Collection Agencies

Just like any business, there are legitimate collection agencies and rogue ones, too. Collection agencies should never threaten or torment you; it's against the law. If a collector is harassing you unjustifiably, send them our "Drop Dead" letter. Learn more about your rights here.

Helpful Guides and Links:
Statute of Limitations
Collection 'Drop Dead' Letter
Legal self-help sites
Talk: Customer Service forum
Resources & Contacts

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Are you being harassed over an old VHS rental late fee?

More than three million people are being harassed over debts of dubious origin from the defunct video rental chains Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery. When these chains went bust, their collection records were apparently in complete disarray. The collection agency that has been attempting to track down alleged debtors has ...

ClarkHoward.com and The Clark Howard Show offer advice on your health care decisions.

Hospitals stationing bill collectors in the ER

If you thought health care couldn't get any worse in America, I'm about to shock you. The attorney general of Minnesota is investigating allegations that some hospitals are sending third party debt collectors dressed as employees into emergency rooms. During triage, these collectors will run a credit check on you ...

Bogus collection calls coming from overseas

Imagine getting a call from India and being told to pay $500 on a suspicious debt or you'd be imprisoned and fired from your job. That's the situation more than 10,000 Americans found themselves in over the past two years, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The calls supposedly ...

Your rights when dealing with debt collectors

A leading debt-collecting agency has been fined for a pattern of unlawful attempts to collect on old debts. Asset Acceptance agreed to a $2.5 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. The firm had been trying to con people into making partial payments against expired debts. In some states, paying ...

Chase allegedly changed the amounts due on delinquent accounts

Agents of Chase Bank reportedly were jacking up the amount owed on some delinquent accounts before referring them out to third party collectors. This practice is called "pencil whipping." When an account would go delinquent, before it was turned over to a collection agency or outside lawyer to sue against ...

How you can be jailed over an unpaid debt in some states

I've long said to you as an article of faith that there is no debtors' prison in the United States. However, I now have to eat my words because of a dangerous new trend where people are being thrown in jail over unpaid credit card debt that they may not ...

Big banks target grieving widows over debts they don't legally owe

The nation's biggest banks are specifically and strategically targeting grieving widows with harassing attempts to collect on the debts of their recently deceased husbands. Bank of America, Capital One, Discover and Citibank each have policies in place that allow their collectors to berate widows who have no legal obligation for ...

Protect yourself against debt collectors in cases of mistaken identity

If you ever get a call or letter from a debt collector that you know is a case of mistaken identity, don't ignore it! I read a Bloomberg report about new abuses in the debt collection industry. In one instance, a collector found a woman who had a similar name ...

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Scam Alert: Bill Collector Calls

The phone rings and it's a suspicious call about an outstanding debt from a supposed collector. Clark has a key piece of advice you need to know before you're ready to talk.

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How To Handle Abusive Collection Agencies

It pays to know your rights if you're being harassed by a collection agency. Clark explains the statute of limitations on old debt and tells you how to handle abusive collectors.