Working With Your Creditors

Contrary to your likely perception, your creditors are not necessarily bad people. Like any business, your credit card company or lending institution is in the pursuit of profit, and really, just want their money. This is why it is so important to contact your creditor(s) if you are having financial trouble. You shouldn’t be timid or afraid to talk honestly with your creditors – chances are, they would rather work with you from the get-go (and get their money!) than turn you over to a debt collector. At the point when that happens, your creditors have given up on you – a lose/lose situation.

If you do have accounts that have been turned over to debt collectors, it will benefit you to know that you have rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. A collector may not call you before 8 a.m., after 9 p.m., or if you are at work and you have informed the collector that your employer does not approve of the phone calls. They must cease contacting you with a written request, and they may not be dishonest or try to intimidate you in the process of attempting to collect on a debt. This does not mean that you can make the debt go away, or that creditors have no right to contact you! To avoid the unpleasantness of debt collection, you should try to negotiate with your creditors IN ADVANCE of your defaulting on a debt. You may be surprised by their willingness to work with you, especially if you have previously had a clean payment history.  ■