1 in 3 Americans (with credit history) in debt collections

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Again, I can't tell if you're describing Democrats or Republicans.

Good for you ^.^

 

[highland145]

I feel for people who wind up in this situation because of medical debt. In just about every other case, it is people living beyond their means. I'm not going to pretend that life is easy for people in the lower half of the income scale, it isn't, but extending them credit is only reducing their quality of life.

So the guy needs $400 to fix his car so he can go to work, earn $$ and feed his family. It's a bad ting that I lend him?

Yeah, that's oversimplified but so is thinking there isn't some benefit.
YMMV X 1000

 

[PricklyPete]

So the guy needs $400 to fix his car so he can go to work, earn $$ and feed his family. It's a bad ting that I lend him?

Yeah, that's oversimplified but so is thinking there isn't some benefit.
YMMV X 1000

My comment was not meant to condemn lenders (sorry it read that way). There is certainly a need to get by in the short term.

I am lamenting that some people have changed that from a short term fix into a constant debt juggling act that they never get out of. Whether they are good at math or not, they are not realizing that their constant indebtedness is causing them to live a lower quality if life rather than a better.

I have seen this at various income levels too. I had several close friends who racked up relatively large CC bills during college and never buckled down and payed them off after getting out. One of these friends just finally got rid of his CC debt ~15 years later. He makes good money as an architect, but has spent the last 15 years always "broke". I wish more parents spent more time educating their kids to the pitfalls of relying on credit to live a certain lifestyle. It will eventually catch up with you.

 

[werepossum]

Well I'm sure there are a lot also from company incompetence.

I have great credit but Verizon sucks. I closed an account and paid in cash. They said they never got it. I went into the store 3 times with the receipt. They couldn't figure it out, said they would refund the money and I can pay it again. Never got the refund. Years later it goes to collection. I showed the collection agency the receipt. Doesn't matter. Nobody cares if you paid it or not. They just blow you off and keep trying to charge you. Then it stays in collections for like 6 years so... bunch of bull spit.

I had something similar with Compuserve. I discontinued my service with them. They keep sending me letters, the first few of which are "We want you back." I stopped opening them. Fast forward six months and I get a call from a credit card company asking why I hadn't paid my bill. When I told them I hadn't been charging anything, they informed me that I had four months of unpaid Compuserve charges. Long story short, Compuserve had given me a free month, then began charging me again even though I had signed nothing (ever with Compuserve - they had purchased the service I was using month to month) and no longer even had the software. Presumably that was in the many mailers I never opened. The moral of the story is you're never too busy to open your credit card bill, even if you "know" there's nothing there.

I apologized, paid it, and wrote it off to stupid tax*. I also sent a certified letter receipt requested to Compuserve cancelling forever; since I no longer had the software or even remembered the account name and password, I had no other way to cancel.

*This is what Dave Ramsey calls stupid tax, money you spent because you did something stupid.

So the guy needs $400 to fix his car so he can go to work, earn $$ and feed his family. It's a bad ting that I lend him?

Yeah, that's oversimplified but so is thinking there isn't some benefit.
YMMV X 1000

Goes to show that by helping someone for his own good we may well be ruining his life. That high interest short term loan may well mean the difference between someone fixing his car, keeping his job, catching up on his mortgage, versus losing everything. If we help him by causing him to lose everything because we think we know better, we haven't given him a hand up so much as a foot on his neck.

Sometimes people are bad credit risks because life happens. Sometimes people are bad credit risks because they did stupid stuff, but they've finally wised up/hit bottom. As long as the lender is honest about the terms - which may be difficult to know as I know a LOT of people who see and hear only what they wish to and/or lie about it when it goes south - then making the loan is no less moral than any business transaction. We have an obligation to help others, but we all have to earn our own beans before we can give to others.

 

[highland145]

My comment was not meant to condemn lenders (sorry it read that way). There is certainly a need to get by in the short term.

I am lamenting that some people have changed that from a short term fix into a constant debt juggling act that they never get out of. Whether they are good at math or not, they are not realizing that their constant indebtedness is causing them to live a lower quality if life rather than a better.

I have seen this at various income levels too. I had several close friends who racked up relatively large CC bills during college and never buckled down and payed them off after getting out. One of these friends just finally got rid of his CC debt ~15 years later. He makes good money as an architect, but has spent the last 15 years always "broke". I wish more parents spent more time educating their kids to the pitfalls of relying on credit to live a certain lifestyle. It will eventually catch up with you.

Agree. I have customers making $70K/yr because they can't manage their $$ or their wants. Keep in mind that $1K is my largest loan.

