West Asset Management - West Corporation Rude & Ignorant supervisors! Treated me like an idiot! ripoff Sherman Texas

"M",

I stated that I always made much larger payments than required. ALWAYS.

My payments ALWAYS exceeded the interest amount.

Also, I understand WHY they raised them, I simply do not agree with it.

I have the right to disagree. I have the right not to pay them too!

That was the whole point!

They were to big and too arrogant to think they had to deal with the little guy.

I told them where I stood on it. I stood firm.

That is called power negotiating.

I don't talk just to hear noise.

Really Steve, I'm agreeing with you. I'm not trying to tell you what don't know. All I'm doing is explaining what I know about how credit cards and how those companies look at your credit.

First of all, I asked to make sure I understood that your total credit limit (of ALL your cards) was $170k and not that you actually OWED that much. You have verified that, so I can understand more of where you're coming from.

Now, you did say in your post that some credit cards WERE nearly maxed, and WERE NOT. I'm taking that to mean past-tense, meaning that isn't a current thing now. So what we're dealing with here is what happened BEFORE the latest crap that you started this whole rip-off report with.

Since I think I have an understanding where we're at now, I'll explain myself. I think we're coming at this from two different angles. I'm coming from the "amount of payment" level, but you're coming from a "payment history" level. As I understand it, while your payment history may be good, sometimes your payments may hurt you, especially if you aren't paying enough to cover your interest, which is what I explained about when I spoke of my experience with Discover.

Carrying too much credit CAN be considered a "high-risk" factor for credit card companies. That may have triggered them to raise your interest rate. They don't necessarily do (or do not do) so according to just payment history alone. If I'm not mistaken credit card companies can do whatever they want with their accounts because o f what is stated in their terms & conditions..."we may raise or lower your interest rate at any time for any reason". I've seen that on a LOT of credit card terms and conditions.

NOT after the account is several years old and in good standing the whole time.

AND, if credit card issuers would practice RESPONSIBLE LENDING they would not have these large losses to deal with.

Credit extended should be a percentage of a persons expendable income, and should be verified at least twice per year.

The entire unsecured lending industry needs to be changed dramatically.

THEY need to be responsible for their actions or lack thereof.

Winston,

You are making assumptions without the benefit of all the facts.

First of all, my total credit limits combined were approx $170k. With the exception of my AMEX Gold Card that had no limit.

Some cards had very small balances as compared to the limit and some were very close to the limit.

These were all seasoned accounts with the newest being 3+ years and the oldest being almost 15 years. None of these were teaser rates.

My debt to income ratio you mentioned was not a factor, because no one had ever re-verified my income or total debts. So that is irrelevant.

I made approx $1400 a week take home average.
I had usually $6 to $10k in the bank at all times.

I used my credit cards as a business tool. Would pay them almost off when times were good, and run them back up when things were slow. It was the way I kept my life even.

I paid double or more the min. on the small ones and 4-5 times the min on the big ones on a regular basis.

I had a 14 year spotless payment history. Nothing at all negative on my credit report in 14 years.

The only way I brought this on myself was doing business with these lowlife in the first place.

I kept my BofA card current as they never played games with me. It is still current, and they still have not done me wrong. They will continue to get paid until they play games.

This is a common scam almost all credit card companies pull. They figure they have you over the barrel as they know you cannot just pay them all off, and they assume that you wont risk ruining your credit.

Well, they assumed wrong.

I've been around the block a few times, and have vast financial knowledge and real life experience. I got my first bank loan the year you were born, at 17.

If at 25 years old you actually could tell me something I didn't already know, I would be glad to listen, but I had a pocket full of credit cards when you were crawling around in diapers, and bought my house before you made it to kindergarten. My point is, these are not new tricks, and your advice is not accurate.

Thanks anyway.

Steve, I hate to inform you, but some of that was your own doing. I know you don't want to hear it from a 25 year-old, but those creditors are kind of right. You said that you carried over $175k in unsecured credit. If I'm understanding that correctly, you mean that the TOTAL of ALL the credit limits on your credit cards is $175k, not that your DEBT is $175k, right? To a credit card company, regardless of what your current credit score is, there's a thing called "debt to income ratio". They also look at just how much credit you carry.

