Why is it BS? He didn't sign up for the gym? How can they charge you if it's not legit?

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Jodie....Wife to Andrew (1995)
Mommy to Riley (2000) and Wyatt (2003)

I've been on both sides. I was put on the collections team in a comp I worked for. It provided medical supplies to seniors. I HATED asking these poor old folks for money. Especially since most of them couldn't understand their copayments at all.. I felt so bad for them.... I would cry daily for them. People who ate cat food to pay their bills.... But according to medicare, we had to attempt to collect the copayments.

On the other hand, I've had collectors really get under my skin. During my divorse to my ex, which resorted in bankruptsy, due to debt he had before we were married I didn't know about..... Anyways... I was always as helpful to them as I could be, cause I knew there was really nothing they could do. But a few CC companies actually started contacting me at work, which i know is so illegal. I'd tell them if they kept calling me there, I wouldn't have a job anymore to be able to pay them. I would threaten them with hiring a lawyer, cause it's illegal to contact a person at their place of business for a personal debt..... They didn't care... they would call my comp and ask for me every single day.... I even had a physical therapist for my son show up at the front desk asking for me, looking for a payment that my insurance was supposed to pay.. I finally had to have security escort her out everytime she showed up. How embarrassing is that????

I'm sorry. The only reason I agreed to do collections at that company was I knew they did the min allowed calls by law as a medicare provider. I could never work for a company who's policy was to call people and harass them every day, or to threaten them, or contact them at work, no matter how much they owed. Whether they owe a debt or not, it's just plain harassment!!!

I have had quite the dealings with collectors.I have been in a wreck and had 2 pregnancies that prevented me from working long in the last trimester. So obviously I have had money issues from being off of work and paying the medical bills.

After my wreck I attended physical therapy at the hospital I work at. I even had their insurance. Anyways I start getting calls from the collection agency. When I tell them that I had insurance they informed me that the insurance didn't pay. I call the insurance company and ask why the bill wasn't, they inform me that the hospital waited over a year to send in a bill. So I call this company back to tell them why and they want to inform me that I am still responsible for it. I was like Uh you want to make a bet. I told them they could just dock my pay and hung up on them. They can't dock my pay though with out my written authorization. So after much running betwee departments I finally got it settled and the hospital admitted that it was their loss and not mine.

I was always getting calls when I was on bed rest and not able to make my payments. Everyone is like " Well can't you afford $10 a month?" Well not if I'm not working. And if I gave everyone $10 a month I would have been broke. Because you know how it is where there is more than one doctor when you have to visit an ER. They tried to tellme that I should be able to afford $10. Well heck no yu can't when you have to use that money towards your groceries or gas money.

I must also admit to being on a first name basis with the collection guy at the bank I have my car loan through. I refuse to write them a check if the money isn't in the account. This is even if we get paid the next day. Or if I need to pay a high gas or electric bill first and then pay the car payment out of the next check. I know that sounds bad but I would rather be late than give them a check that may bounce.

Iti is not that I dislike collectors.. I dislike some of their tatics.. take tonight for instance, we have been really short on money lately since Dh's heart attack back in April. I have been doing everything I can to catch up. I have sold things, pawned things, and had garage sales to make up money. We are 24 days late on our car note and they have been calling. we have told them we don't have it and we can probably send the money on this friday. Tonight they call asking where the car is cuz they are here to pick it up. First off the car broke down and in the shop and will be costing us 2000 to fix. They then tell my Dh he has til tomorrow at noon to call them or they will be at Dh's work and sit there until he tells them the car is. Oh yeah and they want us to pay for whatever work has already been done on the truck. We had payment arrangment with the mechanic so we are screwed. I have also had the hospital calling from when DH was in the hospital. We took him to the closest hospital. Evidently they neglected to tell us until day 5 in the hosptial that there are not a provider (yes we should have know that but when you are having a heart attack aand the ambulance is driving ligths and siren you go to the closet one. So now we have a hospital bill of 29000.00 not to mention er doc, the docs that saw him in the hospital etc. When i try explaining our situation to these people they call us deadbeats and a few other choice words. When you salary barely covers your NORMAL expenses and something else comes up what are you to do. We have been making our rent barely by sending part of it on the 1rst and the rest like one or two weeks later. I have asked DH to get a2nd job, but everything i suggest he states he can't do because of his back injury. I am starting up my daycare that I haven't done since 2001. But the people I have interviewed right now will not be starting until school starts and the other one has a 3 weeks and needs to be released back to work before I will start with her. So it is not that I HATE collectors it is the fact that I can not get them to wor with me in anyway. We are actually considering filing bankruptcy and I really don't want to that.

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All the kids with their kids (my grandbabies). One more one the way in November!

