is necessary to stop the calls (which is why they do it).

The collection agency that my company used (we just found out) is out of business because they were in violation of those rules. [Which is probably why they were so GOOD at collecting debts!]

Pay them on time.

i swear he sounded angry wth he was like urgent to speak with the owner...so i forgot to give the messege

so i wrote a note lol

[Edited 6/30/10 13:40pm]

I haven't had to avoid one for more than 20 years - not since I got my shit together, learned to pay my bills, and got my credit rating out of the toilet.

Last week, I looked into refinancing my home and found out that my FICO score is 795. I never knew something like that could feel so good.

Graycap23 said:

I avoid BILLS.

you avoid bills or credit?

avoiding to much credit is excellent- but it can also keep you from necessary purchases like a vehicle and shelter- no credit is bad credit unfortunately...

my debt is from misc. stuff- and hospital bills- not credit cards, car payments, etc...

I need to take a day or two and diligently work at getting this stuff resolves. it feels like its impossible at times.

BklynBabe said:

Evvy said:

they are relentless- how do u get rid of them without paying the bill? I know it sounds bad- i'm talking about hospital bills, etc...

I hear ya. Same thing happened to me. I was quoted a price, set up a payment plan. No problem, right? I got bills from lab, bills from anesthesia, bills that made no sense, sent in my payments and heard nothing. Sent in a payment to anesthesia, which they refunded, and then they sent me a bill again. Total fuckery. Then I was sent to collections on a bill I paid. So now I block those numbers on my phone. To those who want to be all pay-your-bill and stay-healthy and it's your fault, please don't ever need to use a hodpital. Their billing practoces make no sense, they bill you for weird things they may not have even done. It's a nightmare!

yes maam- they have put almost every other item/visit under a different account- I was paying to the one not knowing this... you feel so defeated.....

phunkdaddy said:

Pay them on time.

that would be nice except I didn't have thousands to dish out to the University of Chicago- my fault ...

and I was paying the other cases on time- they were not putting the money in the right dang on place

[Edited 6/30/10 10:31am]

Sorry to hear about this Evvy. They ARE relentless and SUCH a pain, I know.

First of all to those of you telling her to pay the bill, sometimes you just CAN'T jeez, back off. Don't you think if she COULD she would????

Second of all whoever reccomended Dave Ramsey, I concur he does have great ideas, but HE HIMSELF would ALSO reccomend NOT paying them. That is your very LAST resort.

Paying your basic neccisitys comes first, like home, electric and car. Paying creditors should be last on your list of things to pay, and if you can't then don't.

As far as getting them to stop calling??? Good fricken luck! Ya, by law they have to stop if you tell them to, but they won't. Just don't answer your phone. I know they were calling me mon thru sun from 8 am to 9pm NON.STOP.

Thats just the price you pay for not paying, being harrassed. But you're far from the only one. Ya just gotta deal with it I guess.

I hope eventually this all gets resolved for you.

Genesia said:

I haven't had to avoid one for more than 20 years - not since I got my shit together, learned to pay my bills, and got my credit rating out of the toilet.

Last week, I looked into refinancing my home and found out that my FICO score is 795. I never knew something like that could feel so good.

I can only IMAGINE how good it feels.

I'll letcha know when my 20 years is here.

you have to face them. work something out. If you can't, talk to an expert & see about bankruptcy or something. Get the mess over with.

Runnning away will solve nothing. It will only make your life miserable.

Someone recommended Dave Ramsey, I agree. Check out Total Money Makeover (book) or listen to his podcasts or radio show.

I have never, not once had a Bill Collectore call me ... and it is my intention to never have one call

So I have zero advice how to avoid them ~ that is also something I would never do

I pay ( and usually double the payment ) my bills on time ~ to me that's just the simplest thing to do

NDRU said:

you have to face them. work something out. If you can't, talk to an expert & see about bankruptcy or something. Get the mess over with.

Runnning away will solve nothing. It will only make your life miserable.

Someone recommended Dave Ramsey, I agree. Check out Total Money Makeover (book) or listen to his podcasts or radio show.

Well, ya. I was a little over 20,000 in debt and I usaed my divorce money to pay it all off.......if I had it to do all over again, I woulda just claimed bankruptcy.

Cuz either way you're c redit still sucks.

So now that I've payed them off I have not only sucky credit, but not a pot to piss in either.

If I woulda claimed bankruptcy atleast I woulda had sum sort of savings.

TotalANXiousNESS said:

NDRU said:

you have to face them. work something out. If you can't, talk to an expert & see about bankruptcy or something. Get the mess over with.

Runnning away will solve nothing. It will only make your life miserable.

Someone recommended Dave Ramsey, I agree. Check out Total Money Makeover (book) or listen to his podcasts or radio show.

Well, ya. I was a little over 20,000 in debt and I usaed my divorce money to pay it all off.......if I had it to do all over again, I woulda just claimed bankruptcy.

