Those Ugly Bill Collectors
Filed under: Finance
From the time I was a very young man, I remember the tactics of “ugly bill collectors”. There were neighborhood loan offices such as “Household Finance” and others. My dad used to stop in there during the week to borrow $50.00 to get us through until payday. I don’t remember the interest charged but apparently everyone thought it was fair and used the local loan companies.
As I grew older, I got into a problem also. So, I borrowed $150.00 from a local loan company but when the time to pay it, I didn’t have the money. Now at the very young age of (25) I had my first “go around” with a nasty bill collector. This guy was almost like a “goon” on the streets. He threatened to take my car, send someone out to get his money and every other thing imaginable.
At this time in my life, I was a young golf pro and had become very friendly with some of my Italian schoolmates. We played golf together, went to the track and hung out together. I asked about loan sharking and learned more about higher interest.
It seems that forcing people to pay their bills in any way was common in those days. This was during the “sixties” Well, because I was somewhat of a gambler because I was raised around the race tracks and golf courses, I waited for this guy to call me as usual on a Friday night. When he called, he did his usual “spiel” and I countered with this. A true story.
I asked him if he was a golfer. I hit a “light bulb” in his head because he started to brag about how good he was. He had no idea I was a professional golfer at that time. So, I said to this guy “ I’ll tell you what. I’ll play you a round of golf for the $150.00. If you beat me, I will pay you $300.00 and borrow the money from my friends at the golf course. If, I beat you, we are all even. He accepted the bet and we played golf the following Saturday. He was shocked when I kicked his butt. He said “ I didn’t know you were a professional” Well, we became great friends and he always remembered the lesson from me about knowing your opponent better than he knows himself.
How does that relate to today’s collection industry. Easy. We know that all bill collectors are on a commission basis. They are only interested in getting their commissions. Period. So, when they think or can smell money, they react like sharks out of water. You have to understand that the ONLY time of the month to deal with these idiots is at the end of the month when they are thinking of the bonus.
You also understand that they have a “limited power of attorney” from the original creditor and they can make any deal they want. They don’t care about your credit they only care about getting paid. This knowledge gives you the advantage because that collector doesn’t realize that you understand how they operate and you make your negotiations accordingly.
I hope this give you another view of the collection industry in today’s real world. There are some legitimate collectors BUT, try and find them. The FTC says in its report to Congress that the largest number of complaints that it gets is from consumers complaining about collection tactics. The increase in these complaints is the most talked about complaint in Congress and within the FTC.
Regis Sauger
Regis Sauger is a licensed Mortgage Broker in Florida, an author, lecturer on credit awareness. He have conducted seminars for underwriters, attorneys, mortgage lenders, Realtors and the general public.
Tags: Limited Power of Attorney, Monthly commissions, Negotiate
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