All credit cards are usually unsecured and are considered "open accounts", meaning that you may be allowed to spend more than you have in actual cash flow and even if it's been closed, it's still seen as "revolving". Even if you can make the payments (which are usually only 2-3% of the balance, and sometimes do NOT cover the interest accrued each month), it doesn't mean much, even if you are NEVER late. You can actually pay double the minimum payment and still NEVER pay the principal down.

I actually had a misunderstanding with Discover about the minimum payment issue and noticed that I made $30-35 payments (which was double my minimum payment), but the interest gained every month was more than $60. When I called Discover, they said "by law, we only have to tell you a minimum payment of 3%, regardless of if the minimum payment will cover the interest accrued every month". I told them it was unfair, and the guy told me, "that's the law, so we follow it". So I asked him to speak with a "credit helper". She said that they'll work with me to get the balance down, but they had to close the account. So I agreed to make $75 payments until the balance was zero, and they lowered my interest rate to 9% fixed until I paid off the credit card. I just finished paying it off this year (with the help of my tax refund), and it was the first credit card I got. Having such a long payment history with them over 7 years has helped my credit somewhat. And for the last 3 years, there have been consistent payments, which also looks good on my credit report. I didn't like what they did at the time, but it has paid off and it looks better now that it's been paid off.

Lorna,

Knowing the circumstances and the facts are helpful before making assumptions on my motives.

I had perfect credit for more than 14years with 35 creditors and 170K in unsecured credit available,and a 735 credit score.

MOST of my creditors all within a few months of each other more than doubled my interest rates for no valid reason. I mmediately called to find out why, and they said it was because of the amount of credit I carried! Keep in mind that I never made a late payment, and always paid at least double my minimums. I was a good customer.

I got a take it or leave it attitude from all but 2 creditors. So I gave it right back to them. I told them that was unacceptable and if they did not fix it right away, they would get no more payments.

Well, I won't get bent over and just say thank you. That is an unethical way to do business, and I won't play that game.

I had the ability and the desire to pay these cards off, but not at 23-29% on large balances. You simply cant get anywhere!

Therefore, they screwed themselves by being greedy and arrogant. They made the choice to not get paid when they refused to fix the problem that I attempted to resolve.

I am not trying to be slick as you put it.

You can sit back and just take a screwing if you like, but don't expect me to do it.

Go back to your cubicle in your collection agency.

Collection agencies aren't in business to be "nice", they are in business to collect money from people who don't pay their bills. To avoid collection agencies don't take out credit if you can't pay it back. If you hit a rough spot, contact the creditor BEFORE the debt goes to collection. They are almost always willing to work things out. Steve may be proud of beating the system but it is people like me who pay for Steve's "slickness".

I am not an employee of West or a customer. Just someone checking the company out and these kinds of complaints are a waste of time.

Well, my credit score is back up to about 580 up from 385. I just paid off my 5 year truck loan in 39 months which will bring it up some more. And I have been paying my BofA Visa all along as they never played games with me. They will continue to be paid until they do.

I made a choice to not have a house payment or a car payment, so I do not need a credit score for anything.

I already have everything I need. And I got letters of reference fro all of my good accounts paid off, and also fro all cellular, utility, and insurance.

All of my needs are met, and by only reportable income is immune from garnishment or siezure.

And, if you have some cash on hand, you can get anything you want financed if you really have to, just at a higher rate.

When I write my book, that income will be in a family trust which is also untouchable. When I start my trucking company, it will be a corp, and my 17 year old nephew will be the PRES and my 84 year old grandmother will be the Treas.

I just outright tell these companies to sue me! Then I tell them there are no assets to get and my income is not garnishable! Then I laugh at them and tell them to waste more time and money suing me and getting a judgement to still get nothing!

I get lawsuits dismissed on a regular basis before they even go to court! These lawyers are such morons. I can find something wrong with each and every filing.

I put myself in a position to be untouchable. Through many years of experience in the financial business.

I am going to write a book that is a step by step manual for any given situation to allow everyone to d what I did without filing bankruptcy.

