Pro Tips for Getting Debt Collectors to Stop Calling ☎️

Things to Try:

1. Figure Out if it Makes Sense to Just Pay:

The easiest way to get a collector off your case is to pay off the debt, but depending on your circumstances, it may or may not make sense.

Here are the pros of paying off your collections:

• In some cases, it may raise your credit score. Newer credit score models actually take the collections off your report if you pay it off, but not every lender is caught up to the newest model.
• The collector won’t have a need to take further steps to sue you

Here are some situations in which it may not make sense to pay off

• If you’ve already filed bankruptcy. Paying off the collections won’t help your credit score much here, and the collector can’t sue you to collect.
• If your income is limited to federal benefits (like Social Security or VA) - the collector cannot sue you for this income
• If it’s been a really long time since you owed the debt (5-6 years), because likely the statue of limitations may have passed and you’re not that far away from having it taken off your credit report anyway

2. Negotiate It:

Let’s say you’ve decided to pay it off - negotiate! Collectors expect that they won’t collect 100% of the debt, so they’re often willing to work with you to lower the total amount or create a payment plan. To get out free money psychology course and negotiation scripts, sign up for the Debbie app.

3. Send Them a Letter:

If you’ve decided that you don’t have a benefit of paying off the debt and the collector won’t sue you, you can write them a Cease and Desist letter. It’s actually illegal for collectors to keep calling you after you’ve sent them this letter, unless it’s to tell you that 1. They will stop calling or 2. They are suing you. This law is called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and is governed by the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). Here are some sample letters. The downside to asking them to stop, is you won’t know if they plan to sue you until they are already suing you, so don’t try this unless you feel confident that they can’t or won’t.

Things that Don’t Work:

1. Ignoring Them

If you continue to ignore them, they will keep calling you, and may eventually sue you to collect the debt. Once you’re in a legal situation, your costs will grow exponentially. Better to deal with them than to kick the can down the road.

2. Changing your Number

These people are professionals, and will very likely find your new number and start contacting you there. Or they may reach out to your relatives to figure out your new contact information. Note: if they did contact your relatives, they are only legally allowed to ask them your contact information, not to discuss the debt with them. If they did go further, you may have legal grounds to sue them - make sure to keep records of conversations and emails!

Now go get ‘em!🏃

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