When Creditors Turn Nasty

They no longer throw you in debtor’s prison just because you have got a little behind with your credit card repayments, nor do (most) debt collectors come round and break your legs, but debt collectors can be very nasty and sometimes they will use a good many tricks in an attempt to intimidate and humiliate you into making repayments at a higher level than you can afford. Fortunately nowadays they are very restricted in what they are allowed to do, and here we will look at how they should behave. If you find that they are not doing so then you have grounds for complaint. Also, it would seem that if you are in this type of situation, you would benefit from some debt help.

Many lenders either employ debt collectors to recover the money they are owed or alternatively sell on the loan to a debt collector. In either case the debt collect only makes money from the sums that they collect and so are highly motivated to collect as much as they can; they do not have your welfare very high on their priority list.

As a result they tend to be very persuasive and are reluctant to take no for an answer. They tend to overstate their powers, and if they do so this is against the law. On some occasions they might be offensive and use discriminatory language, which is also against the law.

Neither are they allowed to intimidate or harass people or place them in embarrassing situations, for instance by contacting neighbours or work colleagues. If you tell them that they must not try to contact you at work, then it is illegal for them to try to do so.

By law all debt collectors must be licensed through the CSA and if they break the rules they can be struck off. Unfortunately some that have been continue to operate and there are many who have never been licensed. You should always check to make sure that the collector you are dealing with has a valid licence and you can do so through the CSA website.