I am not an advocate of getting something for nothing or engaging in fraud. I AM an advocate of RESPONSIBLE LENDING. Unsecured creditors are just that. UNSECURED!! If they would tighten thier guidlines and actually do semi annual income and expense and asset verifications they would not be in the bad debt situation they are in.

They CHOOSE to get screwed because of the careless and arrogant way they do businesss.

My goal is to bring them to thier Knees and FORCE them to change. It will also ELIMINATE the viability of debt buying as everyone in the nation will know they cannot collect!

That is my goal. And it WILL happen in the next 5 years. I already have an outlet to introduce my book live on TV.

I am on a mission. I will succeeed.

Thank you Steve. That is what I was expecting....some evidence. If you are going to make claims, make them with evidence proving your claim. You claimed that you walked away from debt, and I questioned it. You said that I "didn't know sh*t", yet provided no evidence on where you got your information from. That's why I said you were belittling me. It's one thing to say "you don't know sh*t", but quite another to say something like "there are laws which protect consumers from owing debt" or something to that effect, and THEN showing where you got your info.

So really, did you "walk away" from the debt? It's still on your credit report, but it's not collectible by the original creditors, correct? So tell me, why doesn't it hurt your credit score to have those debts on there? Can you still get approved for ANY credit you apply for (like a house, mortgage, or car loan)?

I did read your post, and I was not belittling you at all, I was responding to your reply.

Those debts I walked away from are still on my credit report. FYI...It is the State Statute of Limitations that determines if a debt is collectable. Being listed on the credit report means nothing.

Have you ever been to BudHibbs.com? You should go there, most of the things I stated are also listed there, and he has been at it 30 years. West is also listed there on the agencies to avoid list.

Boasting about the debts being uncollectable is half the fun! The other half of the fun is slamming debt collectors that cant to squat, and letting them know they cant do squat.

Arrogant? Your d**n right! Proud of it. When dealing with arrogance, you must be arrogant. I have to lower myself to the bottomfeeder's level.

AND, it was arrogance that made me walk away from these debts. The only 2 creditors that did not give me a take it or leave it attitude, have been paid in full with no lates.

You see, I made a choice one day to walk away due to being ripped off by greedy and arrogant practices that i did not agree with. I had spotless credit for 14 years, and had full ability to pay these bills. I had a 735 credit score and decided to walk away from it.

The only reason it was only 735 is the amount of credit I carried. That was also the reason they gave for DOUBLING my interest rates, as a preferred customer.

Those are the facts.

Paying a debt collector will actually hurt your credit? I actually just read an article about that. See, one thing you have NOT done is present EVIDENCE for your claims. I would believe you more if you presented websites where I could READ the information. Instead, you simply say "you don't know sh*t" with your own arrogance. Here are the articles I read about paying off old debts. SOME of what you say is true, but not all....

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/Managedebt/P74812.asp

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/SavingandDebt/P59862.asp

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/debt/settle_debts.shtml

So you see, paying off debt MAY help your score, but sometimes it CAN hurt your score. It all depends on certain federal and state laws. Are debt collectors completely powerless? Not so, especially if they sue you over the amount. Generally, smaller amounts are written off most of the time.

Again, if you would actually READ my post instead of trying to belittle me with your comments, you would have seen that I DO NOT work for their collections department. I worked in CUSTOMER SERVICE for a cellular phone company at one of their call centers. West Asset Management is a PART of West Corporation, NOT the whole. You would know this if you checked out West's website (http://www.west.com).

You think you "walked away" from the $170,000? Think again. It just isn't showing up on your credit report anymore, especially if it's over 7 years old, depending on your state laws. You may think you walked away, but believe me, those creditors can STILL come after you if you aren't careful. I don't think it's wise also to boast about not paying debt that you KNOW that you OWE. I wouldn't lend any money to you...not even a dollar.

I never said paying your debts would hurt your credit score.

I said, paying a debt collector will actually hurt your credit. Two very different things. Please learn how to read and comprehend before you leap into correcting someone.

Heres how it works: If you are already delinquent on a debt and it goes to collections, your credit score is based on he type of negative, and age of accounts since last activity.

The more recent negative, the worse your score. So a 2 year old collection account with no payments on the collection will hurt you less than a collection account that you make a payment on after 3 or 6 months.

