I just talked to a CSR from a collection agency

I'm one of those sleazy unemployed who just lost their unemployment benefits. I have been unemployed for six months and have run out of state benefits without ever receiving any of the federal aid. I have been dealing with calls from five or six creditors constantly per day because I am behind in everything.

Here's a good strategy for getting the word out about how republicans are responsible for this horror that the unemployed are experiencing:

Make sure that the person you are talking to about your delinquency knows that you are still unemployed and ask them if they know about the legislation that did not pass. Politely tell them that republicans are the ones that screwed this up for everyone. I talked with two CSRs this afternoon, and they both assured me that they knew exactly what is going on - one even asked for advice about her sister's remaining benefits.

If any of you are dealing with bill collectors, please let them know,in no uncertain terms, who is responsible for this misery.

The republicans are going to try to pin this on Democrats come election time. The news media is (of course) squashing any coverage of the problems that this situation has caused.

I'm just trying to get the word out, one person at a time.

Please. Your number will go right back into the dialer, and another of them will call tomorrow.

The people who work for these places are not the problem. I just want to repeat again and again and again who put us in this situation.

Welcome to DU! I am sorry to hear of your situation.

I am one of the lucky ones. I have a family that is helping me out. I cannot imagine what it is like for those you don't have that safety net.

I know, they're probably as desperate as everyone else, but I can't imagine a more degrading job.

I think if I had to choose between suicide and doing that job, I know which I'd take.

I lasted 6 months on it and would stare at the clock the whole time waiting for my shi(f)t to be over.

The micormanagement in those places is insane. We had to ask to use the bathroom. Most of us would purposely drink a lot of water so we'd be peeing constantly and away from our desks.

My last straw was when a customer called me the C-word. I said in my resignation letter that the abuse I was taking from customers affected my personal life.

have these collectors calling you all the time. Check out your rights, and let them know that they are not to call you, only to contact you by mail and do the same with them. Of course, if you prefer to talk to them for now, go for it. If anyone gets nasty and your answering machine can record, do it. Just make sure to tell them right away that you are recording the conversation.

I find it to be an opportunity.

I keep saying the same. It is republicans willfully punishing those in need in the hopes of blaming their suffering on the administration while they know damn well it is their doing.
I hope you find work soon! And that republicans are swept from office in November for their hateful and hurtful shenanigans.
:hug:

Implying that this is going to pay anyone's bills or make the collection agencies kinder. I'm just committed to getting the word out to people who may otherwise not get it in their personal lives. Got it?

Do everything in writing..

the letter they offered to settle for a one time payment of far less than the debt amount. Then they said, when he called to do that, that that letter was a mistake and a new one was going out to us. What is going on?????? Do these places do this on purpose?

The first letter they sent you is essentially a legal contract. stick with it, and don't accept any second letter offer that is a worse deal than the first letter. If you offer to settle based on the first letter they send you, and they now refuse, you may not be liable for any of the debt now. At any rate, don't agree to settle for a worse settlement than first offered. Get on the internet and find out more about this.

I had a similar situation happen to me with the collectors for American Express. the collectors sent out a letter offering to settle for a much smaller amount than the debt, and when I called to agree, they said the letter was no longer valid, and a second letter had worse terms of settlement for me. I stuck to my guns, and wound up only paying on the agreement in the first letter.

They are trying to strongarm you into paying more on the settlement than you should. fight back against them, and KEEP THAT FIRST LETTER!

We would have to put it on Credit card but to do that I think we wold have to do it by phone.
The man said that "we could pay the that amount but that that was only the first installment and we would have to pay that amount again". But in the letter it said "one time payment settlement for something like 20% or 30%.

...and they can lie to you about anything (legally). They will tell you they'll settle for a reduced amount, but after you pay that amount, they will come after you for the rest -- except "the rest" is even more, due to interest and penalties.

You must get any offers they make to you in ironclad writing from them, in effect, a contract that states the new reduced amount.

I was harassed for over fifteen years by a series of collection agencies over a student loan I refused to pay, because the school (an audio/video engineering trade school in Hollywood CA), was a fraudulent operation, which I had pointed out to anybody at the California Student Aid Commission who would listen. Their response, "yes, we know it was a fraudulent operation, but we think you should pay back the loan anyway. After all, you must have learned something going there."

The school eventually closed due to the malfeasance that was going on by the owner/operator (he was stealing the tuition money and taking it to his native India), but I was still expected to pay back the loan. By the time fifteen years had passed, the original $4000 loan was now over $17,000, but the collection agency that contacted me had agreed to knock it down to around $11,800 if I agreed to pay off that reduced amount. When I agreed to that, on the condition that they put their offer in writing, they said "OK, we'll put it in writing," but they never did. I refused to pay the reduced amount without the agreement in writing from them, and eventually tracked down a Federal level EdFund bureaucrat who found the loophole which got the entire loan dismissed. I not only did not have to pay back the $17,000 they were harassing me for, but I also had all monies they had taken through tax garnishments returned to me (over $4000, which, again, was the amount of the original loan).

To those who would dismiss me as a "newbie," I was a member of DU for three years with over 1,000 posts. I left here after the second Bush "win" because I got out of politics completely. Understandably, my account was deleted. I came back a few weeks ago. I have noticed a real hostility toward new people these days. I hope that this will not be a permanent attitude.

Your heart is in the right place and there is nothing wrong with passing your tip along, in my opinion.

Welcome back to DU!

If you're going to have to talk to these folks anyway, might as well educate them on the political side of it. Remember the one's who are calling you are making $10 an hour, so it's not like they're big time capitalists. I say go ahead and talk about it.

wanna get them to stop bugging you by phone. Cancel your landline and maybe also your contract cell service. Get a pre-paid cell & don't give your # out to anyone. A friend of mine did this & the collectors weren't able to track him down anymore.