Beware of Collection Scams

Sometimes we post things that have nothing to do with representing yourself, but are we hope, valuable little bits of knowledge.

This is one of those things.

The Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently published an article about how to tell the difference between legitimate debt collectors and scammers.

You can read that article here... it is interesting. But we would also point out that the world of debt collectors includes some other things that are important to you.

Paying bills we owe is sometimes a challenge. There is certainly no need to pay bills that you don't have to. Here are some things to look for:

Debt collectors work on commission or percentage. If they don't collect they don;t get paid. It's that simple. Its also the reason that many get, for want of a better term, over-enthusiastic.  Many times this is ultimately good for you because it puts you in a position where you can make a claim for violation of the federal fair debt collection practices act, or similar state statutes.

These statutes limit what debt collectors can and cannot do, and give you some powerful tools to fight back.

In the next few posts we're going to explore some of the tactics that debt collectors use, when these cross the line to be violations, and how you can take advantage of these violations.