And if you pay off a collection account, now it just reads as a paid collection account and stays on your credit report for 7 more years as a negative account, but the one that was in collections that you ignored, can only stay on for 5 more years.

AND the one you ignore becomes legally uncollectable faster as making any payment re-affirms the debt and restarts the SOL.

Those are the facts, junior. And, FYI..I was in this business when you were in diapers. Your little BS degree means squat for credibility here.

Like I said, you don't know sh*t, and your post proves it. It must truly suck to act so powerful and arrogant, and actually have no power at all!

Those are the facts, junior.

ps..I walked away from $170,000, NOT $100,000. So wouldn't that qualify as a case being "deep" enough for someone to take action? It just proves my point. Debt collectors are absolutely powerless. This is rock solid proof.

I never said paying your debts would hurt your credit score.

I said, paying a debt collector will actually hurt your credit. Two very different things. Please learn how to read and comprehend before you leap into correcting someone.

Heres how it works: If you are already delinquent on a debt and it goes to collections, your credit score is based on he type of negative, and age of accounts since last activity.

The more recent negative, the worse your score. So a 2 year old collection account with no payments on the collection will hurt you less than a collection account that you make a payment on after 3 or 6 months.

And if you pay off a collection account, now it just reads as a paid collection account and stays on your credit report for 7 more years as a negative account, but the one that was in collections that you ignored, can only stay on for 5 more years.

AND the one you ignore becomes legally uncollectable faster as making any payment re-affirms the debt and restarts the SOL.

Those are the facts, junior. And, FYI..I was in this business when you were in diapers. Your little BS degree means squat for credibility here.

Like I said, you don't know sh*t, and your post proves it. It must truly suck to act so powerful and arrogant, and actually have no power at all!

Those are the facts, junior.

ps..I walked away from $170,000, NOT $100,000. So wouldn't that qualify as a case being "deep" enough for someone to take action? It just proves my point. Debt collectors are absolutely powerless. This is rock solid proof.

I never said paying your debts would hurt your credit score.

I said, paying a debt collector will actually hurt your credit. Two very different things. Please learn how to read and comprehend before you leap into correcting someone.

Heres how it works: If you are already delinquent on a debt and it goes to collections, your credit score is based on he type of negative, and age of accounts since last activity.

The more recent negative, the worse your score. So a 2 year old collection account with no payments on the collection will hurt you less than a collection account that you make a payment on after 3 or 6 months.

And if you pay off a collection account, now it just reads as a paid collection account and stays on your credit report for 7 more years as a negative account, but the one that was in collections that you ignored, can only stay on for 5 more years.

AND the one you ignore becomes legally uncollectable faster as making any payment re-affirms the debt and restarts the SOL.

Those are the facts, junior. And, FYI..I was in this business when you were in diapers. Your little BS degree means squat for credibility here.

Like I said, you don't know sh*t, and your post proves it. It must truly suck to act so powerful and arrogant, and actually have no power at all!

Those are the facts, junior.

ps..I walked away from $170,000, NOT $100,000. So wouldn't that qualify as a case being "deep" enough for someone to take action? It just proves my point. Debt collectors are absolutely powerless. This is rock solid proof.

Melissa, thank you for your intelligent response. I like to see people that give an answer without name calling and belittling of another.

Like I said before, I used to work at one of their call centers for a cell phone company. From my experience there and with their Work-At-Home division, it has been a good experience. All I am saying about collections is from my experience in dealing with collection companies and how they affect your credit score.

For more information on how collections work, go to this website:

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/Managedebt/P65141.asp?special=0404cope

So you see, there is a right way and a wrong way to deal with debt collections. There ARE rules by which they can collect, and also rules that they must abide by as well. They CAN be also held liable for their actions. Garnishing of wages and that sort of thing CAN happen in collections if their lawyers/attorneys request it. It depends on how "deep" the situation is. The FIRST thing mentioned on the site above is to *Learn your rights*. Then go on from there. Some people work in collections are nicer than others, but it depends on who you get.

As for West Assest Management abusing people, that's their problem. Again, I was part of a different division of West. Just remember, if you start yelling at the person on the phone because you don't want to pay a debt, don't expect the person to NOT yell at you back. God is not mocked...you reap what you sow.

