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HOW TO DEAL WITH A COLLECTION AGENCY
In 2004, complaints about debt collectors topped the Federal Trade Commissions Annual Report on fair debt collection. The Commission received over 58,687 complaints, up 37% over the previous year. Seniors in today’s world are more likely than ever to carry the burden of credit card debt. Additionally, many seniors have bad Medicare debt and bad hospital debt. Stopping debtor harassment is the primary function of the Debt Counsel for Seniors and the Disabled legal service. The federal government knows that Social Security benefits are critical to the survival of many low-income seniors. So, federal law protects Social Security benefits from garnishment or other collection activities. Most creditors, such as credit card companies, cannot take your Social Security benefits from you. When you cannot meet the minimum monthly payments on your credit cards, or you start receiving harassing calls about old medical bills, the situation quickly becomes stressful and, eventually, unmanageable. Often, collection agencies will illegally telephone seniors and disabled individuals and either threaten or scare them into turning over all of their monthly check to pay unpaid credit card debts. Dealing with a collection agency is a tough task, and thousands of individuals fall prey to their tactics every day. When you retain our legal services program, however, we act as a barrier between you and the collection agencies. You no longer have to deal with collectors or try to convince them, without legal representation, that you are judgment-proof because of the status of your income. The attorneys at Debt Counsel for Seniors and the Disabled are experts in creditor harassment law, and we can put a stop to the threats and intimidation. Since our inception, in fact, we have stopped thousands upon thousands of harassing and threatening creditors, collection agencies, doctors and hospitals calls and letters. |
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