When you're unable to pay your credit card bills on time, the card issuer may sell your account to a third party collection agency. The agency will call you or send letters asking you to clear your unpaid credit card debt. Some of the tips that can help you deal with a collection agency are:
• Ask for debt validation: When a collection agency calls you to pay your old debt on credit card, you must not make any payment before verifying if you really owe the debt to them. You should ask the agency to validate your debt.
• Know about your rights: You can protect yourself from harassing phone calls, abusive language and threats of the collectors by knowing the rights guaranteed to you under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
• Find out the SOL on your state: You must find out the statute of limitation (SOL) on your state. It lays down the time limit within which creditors and collectors can file a lawsuit to make you pay for a debt. If your debt account crosses the SOL, you cannot be sued.
• Check how long you've had the debt: If you've had the debt for more than 7 years, you are no longer obligated to pay and it will be erased from your credit report as well.
• Settle your debt: If your debt account has not crossed the SOL or you wish to repay your unpaid credit card debt for any other reason, you must try to negotiate a settlement with the collection agency.
• Record conversations: You should keep records of all your conversations with the collection agency. In some of the states, you need to take the other party's permission before recording a conversation. So, if required, take prior permission.
You must also get the agreement for settling your unpaid credit card debt signed by the collection agency before sending in payments to them. However, if you are not able to negotiate a settlement with the agency, you must immediately seek help of a debt counselling relief company. In this way, you will be able to pay off debt and also protect yourself from legal hassles.
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KP: unpaid credit card debt.
URL: http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/credit-card.html
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