I worked for a credit agency. I was not a collector I worked for the CEO but I learned a lot about how they work and I personally think they get a bad wrap for doing their job. The collection agencies are contacted by businesses who need to get paid to stay in business. Normally, the businesses try to contact the person who owes them first to try to make payment arrangements before they are turned over to collections. They don't want it to be turned over, it costs them money to do it. Most places of business will work with people on payment plans before things are charged off and turned over. They will often take very small amounts of money if people would pay it consistantly and not hide from them. Banks will even allow interest only payments on loans if someone is having a hard time financially. After a certain amount of time when their efforts have failed, the account is turned over to a collections agency so that the business can recover at least some of their money. If they didn't do this and no one paid them, they would go out of businesss. Collectors are under very strict rules as to what they can and cannot say or what power they have to reduce debts or interest. They shouldn't be rude, I'm sure some are. I worked there and heard them. But honestly, people are rude to them too. They are irritated that they even called. They hear a thousand times a day, "it's in the mail," "I can't pay it," "here are my reasons why," they are hung up on, called names. They are people too, hired to do a job so they can pay their bills. I don't think they (or telemarketers) should be hated or treated rudely. I think people should do everything in their power to pay their bills, if something comes up that they can't, they need to contact the company and try to work with them and they need to do it before they go to collections. Getting made at someone for trying to collect money that you, as a customer, signed and promised to pay, frankly is just not fair.

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The mighty oak started out as a nut that held its ground.

What I hate is when they won't even give you any info. I had some collectors call me last year because my brother & his GF had bought a ton of stuff on credit. Some things she even got under my name some way. Anyway...I would try to nicely tell them that my bro. didn't live here, I don't have contact with him, I don't know how to get into contact with him & please stop calling me. It amazed me how many of them just assumed I was lying. I even had one woman ask me if I really "expected her to believe that I didn't know how to contact my own bro." Well...Yeah. We're both adults & I don't like the way he lives & don't want it around my kids, so I choose not to have contact with him. Another collector who had sold them some furniture on payments told me they would have the police come to my house to get their property (after I told them it wasn't at my house) because bro had put my address instead of his own. Some of the people that called were nice, but most were rude & disrespectful. I understand that tons of people a day are rude to these collectors, but when someone is actually trying to help them do their jobs more effectively; they could at least be civil.

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Me too, I don't hate bill collectors, they are just doing their job.

My issue is with a certain one I deal with. I have a student loan I defaulted on, and it was transferred toa collection agency. I have been dealing with this person for months now, on a weekly basis. He constantly asks me the same questions, "Um melissa, I'm looking at your credit and you seem to h ave very good credit, why don't you refinance your home?" Okay FIRST OF ALL, I did not give you permission to look at my credit, and second, if you see good credit, then you are not looking at MINE. I'm NOT refinancing my home to pay off a $2000 debt, lose my 5% interest rate that I can barely afford, and go to an 8% adjustable rate that I KNOW I won't afford, I'll lose my house. "Well then why don't you take out a home equity line of credit?" BECAUSE, if you are looking at my credit like you say you are MORON, you will see I already have one that is maxed out! "Well then you can take out a personal loan." AGAIN, are you an idiot?? LOOK at my credit, I already have one I am paying on from last year. Its only halfway paid off! "Don't you have anyone you can borrow the money from?" :::::SIGH:::::

EVERY FREAKING WEEK, I go through this. I'm not exgerrating, every week. I've gotten to the point, I don't want to answer the phone. "But Melissa, I'm trying to help you" Whatever, you can help my by stopping the stupid questions!!

I finnally told him yesterday, after he threatened to sue me for the umpteenth time, Please go right ahead and sue me. That doesn't change the fact that I STILL have no money, so what will that accomplish??

He agreed to not call me again till the end of the month, when I promised that I would TRY to give him $100 toward the debt. But not without him trying to get me to 'postdate a check by phone to the end of the month' Or giving up my last $20 I have in the bank till next payday a week from now. I told him if he would just be paitent I can probably have him paid in full in Feb after I file my taxes. "But that is 6 months away!!" And how long have we been going back and forth with this?? YOu can't just wait till then to be paid in full????

Certain people are very professional, I explain the situuation, they ask me when I can send some money I tell them, they say thank you and we are done. This guy is rediculous!!!

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~Missy~Mommy
Meghan8.Samantha7,Cameron4

It is illegal for them to say things that they cannot do, such as this or saying anything about debtors prison. You could have asked to speak to their manager. If you get someone who is being particularly nasty and stepping over the line, turn the conversation around and get their full name, extension number, and then ask to speak to their manager. They will sh*t their pants on the spot.

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The mighty oak started out as a nut that held its ground.

Yeah, I think its BS that a $100 membership turns into $1400 in 11 years. Yes, he should have paid for it then. I agree with that. But lets be real.. do they think that if they keep charging you fee after fee over the years that they are going to get any money at all? They should have a cut off I think. If the bill was $100 or even $200 then I might consider paying it. But $1400????? Give me a break. No Im not paying it. ESPECIALLY since the time has passed for SOL.

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Mommy to Bailey 10/02, Brooke 9/04, & DJ 6/06

Check out my scrapbooking blog!
http://nevillland.blogspot.com/

If I owed it, I would pay it (i would try to get the interest removed or lowered). Not judging I'm just anal about these things.

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The mighty oak started out as a nut that held its ground.