Cuz either way you're c redit still sucks.

So now that I've payed them off I have not only sucky credit, but not a pot to piss in either.

If I woulda claimed bankruptcy atleast I woulda had sum sort of savings.

that might be true, but the important thing is, you dealt with it!

No point in second guessing what you should have done, but now you get on with your life and your $20,000 of debt is not there anymore

I think an important point that's being missed is that it's always better to work these things out before they get to the collection stage.

People try to run away from the problem - and that's exactly the wrong thing to do. If you're having trouble paying (or if you know ahead of time that you're going to have trouble paying), it's always better to take the bull by the horns and talk to your original creditor. As long as you indicate a willingness to pay something, they will generally work with you.

Once it's gone into third-party collection, they have you over a barrel. It's on your credit report and will only get uglier from there.

Face up to your troubles. Ultimately, only you can solve them.

Genesia said:

I think an important point that's being missed is that it's always better to work these things out before they get to the collection stage.

People try to run away from the problem - and that's exactly the wrong thing to do. If you're having trouble paying (or if you know ahead of time that you're going to have trouble paying), it's always better to take the bull by the horns and talk to your original creditor. As long as you indicate a willingness to pay something, they will generally work with you.

Once it's gone into third-party collection, they have you over a barrel. It's on your credit report and will only get uglier from there.

Face up to your troubles. Ultimately, only you can solve them.

good point, the collectors are a nightmare compared to the credit card companies, even.

NDRU said:

Genesia said:

I think an important point that's being missed is that it's always better to work these things out before they get to the collection stage.

People try to run away from the problem - and that's exactly the wrong thing to do. If you're having trouble paying (or if you know ahead of time that you're going to have trouble paying), it's always better to take the bull by the horns and talk to your original creditor. As long as you indicate a willingness to pay something, they will generally work with you.

Once it's gone into third-party collection, they have you over a barrel. It's on your credit report and will only get uglier from there.

Face up to your troubles. Ultimately, only you can solve them.

good point, the collectors are a nightmare compared to the credit card companies, even.

Oh ya. ONE out of my 6 debt was still with the original creditor, and hadn't yet gone to collections, and that one was by FAR the easiest one to deal with.

I felt MUCH more comfortable making a check for $7000 out to 'VISA' rather than something called 'Ball Breakers Inc' or what have you, and sending it to some random PO Box in Walla Walla Washington, for one......

I once defaulted on a student loan. That is the 10th circle of collector hell.

Evvy said:

BklynBabe said:

Evvy said: I hear ya. Same thing happened to me. I was quoted a price, set up a payment plan. No problem, right? I got bills from lab, bills from anesthesia, bills that made no sense, sent in my payments and heard nothing. Sent in a payment to anesthesia, which they refunded, and then they sent me a bill again. Total fuckery. Then I was sent to collections on a bill I paid. So now I block those numbers on my phone. To those who want to be all pay-your-bill and stay-healthy and it's your fault, please don't ever need to use a hodpital. Their billing practoces make no sense, they bill you for weird things they may not have even done. It's a nightmare!

yes maam- they have put almost every other item/visit under a different account- I was paying to the one not knowing this... you feel so defeated.....

I was so pissed! And then of course being almost paid up with most of my bills and then losing my job did not help I was soooo glad to have creditors off my back, and now I have to start from scratch almost. But, oh well, now I know what to do. Call Block is awesome!

don't let them get you down. I know you will do the right thing when you can, otherwise you wouldn't even be talking about it..

And to people that want to act high and mighty I truly hope you never have hardships in your life....

BklynBabe said:

Evvy said:

yes maam- they have put almost every other item/visit under a different account- I was paying to the one not knowing this... you feel so defeated.....

I was so pissed! And then of course being almost paid up with most of my bills and then losing my job did not help I was soooo glad to have creditors off my back, and now I have to start from scratch almost. But, oh well, now I know what to do. Call Block is awesome!

don't let them get you down. I know you will do the right thing when you can, otherwise you wouldn't even be talking about it..

And to people that want to act high and mighty I truly hope you never have hardships in your life....

Y'know...I think most of us who are saying "pay it" have had our own hardships. (I certainly have.) It is from that experience that we reply as we do. It is always better (and easier) in the long run to face up to things and get them handled.

TotalANXiousNESS said:

NDRU said:

good point, the collectors are a nightmare compared to the credit card companies, even.

Oh ya. ONE out of my 6 debt was still with the original creditor, and hadn't yet gone to collections, and that one was by FAR the easiest one to deal with.

I felt MUCH more comfortable making a check for $7000 out to 'VISA' rather than something called 'Ball Breakers Inc' or what have you, and sending it to some random PO Box in Walla Walla Washington, for one......

yes, I think I told you when I went to check on my status with a collector, they sent me from number to number, till finally one number was for phone sex. I doubt Visa would do that.

