Stop dealing with calls from debt collectors and your creditors

Whenever I think about creditors harassing people there is a case that sticks in my mind.

A few years ago, there was a client that shared her story with me. Her and her friends were hanging out at her place of residence on a public holiday. While they were busy with a braai, a representative from a debt collecting company showed up. He had a document for her to sign to acknowledge old debt and make a payment arrangement. At that moment she felt anxious and totally embarrassed. Being caught off guard she wasn’t prepared and didn’t want to cause a scene. So, she felt pressured to sign the document so the gentleman could leave the premises.

The debt she signed for was unpaid debt in her past from her previous business. It was liquidated and she had to start over. As a result, she was unable to pay towards some of her accounts for a few years. One of her accounts was sold to a debt collector that was not afraid to use all means necessary to get hold of her.

After having such an experience, she decided that she needed professional debt help. She wanted to employ the services of a professional debt adviser to manage her debt for her. During her assessment she discovered that she signed a document for a prescribed account. The creditor had failed to get hold of her for more than 3 years. And they had sold old debt to a debt collecting company.

In terms of the prescription act a debtor’s liability to pay a specific debt ends after 3 years. It is still legal for the creditor to demand payment or even sue for prescribed debt. The debtor will be able to use debt prescription as a defense.

If the client above had known previously about her rights, she could have avoided signing that document. The debt company was hoping for this exact outcome. They know that most people in debt do not know their rights. They also know how to use psychology and play on your fears to get you to act how they like. At the end of the day the debt collecting company is a business. And they make their income from getting as many people as possible to commit to repaying their old debt.

A professional debt adviser has the knowledge to negotiate the best outcome with creditors and debt collectors

Like doctors, lawyers, accountants, and any other profession, a professional debt adviser spends all his or her workday dealing with the problems you are trying to solve. They have worked with clients in similar circumstances that you currently find yourself in. They may also be already dealing with your creditors too. Their core focus is to mediate unfavorable debt situations for South Africans. The longer they do it, the more practical experience they gain. This allows them to identify smart legal opportunities to get the best deal for you, their client.

If our client had employed a professional debt adviser to help her, her situation would have ended differently. When the gentleman arrived with the document, she would have had a rock-solid defense. All she would have done is tell the gentleman to contact her debt adviser and leave the premises. She would have probably known about the prescription act through her debt adviser. Being armed with knowledge would have helped her in her defense and reduced her total debt by R85 000. If she used the prescription act that account would have been closed and removed from her credit history without a payment.

Avoiding calls and payment is not the answer

We know that seeing a call from an unknown number or share call number makes you anxious. Often you feel the best solution is to just ignore the call and you will deal with it when you can. But for your creditors ignoring their calls paints a completely different picture. They are open to negotiations, and they want to talk and arrange. But if you are not keeping open lines of communication, it forces them to take legal action to get what they want. Every unanswered call or email builds a case against you. That is why after a period they seek legal action. This could eventually result in a judgement against your name. Or even a garnishee order on your salary which just makes your current situation worse.

Employing a professional debt adviser to deal with your debt calls is a smart idea

As you can see ignoring the calls can do far more damage to your debt recovery. If you don’t have the mental capacity to take the calls yourself, the best thing you can do is to work with a professional to handle them for you. As part of the process the debt advisers are there to deal with your creditors and debt collectors on your behalf. They have the knowledge to help negotiate the best deal and when to use the law as your defense. Once you employ a professional debt adviser, you can divert all debt calls to your debt adviser. You give yourself the power to not deal with the calls, but also not leave the situation to get worse. The call becomes your debt adviser’s problem to resolve. This gives you peace of mind knowing it’s being attended to without you spending more time, energy, or money on it.

You pay one consolidated monthly payment that you can afford to your adviser. Your debt adviser will charge you a once off upfront fee and a small monthly fee that is deducted from your debt payments. After the fee is deducted, the balance is paid to your creditors. This small fee you pay can save you thousands of rands that you would have paid in interest and other fees. You also don’t need to find extra money for the fees because it’s included in your new monthly budget.

If you truly want to take control of your debt and recovery from debt, then this is the ideal solution.

All you need to do is take that first step and start a conversation with a debt adviser you can trust.

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