Collection Agencies Informative - Pay Your Bills, Its Not Just Your Economy That Your Messing Up!!!! - Debts Owed

Posted by goduke on 2009-10-28:

I don't disagree with a lot of your concept (although it probably could have been a bit less caustic).

I'm not sure all of it is entirely reasonable. I really don't think it's entirely rational to suggest that everyone is trying to live above their means. People have to buy a car to exist. Cars are expensive, and most folks can't buy one with cash (kudos to those who can, but most can't). You have to have credit. Same thing with a house. People need a place to live, and it's not particularly realistic to say folks should pay rent and save the same amount per month until they can buy a house (I understand that a lot of the subprime folks were buying above their income level, but that's not everyone who's in trouble right now). Folks who can't pay cash shouldn't go to college? I don't think that's a good plan considering the cost of college.

The problem comes when people lose their job, have a huge medical event, etc., etc., etc. That's when folks who were living within their means all of a sudden have no means to live within. It's not that they were being irresponsible. Life dealt them a hard hand.

Posted by goduke on 2009-10-28:

Oh...and the subprime crisis wasn't really about people defaulting on loans. It was about Wall Street gambling on how many people would default and then finding out they rolled a 6 when they needed a 7.

Posted by Stew on 2009-10-28:

I couldn't have said it any better goduke. Awesome comments!

Posted by Face to Face on 2009-10-28:

"MERCEDES TASTE, WITH A PINTO PAYCHECK"

Now thats funny.......

Posted by BEJ on 2009-10-28:

I agree with goduke. TW-in my neck of the woods we call it Champagne taste on a beer budget.

Posted by Face to Face on 2009-10-28:

Thats what I've always heard BEJ

Posted by LadyScot on 2009-10-28:

LOL...I agree with this review! Duke, I think the OP is referring to, (and as a former debt collector I can attest) those folks who, not CAN'T pay their bills, but REFUSE to. AND there are A LOT of them.

Also, yes people need cars. But why would you buy a Lexus when you can't even afford a Ford? People DO want something for nothing. And they want it NOW.

Posted by DebtorBasher on 2009-10-28:

Bravo! I agree with the poster!
For those who like to tell us, "Go get a REAL job"...collecting IS a real job, it pays REAL money and we pay REAL taxes and that money pays our REAL monthly bills.
I've always had people tell me they want to put us 'collection agencies' out of business...and I'd tell them, 'If everyone paid their bills, we WOULD be out of business, so why don't YOU get the ball rolling on this mission of yours and pay YOUR bill?" That was usually when they would hung up on me...LOL!

Posted by PepperElf on 2009-10-28:

I'm giving you a VH cos i agree that a lot of people can't figure out the concept of "don't live outside your means'

we live in a world where people are addicted to spending or having to have the latest & greatest.

and you know there's nothing wrong with slowing down, cutting back on spending and planning a budget

now i don't entirely believe that these overspenders were the cause of the bailouts - if i remember correctly they were mislead about the mortgage payments on the houses and the lenders were encouraged to lend to people who couldn't afford it.

Posted by LadyScot on 2009-10-28:

DB, I remember those days...Ahh...getting cussed out on a daily basis, being threatened etc. I long for those days sometimes.....

Posted by PepperElf on 2009-10-28:

a "real job" - that always makes me think of a Leonard Nimoy interview I saw where the interviewer chuckled about a low-budget horror flick Nimoy was in (before star trek). Nimoy chastised him for it, saying that it was "honest work" and that he was supporting his family on that paycheck he earned

"Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing future of time."

- Desiderata by Max Ehamann
(look up "Spock Thoughts" if you want to hear Nimoy reciting the entire poem... it's pretty good actually)

Posted by Tomahhtoe on 2009-10-28:

I'm sorry, but I can't agree with anyone who makes a living out of human misery and or desperation. Examples would be debt collectors, repo men, and pawn shops owners and lawyers.

Posted by DebtorBasher on 2009-10-28:

What line of work are you in, Tom?

Posted by LadyScot on 2009-10-28:

Tom, there would be no need for them if people didn't create a market for it. As for pawn shops, what is wrong with them? Some people can't afford new so they buy used. I for one love pawn shops.

If you are referring to pawning, NO ONE is going to loan you what you paid for your item. A reseller ALWAYS asks the question "Can I resell this and what can I get for it" before offering an amount on loan.

Go borrow against your car or your house. You won't get what you paid.

Posted by raven2002 on 2009-10-28:

I make my living working for a law firm that collects on delinquent personal and corp taxes and other govt debt. We prefer to get the money voluntarily, but have no problem tracking down and seizing your assets.

No one has the right to avoid taxes or any other debt. Many of my debtors are business owners who have not paid sales tax or employee with holding taxes. They fuss and whine about the economy. Thing is, these are TRUST taxes, meaning they should have been set aside as they were collected from customers or withheld from wages, then paid monthly or quarterly to the state.

Instead, this fools use the money for other things, then try to claim "cant" pay.

Posted by emmac on 2009-10-28:

My husband works for a company that was survivng through this economy until several companies refused to pay because of their financial troubles. Everyone has cash flow problems but these companies even refused "good faith" payments. Instead 10% of the company lost their jobs and everyone else had pay cuts. Not paying your bills hurts the everyday American.

Posted by madconsumer on 2009-10-28:

okay.

Posted by qualityappliance on 2009-10-28:

I agree completely with the OP and most everyone else. In the past year I have had three people file bankruptcy against me. All three lied through their teeh with the filing and I brought pictures to court to prove my point, but to no avail. I could not even find a lawyer that woud file an adversary proceding for me because they are way too busy filing chapter 7's for liars.