[Edited 6/30/10 11:46am]

Evvy said:

phunkdaddy said:

Pay them on time.

that would be nice except I didn't have thousands to dish out to the University of Chicago- my fault ...

and I was paying the other cases on time- they were not putting the money in the right dang on place

[Edited 6/30/10 10:31am]

I understand. I wasn't trying to be sarcastic at all. I've been there. In the nineties

i got carried away with credit cards and such because i was young and didn't know any better

but once i decided to stop the madness and work with the creditors i got my debt down

in a matter of 2 years and around 1999 i had everything on track. Life is much simpler

when you can afford to pay your bills in a timely manner. Sometimes you have to crawl

before you walk.

Genesia said:

BklynBabe said:

I was so pissed! And then of course being almost paid up with most of my bills and then losing my job did not help I was soooo glad to have creditors off my back, and now I have to start from scratch almost. But, oh well, now I know what to do. Call Block is awesome!

don't let them get you down. I know you will do the right thing when you can, otherwise you wouldn't even be talking about it..

And to people that want to act high and mighty I truly hope you never have hardships in your life....

Y'know...I think most of us who are saying "pay it" have had our own hardships. (I certainly have.) It is from that experience that we reply as we do. It is always better (and easier) in the long run to face up to things and get them handled.

I (we) certianly have had our share too ... you learn, live and move forward

When Michael was out of work for so long with the prostate cancer event I had to barrow $ from friends towards the end, to buy food ... until the backup checks from work started rolling in 6 weeks past surgery date ~ then I payed them back and set up payments on the HUGE hospital bills and 12 months of bi weekly post op care

Now we scrape and watch every cent as we pay for college tuitions/loans ...

I didnt realize I was being preceived as high and mighty

assumptions can be a bitch

Mach said:

Genesia said:

Y'know...I think most of us who are saying "pay it" have had our own hardships. (I certainly have.) It is from that experience that we reply as we do. It is always better (and easier) in the long run to face up to things and get them handled.

I (we) certianly have had our share too ... you learn, live and move forward

When Michael was out of work for so long with the prostate cancer event I had to barrow $ from friends towards the end, to buy food ... until the backup checks from work started rolling in 6 weeks past surgery date ~ then I payed them back and set up payments on the HUGE hospital bills and 12 months of bi weekly post op care

Now we scrape and watch every cent as we pay for college tuitions/loans ...

I didnt realize I was being preceived as high and mighty

assumptions can be a bitch

they truly can be since I didn't mention any names....

Mach said:

Vendetta1 said:

Mach said:

I (we) certianly have had our share too ... you learn, live and move forward

When Michael was out of work for so long with the prostate cancer event I had to barrow $ from friends towards the end, to buy food ... until the backup checks from work started rolling in 6 weeks past surgery date ~ then I payed them back and set up payments on the HUGE hospital bills and 12 months of bi weekly post op care

Now we scrape and watch every cent as we pay for college tuitions/loans ...

I didnt realize I was being preceived as high and mighty

assumptions can be a bitch

I adore you.

And I you

just another reminder why I was/am trying to spend less time here ...is all

and I needed that today ~ so

I am OUTTA here

BklynBabe said:

Evvy said:

they are relentless- how do u get rid of them without paying the bill? I know it sounds bad- i'm talking about hospital bills, etc...

I hear ya. Same thing happened to me. I was quoted a price, set up a payment plan. No problem, right? I got bills from lab, bills from anesthesia, bills that made no sense, sent in my payments and heard nothing. Sent in a payment to anesthesia, which they refunded, and then they sent me a bill again. Total fuckery. Then I was sent to collections on a bill I paid. So now I block those numbers on my phone. To those who want to be all pay-your-bill and stay-healthy and it's your fault, please don't ever need to use a hodpital. Their billing practoces make no sense, they bill you for weird things they may not have even done. It's a nightmare!

That's fraud and lots of doctors and hospitals will do that purposefully to get more money. You should get a test result/report for every procedure that is done so that you can have a record of exactly what treatment was given. That way it will be harder for them to bilk you. I've gotten bills for doctors' visits that I never even had appointments for! I am quick to report it, too.

Student loans are a pain in the ass, but as mentioned they are working with me. The 6 month grace period for graduates is ridiculous. My grace period is long gone, but I'm still working out a payment plan, especially since my hours at work got cut.

first the month bills ahhh

i hate any kind of people who call

lol

[Edited 7/1/10 5:19am]

Graycap23 said:

Number23 said:

Graycap23 said:

I avoid BILLS.

No you bloody don't.

I think the point is to minimize debts and monthly payments as much as possible.

When I realized I was broke, and managed my money badly, I simplified everything by not having cable, land line, internet, or utilities (gas & water included in my rent). Having so few bills made it easier to get on top of my budget.