I would call their head office.

I have no debts.

There's a skip tracer who keeps calling me trying to find a debtor without an address or phone number. I obviously can't help them.

Every call -- there are several a week -- starts with a claim that I owe the money.

After I convince them otherwise, they refuse to believe me when I say the person is gone.

The next day, it starts all over again. They claim I'm the debtor, argue with me, then relent. I yelled the last caller off the phone, he was so rude.

The debtor was paying, but was being harassed at work for more. That didn;t go over well with her employer, so you can guess how her unemployment came about.

In another case, every year like clockwork I get collection calls for someone with the same last name as me (not related) who used to live in my building years back. Takes about a month and several discussions to end those calls... for a few months, then they start up again. At least they are polite.

So, Mr Lemon, I have no debt, but I still have to deal with idiots who can't get basic facts straight. People trying to pay get their lives wrecked further by collectors, resulting in no collections taking place.

20 years back, I was in arrears and had a collection agency call me up. I did pay the debt rather promptly -- never intended not to, I was just rendered unemployed inconveniently, that's all. I paid in full, they were satisfied... and started calling back a month later demanding all kinds of extra "interest" and "charges." They didn't stop. So I paid. I wrote the cheque up while still on the phone. They warned me that there would be penalties piling up by the time the cheque cleared, so I was told to add a "few more bucks" to stop that from happening. I gave in and paid.

This is why collectors get bad names.

Because they are bad.

mr lemon I am sure if you lose your job at the Collection agency, you too, might need help paying a debt...

And in truth, not all debts are valid... often the debt has been paid, but paperwork or human error makes it come back...
Sometimes it's not the correct person...

I never claimed to be perfect.

However, I will claim to not be a total loser like all you debt-ridden deadbeats who spent more than you earned and racked up debt that you are now trying to avoid resolving in a moral and responsible way.

Montyloree, I really do not need to be lectured by you. You are selling "Collection Kung Fu" systems for career deadbeat debtors -- and you say you are helping people. If someone owes someone money, then buys your system, then they are fools, plain and simple. Instead of learning "collection agency kung fu", you might recommend people get another job, stop smoking/drinking/wasting money, control their finances in a responsible way etc.. and pay their debts. Seriously.

every now and then it's fun to get into this discussion

I always love people who claim to be perfect in an imperfect world.

Mr Lemon is a poop disturber.... he has no reasonable grasp of what real people go through in a life time , with regards to personal finance...

If everyone paid their debts you'd be a Wal-Mart greeter.

Be thankful there are debts to collect.

You moron.

Mr. Lemon
This web site should not allow people like you on them. It seems that you don't need help so why not back off and leave your rude comments in your small pea like brain that can't think outside the box!

You people are unbelievably pathetic. You run up your bills, then you whine and bitch about people wanting to get paid for the service they provided for you. You act like children who will not take responsibility for their actions.

You know, if you make an agreement that you will pay for a balance you incur, then you don't pay it, that's theft. If someone has a just claim to what you owe, why are you trying so hard not to pay it? It is immoral to steal, you know. Apparently none of you have a problem with that. Why are you people so shameless? You're probably all alcoholic deadbeats who never save money, spend every dime they earn, not to mention spending other people's money, hence the debts, and every day you probably wonder why you are such a loser. It must be harsh going through life getting collection calls, because deep down, you know that it proves you are a loser.

You complain that collection agencies are rude. Well maybe that's a matter of strategies. You know, I went to a collection agency once, for a $40 customs brokerage fee that I stupidly neglected to pay. When the issue was brought to my attention, I didn't whine and bitch like you idiots. I didn't go to some forum to try and find out how I could continue my act of theft by avoiding payment. I just paid it. Wow, what a concept. You people are nasty.