Chances are, getting harassed by a Florida debt collector is not your idea of a good time, but if this has become your new reality, it may serve you well to learn how to best communicate with them. At Kingcade Garcia McMaken, we recognize that some debt collectors rely on unethical tactics in their efforts to get you to pay up, and we have helped many clients facing increasingly overwhelming debt work to find solutions that fit their needs.
According to the Motley Fool, debt collectors have a job they have to do, and their ultimate goal is typically not coming up with a manageable payback plan, but rather, scaring you into paying off your debt in full. Because their objectives likely differ broadly from your own, it is important to recognize how the ways you communicate with debt collectors can impact your situation.
More specifically, in some cases, giving certain information to debt collectors can cause you more harm than good. For example, unless you know with 100% certainty that a particular debt is, in fact, yours, avoid saying so when dealing with debt collectors over the phone. You can count on someone recording or monitoring these phone calls, so any admission you make, whether accurate or otherwise, may have the potential to come back to bite you.
You should also think twice before agreeing to give a debt collector a partial settlement offer over the phone. Why? Typically, a statute of limitations exists limiting how long a debt collector can come after you to collect on a certain debt. If you pay even a partial amount before the statute of limitations ends, the period starts all over again, giving debt collectors more time to come after you for what you owe. You can find more about creditor harassment on our webpage.