As for you, Steve, calling me an "ego junkie that doesn't know s**t", you should watch your words. I am 25 years old and have worked MANY different jobs. I have a Bachelors in Music and I'm also working on an IT degree as well. Next time you think of belittling someone, think again.

So PAYING debts actually make your credit score WORSE? I'd like to see WHERE you got that information. I would like to see how you get out of paying over $100,000 in debt like you claimed earlier. If you can do it, anyone can....

West Asset is one of the biggest scumbags in the nation. They abuse people as a matter of routine business.

This "M" character doesnt know s**t. He/She is an ego junkie. Absolutely clueless as to how the real world works. Must be some kid on a 1st or 2nd job who doesnt know any better.

I stopped West Asset cols in less than 10 days from the day they started calling.

Like I said, collection agencies have ABSOLUTELY NO POWER to do anything. "M" states that they can ruin our credit, blah,blah blah. If a person is in collections, the credit is already ruined, and paying it will actually make it worse.

This is because it will show as a paid collection, and bring the most recent date of activity to the present, and the activity is negative! That is how the real world works.

NEVER pay a third party collector. Make them spend the time and money to sue you, and when they get the judgement, sit back and laugh at them as they try to collect.

This is what I do, and after almost 4 years, NO ONE has collected one penny, and no one ever will.

Why, you ask? Because I am in control, not the scumbag!

West Asset is one of the biggest scumbags in the nation. They abuse people as a matter of routine business.

This "M" character doesnt know s**t. He/She is an ego junkie. Absolutely clueless as to how the real world works. Must be some kid on a 1st or 2nd job who doesnt know any better.

I stopped West Asset cols in less than 10 days from the day they started calling.

Like I said, collection agencies have ABSOLUTELY NO POWER to do anything. "M" states that they can ruin our credit, blah,blah blah. If a person is in collections, the credit is already ruined, and paying it will actually make it worse.

This is because it will show as a paid collection, and bring the most recent date of activity to the present, and the activity is negative! That is how the real world works.

NEVER pay a third party collector. Make them spend the time and money to sue you, and when they get the judgement, sit back and laugh at them as they try to collect.

This is what I do, and after almost 4 years, NO ONE has collected one penny, and no one ever will.

Why, you ask? Because I am in control, not the scumbag!

West Asset is one of the biggest scumbags in the nation. They abuse people as a matter of routine business.

This "M" character doesnt know s**t. He/She is an ego junkie. Absolutely clueless as to how the real world works. Must be some kid on a 1st or 2nd job who doesnt know any better.

I stopped West Asset cols in less than 10 days from the day they started calling.

Like I said, collection agencies have ABSOLUTELY NO POWER to do anything. "M" states that they can ruin our credit, blah,blah blah. If a person is in collections, the credit is already ruined, and paying it will actually make it worse.

This is because it will show as a paid collection, and bring the most recent date of activity to the present, and the activity is negative! That is how the real world works.

NEVER pay a third party collector. Make them spend the time and money to sue you, and when they get the judgement, sit back and laugh at them as they try to collect.

This is what I do, and after almost 4 years, NO ONE has collected one penny, and no one ever will.

Why, you ask? Because I am in control, not the scumbag!

West Asset is one of the biggest scumbags in the nation. They abuse people as a matter of routine business.

This "M" character doesnt know s**t. He/She is an ego junkie. Absolutely clueless as to how the real world works. Must be some kid on a 1st or 2nd job who doesnt know any better.

I stopped West Asset cols in less than 10 days from the day they started calling.

Like I said, collection agencies have ABSOLUTELY NO POWER to do anything. "M" states that they can ruin our credit, blah,blah blah. If a person is in collections, the credit is already ruined, and paying it will actually make it worse.

This is because it will show as a paid collection, and bring the most recent date of activity to the present, and the activity is negative! That is how the real world works.

NEVER pay a third party collector. Make them spend the time and money to sue you, and when they get the judgement, sit back and laugh at them as they try to collect.

This is what I do, and after almost 4 years, NO ONE has collected one penny, and no one ever will.

Why, you ask? Because I am in control, not the scumbag!

Too many fingers pointing! This is starting to sound like an out of control collection call! No need to argue!

