I'm asking this because I was a collector for 13 years. I worked for GE and we handled some retail cards. Later I worked for a collection agency. It's not a job I 'loved' at all but I loved working for General Electric. It is a good company! We didn't make a lot of money but the benefits were aweswome. I'm a regular ol' nice person (now a SAHM) and I don't see anything wrong with a company calling to collect a debt that it is owed. The collection agency I worked for also had the same strict guidelines.

We had *very* strict rules on what we could and could not do. Our phones were monitored so that we would not do/say anything illegal. We were practically trained to death. If any of the collectors were ever rude/mean/harassing to a cardholder then they were reprimanded and eventually fired if it happened again.

Sure I've had financial troubles and I can relate to so many stories of why people cannot pay but in all fairness I don't think I should be able to walk away from any of my bills (although it would be nice I know that interest/late charges can jack up the balance but that's usually part of the credit agreement presented before the account was opened. In my personal experience I have rarely seen any charges on my accounts that I didn't expect to happen.

I'm sure I'm in the minority only because I have firsthand experience on what it's like to be a collector so I'm very conscious of getting myself in the positiion of being called to pay a bill. The people I worked with were very good people just trying to get through life like everyone else. There are a few bad apples in the bunch as I'm sure there are in all businesses.

I don't know how many times I left work super stressed and ready to cry my eyes out because cardholders were so mean and hateful. I couldn't do a dang thing about it. It's almost like an unwritten rule that you can be cruel and it's fun to be mean to collectors.

This is *totally* different than someone calling to solicit money over the phone for something other than a debt. I also can understand if the charge being disputed was an error & I really understand people feeling overwhelmed by their debt (I'm one of them). Things happen in life that result in getting behind or being late on a bill.

This post isn't directed toward anyone. I'm just trying to understand why some think that collectors are getting their jollies off on calling people. It's just a job. I guess when someone gets a call from a collector, they automatically get defensive & it stresses everyone out.

I too am a collector, but not to private homes but to businesses. I am very professional on the phone, even though sometimes the other end isnt the same...I deal with it and stay calm.
I think some people get their jollies off of calling people cause they have some kind of power / ego issue. Probably like telemarketers that get their jollies off of calling people when they are having dinner.
Ive never been contacted by a collector, but a guy here at work has been and he gets all stressed and defensive and pissed. He does owe someone money, so he should make an attempt to pay these people back.
But some collectors can be just plain rude and unprofessional. Guess it just depends on what company they work for.

__________________
www.myspace.com/sassy143


Alex & the spider monkey

I dont mind the nice collectors. Its the ones that try to bully you that pi$$ me off. If its something that legit.. like a credit card or something.. then fine.. but to hound me over a $1400 gym membership? PLEASE
You make valid points. But just the fact of someone calling me wanting money that I dont have EVERY SINGLE DAY. Ugh. Its annoying. I know I know.. pay your bills and you wont have to worry about it. lol (we do .. btw.. its just this gym thing.. total BS in my book.)

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

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

I don't hate collectors. I personally know two people who are colectors. one does very well with all the incentives. she is a really nice person, maybe that comes across and is why she does so well.

that said I have never been called by a colletors. ok. I guess I have. my dh forgot to pay the cc bill and they called and asked it I wanted to pay it. I told them I didn't usually pay the bill but would call dh and get it straingted out. she presisted and I told her the same thing over. she persisted and after I told her the same thing 4 times I asked her if she had a problem understanding English. I would take care of it by the end of the day. she wasn't rude (at first) but wasn't nice. they were vry friendly with dh when he called and got it straighten out and he warned them that i would be calling. I did call and complain and then we transferred balance and they magically reduced my interest rate and removed the fees.
I realize it's a job. I also never say dh is here unless i know who it is or what the call is about. he also does the same for me. we have always done that.

allgirls

__________________
allgirls, mom to 3 girls

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time

I personally dont despise them.I know they are only doing their jobs but I have had some really bad apples call here to basically make them all look bad.I have talked to quite a few good ones also.The pushy ones piss me off too....

