Collection Agencies:
It Does Not Need To Be That Scary..

by Maria
(San Jose)

Collection agencies are used in the majority of cases because either individuals and/or corporations intentionally avoid fulfilling their payments. However, there are also a considerable number of cases where the situation is caused by a misunderstanding.

In my case I was living apart from my then boyfriend, now my husband, and every time he would come for a visit I would try my best to look attractive. For this, I signed up for tanning sessions and the tanning place required me to sign at least for two months, which would be charged to my credit card at the end of each month: no problem.

About 3 weeks later, I lost my wallet and I proceeded to cancel all my credit cards and obtain replacements. As you know, these replacement cards come with new numbers and I had long forgotten about the tanning salon.

About 4 or 5 months later I got a call from a collection agency. They were very intimidating and used a lot of unnecessary threats...and finally I realized what happened. I stopped the lady in her tracks and told her to cut the crap; that I was paying right away.

She could have saved time and I could have saved stress if she would have opened the conversation with: "Are you able to pay now?" or something in that manner.

So, in conclusion, I would recommend that the first call or the first attempt be as cordial as possible. If you really see a bad reaction from the person who owes the money then bring on the dobermans, but not before.