Debt Collection House of Horrors

I am truly amazed by the amount of abuse individuals are willing to endure from debt collectors due to the guilt of being in debt. Examples of extreme tactics used by debt collectors include, as recently reported by >HLN, the New York Attorneys General arrested over 30 debt collectors for impersonating police officers threatening to arrest debtors if they did not pay up immediately. In another alarming incident, a man allegedly set himself on fire in despair over relentless harassing collection calls.

You may see these events as anomalies or isolated incidents, however, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Visit The Rip Off Report and you'll find hundreds of complaints and outrageous stories perpetrated by debt collectors.

The current economic downturn has prompted collection agencies and their collectors to apply more in-your-face, abusive and illegal tactics to collect on debts. Extreme measures collectors use to try to get paid is growing. Even more amazing, some individuals in debt allow the abuse. It's as if they feel they deserve the threats and berating, when in reality, many suffer a true hardship. Loss of employment, divorce, health problems are hardships that make the best intentions to pay off debt nearly impossible to live up to. Do not be shamed into enduring any abuse. Whether it is your fault or not is irrelevant. That is why there are legitimate debt relief programs in place to help those that need it.

It's a safe bet that when John Beggins invented the first credit card in 1946, he had no idea that his vision of a convenient way to pay (and make a few bucks on interest), would morph into the live-above-your-means monster it is today. In fact, the average American possesses eight credit cards with a total national debt of over 2.6 trillion dollars! So, if you're in debt, you have lots of company, and now is the time to stop the madness.

First and foremost, stop feeling guilty. Remove the stress of harassing phone calls and letters from bill collectors. Whatever the circumstances that got you in over your head, there is nothing that warrants abusive or illegal collection practices. There are laws in place to stop dubious collectors from making your life a living hell. Take the offensive towards debt collectors and educate yourself.

The FTC's Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a great place to start. You will find every law applicable to debt collection and collection agencies on the federal level. This government publication is free to download and will stop dubious collectors and agencies in their tracks.

So straighten up, assert yourself, download the free manual and get to work. Your life will be much calmer, you'll sleep better with a lot less stress.

For more information on debt relief programs, please visit http://www.stopdebtamerica.com