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Being affected by debt is probably one of the worst things that can ever happen. You will gradually find that the amount of unpaid bills and the number of phone calls from the debt collector will gradually increase day by day. When you are near bankrupt, your inability to pay bills will result in a very bad credit score, thus worsening your current situation. Credit score is greatly affected by debt records and your late payments, not surprisingly, will cause your score to plummet down.
Apart from having very low breathing space, terrifically low credit scores, a whole stack of unpaid bills and of course, no money, you will also have to deal with debt collectors.
Debt collectors are smack on their way to become the most hated people on the face of the earth. While many might not understand the gravity of this statement, those afflicted by debts will definitely know the problems put forth by the debt collectors. Harassment by debt collectors is probably one of the most commonly unreported crimes ever. There are several laws that have been framed to protect the consumer and these laws can be used against debt collectors.
The first step towards stopping harassment is to keep yourself abreast of all the latest developments in law. Most consumers are not aware that they are protected under the law, from the clutches of these rude debt collectors. You must also understand that the debt collectors are just doing what they are paid for; collecting money that is long due. Not all debt collectors are rude and relentless. Many resort to aggressive means of communication to simply scare that borrower, so that the latter is not faulty in payment. 99% of the debt collectors call several times a day. This can be highly annoying. Many of them threaten the borrower of undesirable consequences, if the borrower fails to the return the capital. Do you realize that this is actually against the law? Read on.
You can get the debt collector to stop phoning you by writing a letter to them requesting them to stop. You obviously have to pay back the debt in the stipulated amount of time, which otherwise might lead to other complications. But harassment by debt collectors, nevertheless, is strictly prohibited by the law. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prevents debt collectors from using certain methods of debt collection like threatening the debtor. So the next time you are harassed by a debt collector, you can immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission to report the incident.
If you are facing low credit scores, you can pay your debt collector to delete those records, which have details about your late payments and non-payments as well. This situation will greatly help in lifting your credit score, which will be the main deciding factor, when you apply for loans later. Debt records will pull down your credit score are increase your risk factor several fold so ensure that you eliminate them before applying for your next loan.
