Credit Card Woes - The Visit

After battling your way through those irritating phone calls and reading those heart-pounding letters sent your way by the mighty credit card collection agency, we now come to one of their more effective collection strategy. The home or office visit.

By showing up in a place where you feel most safe and secure, they hope that they’d be able to shake your steely resolve with one thing that frightens us all – public humiliation. So, they come out in a van with screaming bold letters on the side exclaiming – DEBT COLLECTORS – much like those pest exterminator vans you see around.

How to fight it? There’s only one thing you can do. And that’s to just grin and bear it. Because even if you can complain in court for harassment, there’s no way you can undo that day when they came. But there are a lot more Don’ts.

Don’t get scared. That’s what they’re hoping you’d do.
Don’t let them in. You can talk to them outside. Unless they have a court order which I doubt. If you’re in the office, tell the receptionist or the building guards not to let them in the next time.
Don’t let them pressure you into signing anything.
Don’t take their insults personally, they're just doing their job the best way they know how. So ignore the drama and you might even find it amusing.
Don't agree to anything immediately. Just get the details and tell them to give you time to think or consult a lawyer about it.
And finally, don’t stop your big dog from barking.



Related: Credit Card Woes - The Call, The Letter, Conclusion


Next post -> God Our Dad

Credit Card Woes - The Letter

Now that you’ve figured out how to deal with that credit card collector on the phone, expect them to start pushing up the ante. The battle has now been joined, and they’re now ready to unleash one of the most effective weapons in their arsenal, The Demand Letter. Just one of these if received unprepared - especially the first time - is enough to bring a grown man down to his knees in surrender. So let’s gear-up and find out if there’s a reason to fret about this threat.

Most credit card demand letters come in two types.

One is the pretty straight-forward type, specifying how much you owe, a reminder of the contents of the credit agreement, plus a bonus threat regarding what action they’re gonna take against you.

The other kind of letter is more indirect in its approach but nonetheless more potent. It is formatted to look like an official civil/criminal Complaint ready to be filed - or to the impression of some - already filed in the appropriate Trial Court. No wonder people who are uninformed and unfortunate enough to get one of these would seriously contemplate on how much painful it would be if they were to jump off a building.

So before you jump, allow this to sink in: You’re not in trouble, it’s just your impression. So CHILL! (repeat as needed)

Let’s look at excerpts of a sample Credit Card Company Demand for Payment:

Dear {Your Name}:

Our client, {Your Credit Card} has referred to us for appropriate legal action your total unpaid account of {Your Debt Amount} as of {Date} representing purchases and usages made thru your above-stated Card, inclusive of finance and penalty charges, as well as collection fee.

Under the terms and conditions of the Card member’s Agreement, {they now quote the small print at the back of the credit card agreement you so happily and excitedly signed a couple of months or years ago}

Despite repeated demands, you failed to pay your said account, hence, we are formally serving this DEMAND for you to pay in full your said unpaid account, including all charges within FIVE (5) DAYS from receipt hereof. Otherwise, we would be constrained to CRIMINALLY PROSECUTE YOU for Violation of R.A. 8484 (Defrauding of Creditors) if the evidences warrant and/or CIVILLY CHARGE YOU, for Collection of Sum of Money with Prayer for Attachment, before the (Regional or Metropolitan) Trial Court of {City}, in order that you may be penalized with imprisonment including the recovery of litigation expenses and judicial cost, as applicable, and twenty five (25%) percent attorney’s fees, without further notice and delay.

Please consider this as our LAST and FINAL DEMAND.


Scared you the first time right? Now let’s take it apart!


1.) They’re demanding that you pay in full within 5 days?! - Ridiculous! If you don’t have money, you don’t have to pay. Why? Because you can’t! No need to borrow from anybody. It will just get you deeper into debt.

2.) Their asking you to pay in full the principal plus the charges which continuously accumulates every month! - Again, Ridiculous! You weren’t able to pay last month’s balance so how could you pay for it now when it’s higher than last month’s? I’d love to see them jack it up into the millions and let’s see if they’d be able to collect anything by then.

3.) Criminally prosecute you for Violation of R.A. 8484 – now don’t focus on this sentence, focus on the next – if the evidences warrant. Now that’s a big IF!

- So what kind of evidence would warrant a violation of R.A. 8484? Let us quote:

“A cardholder who abandons or surreptitiously leaves the place of employment, business or residence stated in his application or credit card, without informing the credit card company of the place where he could actually be found, if at the time of such abandonment or surreptitious leaving, the outstanding and unpaid balance is past due for at least ninety (90) days and is more than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00), shall be prima facie presumed to have used his credit card with intent to defraud.”

Ergo you're off the hook!

Why?

How?

Because you're holding that letter. Which means you could actually be found. And as for you not informing them, - the fact that you're holding that letter is the best evidence that you did inform them, - if you did move. Let them prove otherwise.

- Is that paragraph all that R.A. 8484 contains?

NO - but that paragraph is all that could possibly apply to you! The rest is all about credit cards (and other devices which they call access devices) fraudulently obtained. Like if you used a fictitious name to obtain the card, or you used a stolen card. But if you did all that, I don't think getting a demand letter is what you'd be worried about.

So the fact is, a demand letter works to your advantage. It has your name on it. It says that you were honest and upfront when you obtained that card, but unfortunately you can't afford to pay right now.

If you really had any intent to defraud, do they think you'd be stupid enough to have used your mother's house as the billing address?!

