I have found that generally the people I have talked to on the phone are courteous and understanding. Perhaps I was a bit naive in what I said to these people, as Steve points out that whatever I say may incriminate me!

As I reached a point where I could not make all my minimum payments to various creditors, I started calling to see if I could negotiate. Some of these people allowed me to immediately get a reduced rate, after the teaser rate I used for a transfer had expired. Others said I had to be at least a few months late to get into a “hardship” program. One obnoxious “supervisor” I got transferred to, did say “you have to pay up! Use another card to pay us off!” Another one said he was a VP, and offered a 15% payoff settlement! If only they had all agreed to that together.

After a while, I was able to get most cards negotiated to lower payments, but some companies would not budge. In the end, even after a better paying job, I realized that with increased interest rates late fees, and cards that I just could not make the minimum payments — that my total debt was still not decreasing at all. So I have gone the route of bankruptcy.

I am creating a web site My Bankruptcy Story to journal my adventures through bankruptcy and back.

Had all of the creditors realized together that I could not afford to pay, that some negotiated payoff would be better than bankruptcy, then they could have gotten me to pay them off at say 15-20% (I would have cashed out my IRA or borrowed from relatives). I suspect that they will now get nearly zero through my bankruptcy proceeds.

Hmmm…I smell a rat commonly found on Pirate ships. A common remark left from a commission driven debt collector on blogs like this is, “You owe the debt; you need to pay it.” Ignorant!! Where does the article mention not to pay back your debts!

Matter of fact after talking to thousands of Americans over the years I rarely speak to someone that has sizable assets and a good income that just doesn’t want to pay back their debts. These people are not reading this post they are doing the easiest thing, change their phone number! Fact, less than 2.25% of all revolving debt is in 30 day default out of over 50 million cards issued. Fact, 99% of Americans I speak to want to pay back their debts but need help to stop the abusive treatment from a commissioned debt collector trying to fill their debt book.

Tell me Graham what do I say to this woman from New Orleans I spoke with yesterday, “You owe the debt; you need to pay it.”

I’ll refer to her as Anita; her elderly mother was very sick with no health insurance and needed expensive medication to survive. Anita exhausted all of her assets and used all of her credit to keep her alive. Anita’s mom just died last month, and to make matters worse she lost her home to Katrina. She is being harassed by a debt collector, Unifund, for a 2005 credit card debt of $2,500. They have threaten to call her job to get her fired and they now what a $1,000 a month on what they now claim is a $18,000 debt. They won’t explain why it’s that much they told her its private information. She wants to pay it back but her health is now under attack because she can’t sleep at night worrying that one day someone is going to walk into her job and get her fired!

But I guess if I were you I should just say, “You owe the debt; you need to pay it.” Hmmm… I guess we can ignore the abuse and violations of the FDCPA and just walk the plank, something that would just make your day.

I think Steve was trying to provide a few tips and suggestions on how to deal with debt collectors if you find yourself facing collections. I’ve never had a debt collector after me but I have read numerous stories of how ruthless and harassing they can be.

Now that doesn’t mean you can or should wash your hands of the obligation to pay the debt, but there are things you should and should not do with regard to debt collectors.

Hopefully Steve will stop by to share his thoughts on your comment.