I used to be a collection agent, not for west asset but for another company.

First off the mini miranda... "this is an attempt to collect..." is mandatory according to the FDCPA passed in 1977. If it is not said the company AND collector can be sued.

Now, as for the whole personal financial information. I believe that there probably is a law that ALLOWS this to be asked. But I don't believe that there is a law that says it HAS to be answered.

I would never ever give my financial information to anyone #1 over the phone, and #2 demanding it.

I do not think any comments after the first rebuttal are constructive, and should have been thought over before pressing the submit button.

The bottom line is, in the game of debt recovery there is no way to please everyone. Some one will get upset, this is why the FDCPA was passed. It is for the protection of the debtors.

I myself have been experiencing problems with west asset , and found that they are not cooperative by any means. Look for my report after I have seen my attorney!

First of all, Nicole, I apologize for calling it "arrogance". I used the wrong word. I realize that I really meant "fault". Please understand that I was trying to make a point about how things are handled in debt collection, and NOT trying to demean "the customer".

As I said before, some collection agencies need to collect information about your income, and you can more than likely decide to not disclose certain information. But, rememeber about their disclaimer: "any information obtained is done so in order to recover a debt".

Go check out these websites for information about what a debt collector can and cannot do (these "rules" may vary from state to state):

http://www.wdfi.org/ymm/brochures/credit/debt_collection.htm

http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/index.html

Also, here is the FTC's website on fair debt collection:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fdc.htm

In certain states, the debt collector CAN ask about your income IF you state that you have to make payments on the debt. Check your state government for information about that.

Again, I apologize for the word I used describing you, or any other "customer". Don't think that all West employees are the same. You must realize something when you deal with debt collectors. They are usually yelled at all day because they call people about a debt they owe. From experience, I can tell you that you can begin to think all people are the same when you are in a certain line of work like doing Customer Service over the phone or debt collection.

If a company asks you for income information, you CAN ask why they need the information and if they can tell you if it's a state law that requires them to collect such information to make payments on a debt.

Steve, you SAY that I don't have any clue about the facts of life and that I'm an "idiot", but you are WRONG. You clearly admitted that you had done wrong in opening over $170k in credit accounts. No one made you do so. Sure, you may have a spotless credit history (meaning that you paid all credit cards/debts on-time), but you can't carry too much credit, especially if you don't have the income to match it (debt/income ratio). You'd be surprised how many people make only $40k, but they try to live like they make $120k by using credit cards and loans. You'd actually be surprised how many people make over $50k, but have JUST AS MUCH DEBT!! Furthermore, just by what I have stated PROVES that I know more about the "facts of life" than you may think.

Anyways, to make a long story short, all a person needs to have excellent credit are 4 things:
1) Have a loan or credit card for at least 3 years
2) Have A credit card with a credit limit greater than $10,000 (or up to 3 cards with the combined limit)
3) Have NEVER been more than 60 days late on a credit card, medical bill or loan payment (in the last 7 years)
4) Have never declared bankruptcy

You absolutely have to take control of any converstion with any type of bill collector.

I was in various aspects of the financial industry for many years and laugh about idiots like "M" above.

He / She really has no clue about the facts of life. I walked away from 170k over 3 years ago after having a 14 year spotless credit history and a 735 credit score. The only reason it was only a 735 was because I carried too many open/available credit lines.

Finally I got tired of the arrogance and take it or leave it attitudes when I inquired as to why my interests rates were all going up sharply. I was told it was due to the amount of credit I carried.

That is when I got tired of the arrogance and the take it or leave it attitude. I decided to leave it!

I apply my industry knowledge when dealing with these fools and I have shut down the scum of the scum in bill collectors in a matter of days from the first call.

Bank of America is the only one that has been paid all along as they never gave me a take it or leave it attitude.

Lets also make the difference known between an employee of your original creditor calling on an open account, and a third party collector calling or attempting to collect a closed or charged off account. The latter are the scumbags.

Just so there is no confusion.

I decide who I pay and how much. And only I decide what information, if any, I give to anyone. Did you all know that the information you give may be to some derilect crackhead or prisoner? I have seen these boiler room style debt collection outfits and this is what you are dealing with 90% of the time. REAL LOWLIFE!

