Exactly Who Is Trying To Get Me To Pay Up?

Exactly who is trying to get me to pay up? The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was created in the 1970s and provided a good amount of protections for consumers. There are strict rules and regulations that a debt collector must abide by, and if any of these regulations are violated, there’s a good chance that you could sue that agency. But what about that friend of yours who owes you five dollars? Do you have to grant them thirty days to refute the claim? Clearly, you do not.

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Laws Banning Cell Phone Use Don’t Seem To Be Cutting It

It was recently revealed in a study that laws that ban cell phone use while driving fail to reduce crashes. According to the new Highway Loss Data Institute, there have been no reductions in crashes since cell phone bans have taken effect.

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Getting To Know Your Customer Is A Good Business Practice

Running a business has the capacity to be difficult. At times it is necessary to ask a bill collection agency for assistance collecting money that is owed. However, if businesses take a plan of prevention, they may not need to use the help of a third party collections agency. Knowing the client or customer can be extremely useful for filtering out potential problems.

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Identity Theives Hit Retail Stores Hard

According to a report compiled by LexisNexis, United States merchants are suffering from $191 billion in fraud losses this year. Believe it or not, the average merchant will be subject to almost ten times the identity theft of financial institutions.

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Student Loan Consolidation

Income is limited these days for everyone, who struggles to maintain the standard of living. In the past, loans carried you through college, but now that you’re out these debts have come out to haunt you. You may be contacted by various debt collectors and left a frantic mess seeking someone who can help you with a school loan consolidation.

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Collections Industry Considers Work At Home Opportunities

Even though it is always a good idea to hire more workers to add to your ranks, keeping the best employees in a collections agency is key. It has become a recent trend that tenured collectors are now requesting to work at home.

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Beware Of Jury Scam

According to the FBI, jury scams have been around for years. What happens is that a person will call you, informing you that you have missed jury duty, and then asks for personal information to prevent you from getting arrested. But if you give the conman what he wants, you could lose your identity.

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Debt When It Comes To Older People

Older people are feeling the stress of the recession just as much as younger people. Many are unable to work due to physical and mental fragility, but still live in homes with mortgages. Some may have maxed out credit cards, but with no employment and minimal help from Medicare, social security checks, and retirement funds there seems to be no recourse.

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Bank Accused Of Bad Business

Credit card issuer Capital One Bank and four other companies were sued by West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw for deceptive and unfair practices and bad business conduct. The complaint was filed this week in West Virginia’s Circuit Court and it alleges that Capital One fooled consumers into repayment plans by sending out solicitations disguised as new credit offers.

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Times Are Tough, Its Time To Think Outside The Box

When times get tough, the tough think outside of the box. Ten years ago mortgage borrowers trying to manipulate the system made their debts appear smaller and pumped up incomes to qualify for loans that they otherwise wouldn’t get. Now it looks like borrowers have found a new way to get lower payments from lenders on loan modifications by doing just the reverse.

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Beware Of Cash4Gold

We’ve all seen them – the flashy “Cash4Gold” commercials, at times they feature people on the street dancing, or at other times, M.C. Hammer promising fast cash in turn for your old, unused jewelry. Although human nature makes us want to unconditionally trust the dancing person or even with his track record, M.C. Hammer, it turns out that Cash4Gold may not in fact be too legit to quit.

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This Just In: Dirty Debt Companies Are Bad News

There’s accumulating proof in the form of lawsuits and complaints that some debt collection companies are using abusive and illegal ploys in an effort to debtors to pay up. Attorney Steve Halbert handles 30-50 cases at one time, representing clients who say they’re being harassed and even bullied by debt collection companies.

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Is Bankruptcy My Best Bet?

Seeing as debt at an all time high, owing a debt could seem overwhelming. Many people have looked to the internet for an answer and without a doubt they have seen advertisements claiming debt relief as a quick fix. Engaging as these ads may appear to be, it is crucial to be on the lookout for the validity of the claim.

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Scam Alert – Collection Agent Takes Buyers For A Ride

Not too long ago, a man running a debt buying company in Florida was punished to six years of federal prison time for the crime of selling debt portfolios that he didn’t own. Steven Goldberg, of Golberg and Associates in Boca Raton, took the heat from the District Attorney. Financial Analysts like Micheal J Koopmans allege that Goldberg would give falsified files and fake evidence that he did in fact own the files. To add insult to injury, Goldberg also sent buyers fake transaction numbers and other fake financial information. All in all, debt buyers were hoodwinked for more than $3.3 million. Investigative reports revealed that many well-respected accounts receivable management companies were swindled.

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10 Tips To Successfully Collect A Debt

Ten Tips on how to collect debt:

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Zombie Debt: The Bills That Won’t Die

Like the phoenix that rises from the ashes, so does so-called zombie debt. A consumer may think it’s dead, but it keeps coming back to haunt them.

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The Collections Industry Today

The collections industry has grown so huge in the last couple of years. The reason for this is that collections and recoveries are usually outsourced business functions. It would be unfathomable for a creditor to handle retrieving debt from all of their accounts, so the creditors call the collections agencies.

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What You Should Know About The CARD ACT

The CARD act recently went into effect. That means that consumers will be able to enjoy some relief from double cycle billing and arbitrary rate increases. Additionally, the CARD act promises that credit card bills will be much easier to read. However, with the new act comes a brand new series of rules and regulations that savvy consumers should know about.

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American Charged With Kidnap In Haiti

It was revealed recently that the leader of the American missionaries that are now locked up for alleged child abduction in Haiti has a very shameful past full of bad debts, divorce and unpaid wages back home.

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Quick Calculations Could Bail You Out Of Debt

With various accounts, debts, interest rates hitting you at once, your financial situation can very well seem intimidating. But if you follow this program you will find that there is an effective and safe way to manage your money.

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Dubious Consumers Doubt Executives

According to the up to date analysis by research agency TNS, consumers assessments and beliefs about the U.S. economy remain, for the most part, bleak. The study revealed that consumer’s opinion about the economy hasn’t changed at all since September.

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What To Do When A Collector Calls

If you owe debt to a creditor collection agencies are allowed to report your debt to credit bureaus, file lawsuits against you, and should be taken very seriously. The best way to protect yourself and your financial situation is a methodical approach. First, know why you are being contacted. Know where the debt is from and exactly how much it costs.

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