Collection Agency Techniques

When you get behind on your payments, there is a strong chance that a debt collection agency will be in touch with you soon. Collection agencies are hired by companies to facilitate the collection of their outstanding accounts. If you are behind on your bills, here are some of the techniques that a collection agency might use.

Phone Calls

One of the most common ways that collection agencies try to contact you is over the phone. They could potentially call your home phone, your cell phone or even your work phone. Collection agencies are not allowed to call you early in the morning or late at night. Some collection agencies will contact you multiple times per day while others might only call you periodically. When they contact you, they have to speak to you without using any profane or harassing language, according to the law.

Mail

Another way that many collection agencies choose to contact people is through the mail. Sometimes you will receive a regular letter from them, while other times, they may send you a certified letter. If you choose, you could ask the collection agency to only contact you through the mail and avoid phone calls. Many times, a collection agency will contact you by phone and then send you a notice in the mail so that you can see exactly how much you owe. This notice generally will include a statement from the account in which you are overdue.

Lawsuit

If you fail to respond to the initial efforts of the collection agency, they may decide to file a lawsuit against you. In this case, you would be served a summons from your local court. You would then need to settle the case out of court or appear in court to argue your side of the case. In most cases, if the debt is valid, the court will rule in the favor of the creditor. At that point, they could then require you to make monthly payments or the court could garnish your wages to repay the debt.

Taking Payments

Some collection agencies will provide you with the option to make payments. While some agencies may request payment in full, you can usually work out a payment plan with them. When you set up a payment plan, collection agencies are not allowed to charge interest on the amount that you owe. They also cannot charge any fees for taking the payments.