I took a few minutes to try to settle a few things one morning, and the last thing I did was call West Asset Management to attempt to make a quick payment. The first person was very helpful, the second the "supervisor" got on the phone she started asking questions - she didn't explain why she needed the info other than she wanted to update my records, and she wasn't very nice about it. I've tried that route before, "setting up a payment arrangement" over the phone. So I have to justify my income and expenditures to someone sitting in a cube farm somewhere in order to make a payment? That's ridiculous. It's Christmas for crying out loud, and I have kids and a family that I'm scraping to have a Christmas with, and now some chic at the collection agency wants to know all about my income and why I can't pay the debt off as opposed to making 2 payments? And now I'm arrogant for not wanting to go through that?

Perhaps if she had explained in a calm voice what she needed the info for before she started her inquisition, I would have been more compelled to play along - but when a conversation that was supposed to be "confirming payment information" starts out with "I need to update your records, what is your monthly income?" I tend to get a little pissed. Wouldn't you?

I would bet the average american cringes when the phone rings and the number isn't recognizable (I do!). In my personal experience,
that's because the collector or soliciter on the other end of the line is usually short tempered, rude, and inconsiderate, as was the supervisor at West when I called. Looks like that's a pre-req for West employees.

I'm spouting BS? You call ME a Moron, but you can't even read. Did I say that I worked in their collections line? No, I did NOT. All I stated were the guidelines they have been told by the creditor as the information that they collect. That info is used so that they have "reason" why you cannot make a full payment.

I've dealt with MANY debt collectors. All they want is their money. You may call me a moron and think that debt collectors don't have any "power", but think again....just look at your CREDIT REPORT. They can keep you from getting a car loan or make you pay higher interest rates on loans just by them saying the word "DELINQUENT" by your name on a debt you owe. What's worse is that FEDERAL LAW permits that information to be on YOUR credit report for up to 7 years in some cases.

I think it is the arrogance of the debtor in this situation which caused them to be angry. All that had to be done was to ask "Can I set up a payment arrangement please? I cannot pay the balance in full right now." Instead, the debtor became indignant and began slandering the collections people - bad idea. They hold more "power" than you may think. If someone owed you money, wouldn't you be angry if they pissed you off?

Steven, just because you don't like my answer doesn't make you right in any way. Face it, the truth HURTS....the key is that you LEARN from it.

Is there any way you can get the account back in the hands of the original creditor? If not, make sure you document everything you send to ANY collection agency. Do NOT give then a payment over the phone, do NOT give them your bank account number or any credit card number. Depending on whether or not this is a credit buyer or a junk debt buyer, you need to have them provide you with a validation of the account -- that they can collect on the account -- and you should also consider protecting your credit reports. It is admirable that you want to pay your debts, but do not let any collection agency take advantage of you.

Do you actually believe that BS you are spouting?

What you collections MORONS don't understand is that the debtor doesn't have to do anything, including providing you any information or answering any of your stupid questions.

She tried to make a payment in good faith. She called the collector to make the payment, and the collector REFUSED it! What a MORON!

Collection agencies have absolutely no power at all to do anything, much less make any rules.

You people are too much.

Arrogance and stupidity is a very dangerous combination.

I used to work in a call center for West, but under a different line group that dealth with Customer Service of various cellular companies.

Anyways, whenever you are trying to pay a collection/debt off, they are REQUIRED to tell you the "this call is intended to collect a debt, any information collected..." script as a disclaimer. With that in mind, what the supervisor was doing was according to the disclaimer.

Regardless of what you may feel is unnecessary is actually part of their job. It may seem stupid to you, but they MUST ask all of that info. You are not the only person they deal with, and they MUST have a certain way to handle everyone, regardless of if the debt is $100 or $100,000.

When you make payment to a collections agency, you either make payment over the phone, OR you send FULL payment through the mail. In collections, they expect mailed payments to be "paid in full" payments because the account is delinquent.

Also, realize that you didn't give the supervisor ANY of the information he/she requested. It's needed in order to setup an arrangement to pay SOME of the balance. They MUST have a reason why, otherwise they must assume that you have the money, but don't want to pay them.