Beat Credit Card Debt by Losing the Guilt Associated with It
Many consumers, who cannot afford to pay high monthly minimum credit card debt payments and cannot afford to settle those debts, condemn themselves with their feelings of guilt to being tormented by credit card debt collectors.
Some consumers in this situation realize they do not have to suffer this financial death by guilt.
The first step to overcoming that guilt, according to the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide, is disputing and denying the debt any credit card debt collector, other then the original creditor, calls about. Not admitting to an unsecured credit card debt and denying it is a legal strategy which can be compared to invoking the Fifth Amendment. It is not an indication of character. All this means is that the other side will have to prove that they have a case against you.
Credit card debt collectors must, according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:
1) Send a consumer a statement saying that the debt will be assumed to be valid unless that debt is disputed.
2) Says that the consumer must dispute the debt, in writing, within thirty days of dispute.
According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a consumer can also write to the credit card debt collector saying that they want the debt collector to stop contacting them about the debt.
Then what happens, when the consumer disputes and denies a credit card debt and instructs collection communications to cease when a collection attempt is made by a credit card debt collector? Their job has been made harder. They must validate the debt with copies of original documents. That means going back to the credit card company for documents, then forwarding them to the consumer.
For an unsecured, unsigned credit card debt, the first thing a credit card debt collector must do is to get the consumer to admit to the debt; to take ownership of it, to admit "guilt." That one exchange between the consumer and the credit card debt collector sets the tenor for the rest of the debt collection communications between the two. But, if the consumer denies and disputes the alleged debt and forbids further communications, the collector will likely move on to an easy target.
Some consumers in this situation realize they do not have to suffer this financial death by guilt.
The first step to overcoming that guilt, according to the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide, is disputing and denying the debt any credit card debt collector, other then the original creditor, calls about. Not admitting to an unsecured credit card debt and denying it is a legal strategy which can be compared to invoking the Fifth Amendment. It is not an indication of character. All this means is that the other side will have to prove that they have a case against you.
Credit card debt collectors must, according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:
1) Send a consumer a statement saying that the debt will be assumed to be valid unless that debt is disputed.
2) Says that the consumer must dispute the debt, in writing, within thirty days of dispute.
According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a consumer can also write to the credit card debt collector saying that they want the debt collector to stop contacting them about the debt.
Then what happens, when the consumer disputes and denies a credit card debt and instructs collection communications to cease when a collection attempt is made by a credit card debt collector? Their job has been made harder. They must validate the debt with copies of original documents. That means going back to the credit card company for documents, then forwarding them to the consumer.
For an unsecured, unsigned credit card debt, the first thing a credit card debt collector must do is to get the consumer to admit to the debt; to take ownership of it, to admit "guilt." That one exchange between the consumer and the credit card debt collector sets the tenor for the rest of the debt collection communications between the two. But, if the consumer denies and disputes the alleged debt and forbids further communications, the collector will likely move on to an easy target.
About the Author:
Matt Highlander has researched the legal nonpayment strategies for dealing with credit card debt. If you cannot afford to pay, read his Credit Card Debt Survival Guide