
Dealing With Debt Collectors or Bailiffs
Bailiffs or debt collectors, the name is enough to get thoughts that make you worried. Upon knowing that they might soon invade your property, which can be intimidating, you need to know the tips and tricks to handle them. All that the bailiff’s care for is to collect the pending debt from you. The job doesn’t end here, as they also earn rewards in commission on every recovery.
Dealing with debt collectors is not as tough as we think. If we know the exact practices, we can easily deal with bailiffs or debt collectors. Bailiff Help Now brings you tips and different ways to deal with bailiffs or debt collectors when you find it difficult to pay back the loan.
Here are ways to deal with Bailiffs –
- Know your Rights
All bailiffs do is recover the debt and earn a commission on that. So, they might make up stories and tell you things. Regardless of that, you must know your rights, which will stop bailiffs from arriving at your door. Moreover, there are certain rules that debt collectors have to follow when attempting to collect a debt.
Knowing that many are unaware of their rights, they can misuse the power and not inform you of your rights. Thus, it would be best if you know all the rights. Knowing your rights help you in dealing with the fraudulent practices of debt collectors, which makes you scared and worried.
- Do not provoke them
Why stress that you must know your rights because bailiffs or debt collectors can use any tactics that can make you break the rules? It will then bring you into troubled waters! Bailiffs try all the tactics like playing with your emotions, triggering you, and tapping into the stigma and existing fears of debt collection.
They call it their work, as threatening might make it easier for them to recover the debt. Next time, if a bailiff threatens you to sue for your wages, call your employer, and say things, you should not be worried. They are doing all this to prompt payments.
However, the tactic to deal with is wrong as a bailiff has to sue in civil court to strip your wages successfully. This is why you need to know about all your rights. If all of this fails, they might adapt to strategies that will provoke you, and you might take the wrong step in anger. So, to stop bailiffs from provoking you, be calm and cool. It would be best to be confident while dealing with them, as you did no crime.
- Request for Debt Validation
Before agreeing to make any payments to the bailiff, whether you have the debt collection notice or conversed over a call, you have to send the collector Debt Validation Letter.
The letter is a request to the debt collector to prove that you owe the money. Within 30 days of your contact with the debt collector, you have to send this letter to the collector. Upon receiving the letter, the creditor must provide essential information, including account numbers and accurate debt. You have a strong case to fight if the creditor fails to provide the information.
This will significantly improve your credit score and get the debt off your credit report. You can also look for additional interest added to the debt amount, credit card issuer, and outlandish fees. As in most cases, you can negotiate with the creditor and get the fees reduced or eliminated.
- Negotiate on Older Debts
Next time a bailiff arrives to collect a 5-7-year-old debt, do not be afraid and offer to make a settlement. Offer a settlement amount lesser than the debt amount because agencies purchase old debts from different companies, which the company has already written off. Here then, bailiffs help in collecting old debts and earn high commissions on payments.
Thus, the settlement amount for these old debts should be less, as the agency looks forward to making a great return on investment, which will profit their pockets. If the debt is still on your report, you can negotiate with the creditor on additional interests or any other negative payments to exchange your settlements.
- Agreements should be in writing
Bailiffs or debt collectors can make false promises or false statements on agreements, which can end up clearing your bank accounts and ruining your finances. This results in when you indulge in verbal agreements over the phone to clear the debts. Thus, you must protect yourself from such agreements, as they can go against you later. A bailiff helps creditors recover the amount, and agreeing to their terms over the phone will let them charge you a higher amount without bringing it to your notice. However, you must have written agreements to start with and prove you have a debt.