Goes to show that by helping someone for his own good we may well be ruining his life. That high interest short term loan may well mean the difference between someone fixing his car, keeping his job, catching up on his mortgage, versus losing everything. If we help him by causing him to lose everything because we think we know better, we haven't given him a hand up so much as a foot on his neck.

Or are greedy....truth. Many in my industry don't give a rats ass if the customer is overloaded or not if they think they can make $$.

Sometimes people are bad credit risks because life happens. Sometimes people are bad credit risks because they did stupid stuff, but they've finally wised up/hit bottom. As long as the lender is honest about the terms - which may be difficult to know as I know a LOT of people who see and hear only what they wish to and/or lie about it when it goes south - then making the loan is no less moral than any business transaction. We have an obligation to help others, but we all have to earn our own beans before we can give to others.

Had a long conversation with someone I respect (even though he voted for Obama twice) before opening my own. 98% of my business is repeat and will get themselves in a crack. The short story is that I'm providing a service, be honest, treat people as well as they'll let you and don't be the one putting them in a crack.

I remember some politician (Maxine Waters, maybe) saying something stupid..."Why would anyone to borrow $500? There is no need for that industry." Close us down and people will still borrow $$. Just without the protection of regulations.

 

[werepossum]

Agree. I have customers making $70K/yr because they can't manage their $$ or their wants. Keep in mind that $1K is my largest loan.


Or are greedy....truth. Many in my industry don't give a rats ass if the customer is overloaded or not if they think they can make $$.

Had a long conversation with someone I respect (even though he voted for Obama twice) before opening my own. 98% of my business is repeat and will get themselves in a crack. The short story is that I'm providing a service, be honest, treat people as well as they'll let you and don't be the one putting them in a crack.

I remember some politician (Maxine Waters, maybe) saying something stupid..."Why would anyone to borrow $500? There is no need for that industry." Close us down and people will still borrow $$. Just without the protection of regulations.

Yeah, D.C. politicians rapidly become out of touch with the real world, so that even former welfare queens can no longer conceive of being a few hundred dollars shy of keeping your head above water. Truth is a LOT of Americans are less than a grand from failure at any one time.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Meanwhile, I got a collections notice a week or two ago because a magazine that I was subscribed to for a year (paid by check) decided to auto-renew my subscription without my consent. I have now received 3 or 4 pieces of mail stating I owe them $7.

Now here is where it gets really stupid. I didn't even sign up for the magazine, my father bought it for me as a gift and paid with his name from his own checking account.

Corporate America is completely out of control.

 

[WHAMPOM]

The basics of Capitalism is this: businesses that make money prosper, businesses that loose money fail, unless you own politicians and are "too big to fail."

 

[Zorba]

When I was in college, I had a doctor's bill go to collections, because even though I had given them the correct address and phone number, they kept sending it my parent's old address.

My brother has been the manager of a collection agency for years. The vast majority of their collections are medical and leases. The amount of BS he sees from the companies is crazy. Basically someone breaks their lease, and the apartment complex decides it is time to remodel charging the person for everything. What is sad is most people never fight it or ask for proof of damages. Everyone who has ever asked for proof of damages has gotten out of it, because the apartment complex can't provide any documentation.

 

[brandonb]

Meanwhile, I got a collections notice a week or two ago because a magazine that I was subscribed to for a year (paid by check) decided to auto-renew my subscription without my consent. I have now received 3 or 4 pieces of mail stating I owe them $7.

Now here is where it gets really stupid. I didn't even sign up for the magazine, my father bought it for me as a gift and paid with his name from his own checking account.

Corporate America is completely out of control.

Sounds about right.

I was put into collections when I had a $88 credit at my oral surgeon's office. They upgraded their system and my credit turned into a debit. Was placed into collections. I called to remedy the situation and the accounting chick says "That's what happens when you don't pay your bill, take it up with the collection agency." And hung up on me. It finally fell off my credit report within the last few months. I should have sued them for the $88 credit, but I didn't have proper paperwork.

 

[piasabird]

One trip to a hospital emergency room can put you in debt collections. The way insurance companies work they take forever to pay a claim and then the Hospitals and doctors will not hesitate to send it to collections. In fact it is a racket. When a person cant pay and doesn't have insurance they just mark up the charges with no discounts like the insurance company would have and then they say you owe 5 times what it actually costs.

 

[alkemyst]

Meanwhile, I got a collections notice a week or two ago because a magazine that I was subscribed to for a year (paid by check) decided to auto-renew my subscription without my consent. I have now received 3 or 4 pieces of mail stating I owe them $7.

Now here is where it gets really stupid. I didn't even sign up for the magazine, my father bought it for me as a gift and paid with his name from his own checking account.

Corporate America is completely out of control.

You may want to reread what you posted above as it doesn't make sense.