If you are in debt and having trouble paying off your creditors, then you may fear the inevitable call from the debt collector. Or you may already be receiving these calls and filtering them out by not responding to them. Or you may be making promises to them that you know you can’t keep.
What many people don’t know is that there are ways to deal with debt collectors that will make your life a lot easier. You don’t need the constant stress of them calling you and demanding money. So, we want to show you a few tactics you can use to get them out of your hair, so to speak.
You Can Refuse
When debt collectors like IC System call you, your first response may be to comply with them. You may feel like you have no choice but to give them at least some money. What you don’t realize is that these debt collectors take more money from you than the original cost of the loan. They need their fee, and they take that out from what you are spending to repay your debt. Once a debt collector becomes involved, you will always pay more than you originally did.
You can simply tell the debt collectors that you don’t want to deal with them and that you will deal with your creditor directly. IC System or whoever else is bothering, you can relay that message to their bosses. You can also tell them not to bother you anymore. If you don’t want to be hounded by creditors and debt collection agencies, then you can simply tell them that.
The takeaway is this: You can say “no” to debt collectors. You don’t have to give them money. They aren’t your creditors, and you are often better off dealing with the creditor directly.
Make Smaller Payments
You also don’t have to accept the figure that your creditor or a debt collection agency is asking you to pay. If you owe $150 right now, you can simply pay $20, if that’s all that you can afford, or that is all you feel comfortable paying at the moment. Even making a small payment like this can be helpful to your credit score, and it can be an excellent way to preserve your credit while you get back on your feet. As long as you are showing an effort to pay back what you owe, debt collection agencies can’t do anything to you and creditors cannot complain. Best of all, your credit score can remain intact, or at least not plummet as far as it could. One of the biggest causes of bad credit is making late payments. It is always better to pay less than you owe rather than to pay late.
Just be sure that you do pay back all of what you owe at some point. Making small payments, again and again, can result in added fees or higher overall interest, and that’s going to cost you in the long run. You should only make those emailer payments when that is your best choice.
You Can Ignore Collection Agencies
If you are making an effort to pay your debts back and you just need a little more time, then you may be better off talking to your creditor rather than a debt collection agency. A lot of times, the collection agencies like IC System have no power to make a deal or accept lower payments. They have been given explicit instructions by the creditor, and they have to follow them when it comes to collecting money from you.
If you see a debt collector calls, though, and you recognize the number, you can always ignore them. You can hang up without answering or just answer the call and hang up when you realize it is them. Now, they may continue to keep calling you until you take some sort of action, but you are more likely to get a good deal on your loan or debt if you deal with the creditor directly. Don’t think that you have to even talk to the collection agency. Your debt is not with them, after all. They are simply the middle man.
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