Posted by sherdy on 2009-10-28:

I agree with the OP. I am sick and tired watching every penny, measuring a 'need' against a 'want' and being careful to save for my retirement when others don't bother and the rest of us end up taking care of them through higher costs, taxes, and thing of that like. I do resent people who make less than I do but have newer houses, better cell phones, and all because they got their slate wiped clean with bankruptcy. BS!

Posted by Ytropious on 2009-10-28:

Amen Sherdy. I got odd looks from my friends (who all live in apartments with low paying jobs and have kids when they can't afford them) when I told them my house was only 60K and we were fixing it ourselves. No one wants to consider living in a house that doesn't cost like 150K and up. Well WTF is wrong with a cheap house? It's what we can afford, it's BIG, it was a foreclosure, and we're putting equity into it.

I guess that's one good thing that's come of all this and take of it what you will. If you can't pay for your house and the bank takes it, at least someone like me and my husband get it cheap because of your loss. It's my reward for being a responsible consumer and not living outside my means!

Posted by DWell17 on 2009-10-31:

Sometimes bad things happen to good people.
People lose jobs, get sick, lose their homes.
These are reasons that are stressful and that can happen.
(Not to say there are not a lot of want something low lifes out there.)
But you know it is only by the grace of God that you are not one of these honest people with broken lives.
Debt collectors are doing a job just like anyone else.
However, underhanded, illegal activities by these collection people is against the law.
Many try to collect on accounts that are bogus or out of the S.O.L.
The best education can be found at BudHibbs.com
I know from experience that the advice offered there was a real blessing and eye opener.

Posted by DebtorBasher on 2009-10-31:

BudHibbs? LOL...that name hasn't come up on here for quite awhile. NO, BudHibbs is NOT the road to take, he only has people give HIM the money they could be using to pay their bills with, to line his own pockets. Everything he charges the debtors for, the debtors can do for themselves for FREE! Stay away for him! Just learn your rights by reading the FDCPA and your State Laws...and that's all you need to know.

Posted by DWell17 on 2009-10-31:

His site is free and so is his info. He has never charged me a dime for advice. I do know that you can hire him, but to each his own. A lot of people that have never had problems with debt in the past don't know where to begin to look for help. So your experience and mine as well as many others can be different.
We both agree that education is the first step.

Posted by DebtorBasher on 2009-10-31:

I don't know, unless he's changed his site since I last visited it...I'll have to check it out again. I only know when I was there before, I didn't see anything of any help to anyone, but I did see where he was charging. If you look back on my history here, you will see Bud and I have gone head to head...then he just wandered off in a corner somewhere.

Posted by LadyScot on 2009-10-31:

Sherdy, YT, ya'll are right on. My house is a converted school house. Think Little House on the Prairie. Granted it is a bit bigger lol, but still it is a converted space. Appraises at $75000. I like it just fine. Oldie but goody.

Posted by Happy Gal on 2009-10-31:

I agree with the original poster. I once worked as a debt collector for a bank and I remember trying to help this man who said he needed to be put on a hardship program to lower his credit card payments because he was having financial problems. To qualify him for the program I had to ask him about his household monthly expenses. Get this, his wife made 48,000 a month, not yearly, monthly! On top of that he made sure to include his $450.00 per month country club dues in his list of expenses. Some people just refuse to accept that they need to change their spending habits and try to take advantage of the banks resources available for those who really need it. It's ridiculous!! And Tom there is really nothing terribly wrong with those jobs, especially in this economy; people have to put food on the table. ...and what exactly do you do?

Posted by DebtorBasher on 2009-10-31:

Good point Happy Gal!

Posted by Ytropious on 2009-10-31:

Geeze Happy, I wonder how that guy racked up his debt in the first place! Heaven forbid he give up his country club dues or (probably) fancy car. Please. People like that should be ashamed of asking for help.

Posted by Wally86 on 2009-10-31:

If I made 48 grand a month I sure as heck wouldn’t need any credit. And wouldn’t owe no loan shark collection agency any doe.

Posted by PepperElf on 2009-10-31:

i cannot hate collectors like that...

to me that's like judging all of them based on the actions of individuals, which is wrong.

but also... someone is going to have to do that job. there are people who don't pay the bills they owe... and regardless of why they aren't paying, someone is going to have to collect the owed fees.

i can't think of any other reasonable options
(and just ignoring upaid bills counts as unreasonable in my book)

Posted by Talk360 on 2010-03-24:

If a person has 3 account with one company and they lose any personal bank information that resulted by agreed payments. Then all at once you start getting all these bills your credits reports come & just seems like i cant keep up. Then the calls pour in & letters to be written then sent, documents to look up along with a new job to learn. Is a person has a child, what kinda time will that leave them? Bad experiences is what has lead me to dislike creditors. YOU Want to talk about Americans wanting everything right now & how we are in debt which is causing the lack of income creating this economy. I Don't Think So, who you tryin to fool (crunch some figures) then ask yourself "Did this person want to get fired after ten years, "Did this person (debtor) say i don't need money i don't want to buy anything for myself" Families losing their homes is sad not Lazy!!! So the next time you want to a statement like American (non payers) the government had us beat long ago . YOU debt collectors really gotta be so pushy RuShIng us to pay because you want the money Right, NOW (like we did while using our credit cards) Collections agents say they can alone take over the phone transactions. If they are so worried about the actual money wouldn't they want you to send it the way It should be best guarantee of payment! Our future might not be very bright because people who never consider the possibilities or strategies. Sry{kinda} But that Americans things kinda hacked me off a bit.