As I mentioned in Part 1, the biggest thing that people that have accounts in collections have is changing their attitude toward debt. I have heard all kinds of excuses, reasons and justifications as to why people are having collection problems. The following is one of the biggest problems that people face that have collection accounts.

They get overcome with fear. When fear sets in, the following things are not far behind. A few of these are not answering the phone, having children or a spouse say that they are not at home and not opening collection letters. What complicates matters is when people believe that bill collectors are out to get them. They will do all kinds of things to get back at collectors.

When people take this attitude here are some of the long lasting results.

• They get sued
• Interest bearing default judgments are entered against them
• Wage and bank garnishments can happen
• Job losses due to employers being upset with processing garnishments are common
• Divorce and homelessness can also happen

When I encounter people that are consistently blaming bill collectors for their mess, if they are willing to listen to me I tell them the following things

1. Even if you have talked to a rude collector, they are not the root of their problem

2. I tell then to take responsibility for their debts.

3. Although they may have been laid off without warning, they still had the
opportunity to do things financially to hold themselves over.

4. If they don’t change their attitude it will only make matters worse.

5. They should concentrate on looking for solutions instead of doing things
that create more financial hurdles.

Please let me know what you think about what I have said. Next time we will talk about some other practical things you can do to solve your debt collection problems.