The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) gives debt collectors certain rights, but your rights to not be harassed over the phone are stronger. You are not obligated by law to interact directly with irritating debt collectors, and you can certainly report them if they break the regulations, according to the FDCPA.
TACTICS FOR HANDLING CREDITOR CALLS THAT HAVE BEEN PROVEN
Debt is a very stressful situation. It's rare to go through life without having to deal with some sort of financial issue, no matter how hard we try to avoid it. Most of us feel better when we spend money as a reward for a job well done or as a means to make up for disappointments. But it's only a band-aid. Debt has a way of feeding despair, making impulse purchases difficult to justify.
Not having enough money to cover the basics or achieve the level of quality of life we desire causes emotional chaos. Borrowing money can lead to a slew of psychological issues that have nothing to do with accounting. According to the American Psychological Association, 72 percent of Americans are anxious about money, with 22 percent experiencing "severe" financial stress.
When debt collectors begin calling, it adds insult to injury, increasing our anxiety and shame about our predicament. We feel like we're in big trouble, and we're worried that these debt collectors are out to embarrass us or divulge our private financial information. Even though we are aware that debt collectors are trained to target your weak spots, the devastating impacts of debt and collection agency pressure nevertheless have an adverse influence on our health.
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Our brain reacts to financial stress in a few different ways:
DENIAL
Denial usually include underestimating your debt, refusing to answer the phone when a collector calls, leaving bills unopened, asking for new credit cards when you're already maxed out, and convincing yourself that being in debt is normal. When you wish to rationalize spending blunders, ignoring reality is a useful protective mechanism for the brain. The problem is that harsh reality sets in gradually.
STRESS TO THE MAXIMUM
Lack of sleep, loss of focus, continual concern, bickering with your spouse about money, and practically hyperventilating when a new bill arrives are all symptoms of stress, which is the polar opposite of denial. It can also make you fearful of losing your job, as losing it would significantly worsen your financial circumstances.
GUILT
You get a bad feeling in your stomach when you feel guilty. You could be humiliated that you put yourself into financial trouble and wonder why you ever bought that new stove or went to the movies instead of watching TV at home. Guilt can affect even the tiniest of decisions, such as feeling terrible for buying a $5 drink instead of water at dinner.
PANIC AND FEAR
Fear and panic are the result of a high amount of stress. Receiving a late payment notice not only makes you feel uneasy, but it also causes your heart to race, your breathing to become uneven, and you to get the shakes. You expect the worst: that if your house is repossessed, you'll be homeless, or that your car will break down on the way to work because you couldn't afford a tune-up, and you'll be fired for being late. No one wants to be trapped in a world of irrational thoughts, but they have a way of gaining control.
FRUSTRATION AND ANGER
Debt-Anger Syndrome is a scientifically verified phenomenon. Rather of fearing or disputing their debt, some people become excessively enraged at creditors who keep sending them payments. Then they become enraged at the mailman for delivering collection letters and bills, at their bosses for not paying them a larger income, at their spouses for not receiving a promotion and earning more money, and at their children for having a cavity or requiring orthodontics. These people are enraged by life and, in particular, by themselves for getting themselves into debt in the first place.
DEPRESSION
Those invoices are still staring them in the face after they've gone through the stages of denial, stressing out, and lashing out over their debt. That's when hopelessness and depression, as well as low self-esteem, set in. As people try to alleviate their misery by buying or planning a holiday "to relax," financial distress can lead to even more debt.
However, this is a vicious cycle that simply leads to greater debt, which ultimately leads to even more depressed and despairing feelings. Soon, you won't care if debt causes your misery or if debt is the source of your pain. You simply want it to be over with.
Impaired cognitive performance is one of the detrimental outcomes of all of these stress reactions. That implies you won't be able to pay attention, remember things, or solve problems rationally if you're worried about your power bill. It's no surprise that you don't always know what to say when obnoxious creditors call—you're off your game.
A debt collector's entire tactic is to trick you into paying by appealing to your feelings of guilt, anxiety, and dread. You'll have an advantage if you retain your cool and stick to business. Remember that debt collectors don't care about your financial difficulties or if you're experiencing mental pain as a result of your financial difficulties; they just want your money.
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