Debt collector horror stories

Bankrate.com ^ | 08-04-03

[chris1]

I do real estate closings and collections, for your information. Every attorney I know does real estate closings as well as practice in one orvmore areas. Its just the way it is. Why throw away business???? Closings are not difficult to do and everyone at some point will an attorney to do one, at least in NY. You have never heard of people doing more than one task???

[from occupied ga]

MCI was sleazy before worldcom and Bernie Ebbers took it over, but after they set new records. I had acquaintenances who worked as contractors, and the first thing when Bernie took over was that they didn't get paid until 90 days or more after sending their invoices (I doubt Bernie's check was ever late) The next thing they did was stick them for a couple of month's back pay when MCI filed bankruptcy - some of them were out $30k - $45k and several months of work that they never got paid for.

[FreeInWV]

I rent apartments, and have seen alot of this lately. That is why I am trying to get out of the rental business. Several (a large percentage) of my recent tenants have been playing the system for all they can get. It is very difficult to get money out of worthless deadbeats who have figured out how to manipulate the system. They start as clean cut college kids who take out huge student loans. Then they blow all of this money on beer, weed and other drugs. Then the utilities go behind and the credit cards go up. Then the rent gets behind. They still keep smoking and drinking. They tell you that they will pay you everything in 2 weeks. Then they say 1 more week. Then they write you a bad check. Towards the end they start buying really expensive stuff when they realize that their credit is screwed. By the time you get them thrown out, they owe you hundreds of dollars in back rent and have done hundreds of dollars of damage while they were drunk or all stoned. Amongst the trash that they leave behind, you find months overdue bills from the gas company, the electric company, the water company, the cable company, the phone company, the cellphone company, the ISP, Visa, Mastercard, Discover and Columbia House. One guy in particular from this past year had collection notices from all of these people, and even left his unfiled w2 statement behind. He just didn't care. He even had some utility bills in one of his friends name. He must've borrowed the guy's ID to get the water turned on. There were collection notices and a shutoff notice on this bill as well. Some day, his friend is going to apply for a loan and discover he has no credit. I took him to court and was awarded damages, but there is no good way to collect. It ruined his credit, but what does he care? I have half a notion to mail his w2 to the IRS with a nasty and insulting letter telling them where to stick it. Then maybe they can torment him some.

[Knight Templar]

There are more deadbeats and professional
debtors out there, than mean and nasty
collectors. Just don't spend more than
you can afford and pay your bills.

[FreeLibertarian]

Not paying for goods and services rendered is criminal it's called "stealing."

Only if they purchased the goods and services with no intent to pay. If they made any payments it is strictly a civil matter not criminal. Even if they did not make payments it would be almost impossible to prove their "intent" unless they lied on the loan application.

[ladyjane]

real estate brokers/agents do "under the table" deals

uh, some of them do.

[from occupied ga]

. If they made any payments it is strictly a civil matter not criminal.

Legally true; however, I still consider taking without paying as stealing.

Even if they did not make payments it would be almost impossible to prove their "intent" unless they lied on the loan application.

Likewise true, but again I've worked in a company where I've seen thousands of people run up large bills just before the discontinued service - pretty obvious that they never intended to pay even though they paid their monthly bill until shortly before the end.

[FreeLibertarian]

G.E. and Hallibuton-Brown & Root are other companies that are very bad about extended pay cycles. Typically they use a 60 day cycle with extra time on each end for mailing, processing, etc. I solved the problem by offering 2% off the invoice for 30 day pay. Then I added 2% back on top of my rate. Now they're regular as clockwork 30 day pay and I get all my money. We're both happy. LOL!

[FreeLibertarian]

I received a little legal education in the subject when one of my clients filed Chapter 11 immediately after I completed a project. I eventually managed to get all my money but others weren't so lucky.

[Psycho_Bunny]

I was in 3rd party collections for a couple years, then worked 6 years in a recoveries unit at a bank in the dealer/auto group.  I'd say only around 30% of the debtors who make it to 3rd party collections are responsible and decent people who have run into bad times and genuinely want to, but can't pay their bills. 

Maybe even only 20%.  And most bill collectors recognize them and leave them alone.

The rest are deadbeats, self-important "high flyers" or credit criminals.

[chris1]

If someone offers to make a reasonable payment plan, 9/10 times I and the creditor will agree to it because the debtor shows that he/she is acting in good faith.

[Twinkie]

Then, when she finally puts a man on the line say to him,
"Hey! What's the deal there? Do you discriminate based on
gender?! I demand to talk to a woman!" - One comedian told
how he handled telemarketers. When they called he would say
in his most red-necked accent, "Are you NEKKID?" and sort of
snort and breathe heavy. Guess it could apply here.

[John123]

I found your comments on real estate landlording interesting. I am curious on a few points since I am not familiar with West Virginia(?).

How soon must an tenant leave after receiving an eviction notice?

If an tenant doesn't pay by a certain date, ie: the first of the month, do you proceed with the eviction notice right away?

Is the rental market very soft in your area?

Do you collect a last month rent or a cleaning deposit when you first rent the place out?

What do you rent, apartments or single family homes?

[Alouette]

First, if the collector is a woman, ask her if there is a man you can talk to. Tell her it is your personal policy not to talk business with a woman. They usually go ballistic at that point. Then ask again if there is a rational person, a man, you could talk to. The reaction is priceless.

Get extra points by saying you are a Muslim and you will report this act of anti-Muslim harrassment to CAIR.

[jpl]

One time a family member of mine owed someone some money, and the scumbags actually started calling me and harrassing me at home, even though I had nothing whatsoever to do with the transaction. I had to threaten them with a lawsuit in order to get them to cease and desist.

[discostu]

You reminded me of one of Tucson's most famous businessmen, I won't give his name because he has lawyers but anybody who's done construction business around here will recognize him immediately.

He's a real estate developer. His habit is to contract with small firms, companies that won't be able to do anything but his contract if they accept, he offers a ton of money makes it look like the deal that will move them to the big time and eventually he finds one that accepts. The contracts he offers are heavily backloaded with just enough payment during the job to allow the company to meet salary, when the job is done he stops paying. Because the company was relying on him for sole revenue for a couple years they generally can't afford to chase him, nine times out of ten they go out of business and he gets multimillion dollar buildings made for pennies on the dollar.

All that being said some debt collectors go seriously over the top.

[Darksheare]

I had one woman tell me to get "f'd".
I asked her when she was available for the job.

[Smokin' Joe]

All you gotta do is read the 4 your spouse put in the 'hundreds' column as a 9 and you are on your way to having a problem....Separate checkbooks, please.

[Movemout]

Interesting. I have had about a half dozen calls over the last two years (I think it is the same woman) wanting to collect on a medical bill when I had to have some emergency services. My response has been the same each and every time. Send me a copy of the bill so I can check with the insurance types to see if the bill has been paid. She claims to have sent me copies but I know that to be untrue. I do not know what she is trying to do but $250.00 is a bit of dampness in the ocean of medical bills.

BTW my brother was a "debt collector" back in the 70s. He said it really stunk up the trailer park. It must have been pretty bad. He quit and spent a year down in Mexico carving chess pieces out of rock.

[FreeLibertarian]

Last November I completed a project as a sub-contractor where the prime contractor ended up waiting 6 months for payment. It turned out the end-users project was over budget and their project manager had hidden $500,000 worth of invoices in his desk for 6 months while he sought other employment. His employer found the invoices when they cleaned out his desk. If I had been the prime instead of the sub I would have been out of business and the project manager would have been the Ace of Spades on my personal deck of cards.