__________________
~~Sharon~~

My problem with them is when they continuely keep calling even when they have the wrong person! There is a girl in this town who has the same name as me. I have been served papers several times, been called several times by companies because of bounced checks and was almost denied car insurance because of her. Found out she didn't put her phone number on anything and when people call information I'm the first number that comes up. I have since changed my listing.

__________________

I don't hate collectors...I hate the attitudes some of them portray. I've only dealt with a collector once...and it was actually a debt that my ex was taking care of and stopped paying all of a sudden. They called and got crappy with me WITHOUT listening to the story. That I had gotten divorced, the ex was paying the bill but stopped paying without notifying me and that I would do what I could to bring it back into good standing. I had to get really nasty and tell her to SHUT UP and LISTEN so I could tell her what it was she wanted to hear....basically that I'd pay the bill. I called back and talked to a higher up, they settled with me by removing all of the extra charges and I paid the bill off. Lots of them get on a power trip by being nasty and it's really not necessary. People who are financially slammed or in a bind aren't going to be in the best of moods anyway if they feel cornered or caged...it's just best to be nice to them. For those who are dishonest and just not trying or trying to walk out from under bills they owe, then I can understand the desire to be crappy with them, but the rules have to apply for everyone.

This has happen to us!!!!In our same town,there is another William and Sharon(with the same last name).There has been stuff on our credit from them b/c of this.

__________________
~~Sharon~~

i don't think it's the collectors themselves just the fact that they call when you obviously don't have any money. i don't think it's that people don't WANT to pay, i think it's that they can't. so, when someone calls asking me for money, it's stressful. i try to be as nice as possible but some of them act as if they don't hear you. they ask you the same question over and over again.

shannon

__________________

My boys both had tubes put in their ears at the same time when they were 1 1/2 and
2 1/2. The bill came to $3000, so I started making payments on the bills. I would send one check with the amount to be split between the two bills, and I wrote the amount to be applied to each bill on the statements. I did this for 6 months, never missing a payment, but giving what I could each month to both accounts.

Out of the blue I started receiving calls from a collection agency because one of the accounts was sent to collection. The hospital was applying the total amount of each check to one account and letting the other go "unpaid". I was livid. When I tried to explain this, the collector was HATEFUL, BELITTLING, PATRONIZING, RUDE, UNPROFESSIONAL, and COMPLETELY UNHELPFUL. I tried, through several phone calls, to work out a payment plan, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO they had to have the bill paid in full immediately!!!! They told me that I should sell my house and move to a smaller one so I could afford my bills. They also informed me that I could sell one of my vehicles since we have two. They also impressed upon me that I could take out a personal loan from the bank if I cared enough to do something about this.

I told the spawn of Satan that I would be receiving my income tax return in a couple weeks and would gladly use it to pay the bill, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO they weren't going to wait that long before taking me to court. And they were charging me INTEREST ON THE UNPAID BALANCE!!!!!!!!!!

Now COME ON!!! I was not trying to avoid paying the bill. I had been making payments and thought that both accounts were being paid on. I offered a solution, even though the beyotch really stressed me and was the single worst person I have ever had to deal with (even worse than my ex-husband or my current mil) in my entire life.

I called the hospital billing manager and explained what was going on with my account, the collector, my offer, the whole ugly situation, and she agreed to let me pay when my tax return came in. Which I did. Immediately.

I began to really hate the power trip mentality that the collectors were on. I hated that I was being treated as a common criminal. I hated that they had the law on their side, even though I had not broken any laws. I hated the stress that she was able to cause in me because I try so hard to take care of my family and our financial business so carefully.

So, that is why I have no use for collectors when they act in such a manner.

__________________


Parker, Wyndser, and Carson....................Wyndser (in blue) with her cousin