This is a question that comes up quite frequently. The answer is yes and no. In most cases most bill collectors follow the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to the letter. You can trust them to do this. The big question about trust comes up when a person is talking about payment arrangements, settling accounts and getting accounts deleted from their credit reports. 

The big problem is that most people do not have a clue as to how to navigate through the collection process. Let me give you an example. When a collector says that a debtor needs to make a monthly payment arrangement of $100 to $150, many people will accept the arrangement without considering their other debts. Although they may know that they can’t keep the payment arrangement, to get a bill collector off their back, they will say yes to a debt collector.

Let me give you another example. A person owes $6,000 on a charged off credit card. A collector says that they can settle for 60 to 80% of the balance. This works out to $3,600 to $4,800. Although the collector did not lie, he didn’t tell the debtor that based on his circumstances, they could settle for 25 to 55% of the balance.

Bill collector’s number one job is to collect money. They have many strategies in their arsenal that the average person doesn’t know about. Because of this, when people find themselves in this situation, they don’t know what to do. If you are talking with a debt collector and you want to be sure you are not getting a raw deal, give me a call at 313-744-5977 or e-mail me at [email protected].