4.) Civilly charge you for Collection of Sum of Money with Prayer for Attachment – They can but they won’t. Why? It would cost them more than the amount you owe. And the most likely result would be a settlement. With you paying maybe less than what they’re asking for. But do you know what’s really stopping them? BAD PUBLICITY.

5.) Consider this as our Last and Final Demand – Well, I have a friend who has a box full of these.

OK! But what should I do when I do get one of these?! – Get a big box.

Related: Credit Card Woes - The Call, The Visit, Conclusion

Next… THE VISIT

Credit Card Woes - The Call

So now after a couple of years in Just-swipe-it Heaven, you find yourself in Barely-scraped-through-minimum-payment Purgatory heading towards Tell-them-I’m-not-here Hell!

For those of you who are inevitably plummeting down credit card debt hell, let me soften-up your landing a bit. And for those already wailing and gnashing their teeth from debt heat, let me ease your suffering a bit with a bucket of ice water.

That’s right folks, there is hope and respite from your credit card woes. But no, I’m not gonna help you pay. All I’m going to do is enlighten you a bit with regards to your situation.

Pop Quiz: You’re receiving maddening calls from seemingly very angry people calling you names, looking for you wherever you are, asking you to pay up.

What to do hotshot: Take the call if you can’t avoid it. Relax, take a deep breath, and sit down comfortably. Answer with a simple yes or no. No need to explain yourself, they’re not there to listen to you whine, they just want your money.
Now most of them will come on to you like mafia dons, shaming you with your inability to pay, threatening that they’re coming to get you and that slab of flesh from your behind.

Well, that’s what they think!

When that guy on the phone starts to raise his voice, just tell him this: "Mister, stop play-acting. I don’t owe you any money, you’re just a poor employee collector agent whatever, so don’t act as if it’s your money I owe."

Now that he has realized you’ve caught him in his act - (yup, that’s all it is, just an act, so relax!) -he can’t possibly get on with it anymore. Whatever he says afterwards will sound flat to you and to him too, like you’re hearing an old joke. Besides, he can’t really be mad, he’ll probably get a commission when he collects from you.

Some of these credit card collectors may try to harass and put you in embarassing situations and even if you're able to put them in their place, you find that the damage has already been done. Well, just grin and bear it, but I'll tell you this: It's just a phase. It will pass.

But what if the caller sounds like an angel from up high? Gently reminding you that you need to pay up or else...

He’s playing the good cop act then so just ignore the ‘or else’ stuff too. But this would be a good time to work-up a deal, just make sure it’s on your terms. Tell him how much you can comfortably pay in a month. If he relents, fine, but if not, you can go hang-up that phone. Don’t worry, he’ll call back. And be it good cop or bad cop, you’re gonna be ready.


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Related: The Letter, The Visit, Conclusion


Next… THE LETTER

The Philippine Opposition Will Fail

The former president Corazon Aquino can lie prostrate in front of the Virgin Mary for a hundred years and she still won’t be able to convince me to join her in an anti-Arroyo rally. Why?

Because right beside her is either Susan Roces, an Estrada family member, or some Communist wacko.

Because if you ask her who she thinks would be competent enough to replace the President, the gist would be – Let’s rally first, the rest is in God’s hands.

The Hyatt 10 could cry themselves dry and wring their hands till their fingers switch places and I still won’t give them a hoot. Because you get this queer feeling that they’re just obviously and so pathetically stoking the flames, trying hard to drum up indignation where there is none.

Even if they come out with a video of President Arroyo herself switching a ballot box in high-resolution slow-mo action, I DON’T CARE. Because she probably saved us from something worse. Fernando Poe as our president for 6 unimaginable long years.

And to Francis Escudero, here’s why;

Nobody’s listening.

Especially to you.

You can go talk to yourself

till your toes turn blue.

NEXT... Credit Card Woes

I Am Here

A couple of weeks ago, I came upon some stuff that my grandfather used to own. I found jottings on paper, typewritten pages and some journals. I recognized them at once as his personal take on the life that he has lived. A definite blog! Some form of look-back-and-take-stock of what his life has been all about.

Reading them I learned and discovered a lot of things - births, deaths, names and lives of people he'd met, his aspirations, dreams. By his writing I sensed his happiness or felt how proud he was of something. Also his sorrow and sadness even when he did not or could not take it upon himself to write those down.

At first I was trying to get a hint of who his intended reader was. Later I figured he wasn’t really writing it for anybody. I guess that maybe he found something therapeutic about putting down his thoughts in writing.

A couple of days after I read all his stuff, I came upon a book titled “Anna’s Book” by Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine. It’s a psychological mystery tale revolving around the clues or non-clues contained in the diary / memoirs of a woman’s dead grandmother. It was slow but nevertheless a good read. It got you intrigued just enough to keep the pages turning till the end.

Somehow all these got me to consider writing my own. As to why, well I really don’t know. Therapy? To unload? Share? To be a voice in the wilderness? I think my reason as to why, would change each and every day.

We’ll all have our reasons in doing this blogging thing. In this finite world of ours, we will inevitably realize that we’re all just passing through. No exceptions. And that we all have this desire to make our mark or, leave our mark. Something that would say, “I WAS HERE”. Not for all the world to see, on the contrary, maybe nobody would even see it. But there is something enlivening, life affirming and reassuring in knowing that we have done so.


NEXT... Opposition