Ungrateful Little Snot

The BBQ Pit
1

Before you read this rant, don’t be too dissapointed that there’s no profanity or references to horrible acts of bodily harm. Also, when you see the fact that I’m in “collections,” realize I grew up in a single parent home, and know exactly what it’s like to live from paycheck to paycheck and have collection agents call about payments on bills. Here’s my story. I purposely repeat myself in a couple places (so as to see my intentions with this entire situation, which I concede may have no been easily recognized by the person I was dealing with.)

This lady calls, and on someones account we can get a really good idea of their credit before and since they’ve bought their car. Her husband was also on the account, and along with their credit I saw their occupations at the time the vehicle was purchased. Usually one doesn’t make assumptions, but if you see a lawyer with a mustang you’ll be inclined to think it’s a toy, or if a carpenter has a truck, he/she probably uses it for work.

Anyways, had never been late before, and were calling to make arrangments because our automated machine left a message (it’s just a generic “please call us at 1800…”) So, she was returning the call.

First, she was a total witch because she wouldn’t give me a chance to talk. Now, I know people can be very to the point when it comes to dealing with creditors, but she was rather rude about it. At first it seemed simple enough and I wasn’t put off. She just started telling me how she was paying the bill and when. Of course, I have to ask why she’s late because according to their contract, we have to know why someone defaulted on their loan. I have learned to be pretty tactful with asking this (it’s a part of my job) and have had some tell me their life story while others tell me it’s none of my business.

Moving on, we also offer assistance (because she had never been late before so I would be happy to help, and even if she had I enjoy helping people who really need it) I don’t even get this far. After she tells me how she’ll be paying, she asks the fee to use our over the phone check service, and as I said before I ask why shes late…

This is where she becomes rude. She keeps repeating and interrupting me, “IS THERE A FEE? IS THERE A FEE IS THERE A FEE?” This was while I was asking why she was late because If I knew why she was late, I could help her out, OR protect her immaculate credit history…Like I said, I can get a general idea of someones credit, and hers has not a single blemish and I am always happy to help someone keep it that way…

I concede and tell her the fee (thinking it would prompt her to move on and let me tell her that the payment she was saying she would make would go over 30 days). She tells me when she’ll make the pmt, then, this lovely person hangs up on me. AT FIRST, I thought the line just disconnected (because that happens sometimes)

So I called back…and as soon as I say I’m calling back she says “I’m disconnecting the call” and hangs up…NOW HERE I should have just said to myself “OKAY, FINE, I’m calling to tell you that when you shouted you are making your pmt, it will leave an “over 30 days late pmt” mark on your perfect credit, and I can prevent there, or if there is something that happened that cause you to fall behind - EVEN if you would refuse to tell me - I would gladly help you. Since you’re a total witch I won’t tell you and I’ll move on…” BUT

I called her back and said “M’am before you hang up, please understand if you make your pmt then you will affect your credit and I can help you prevent that…I am calling to protect your credit, and offer assistance if you need any…” OF couse as when she first calls, she won’t let me say anything, she says “IM RECORDING THIS” (repeats over and over while I’m telling her about her credit) To which I said she does not have permismission to (which is a corporate policy… nothing she recorded would fly in court anyways especially after I stated she does not have company permission to do so) THEN states What company are you with and whats your name? SO, I said “m’am if you make the phone pmt next week it will hurt your credit and I am trying to prevent that as a courtesy to you.” While I say this she continues to repeat the same as before, and then after I identified myself she states, “so you called me back after I told you I disconnected a call,” and hangs up.

She hangs up on me. Happened a hundred times before. Okay, so I’m extremely mad and angry at this point. This woman wants to be rude and hang up on me when I’m trying to offer help to protect her perfect credit. Then the worse is yet to come

She calls someone else, who I assume stated “M’am you are probably right he’s an idiot and was mean to you – I will do everything to make this better and apologize that this insensitive creton wanted to assist you.” She then FAXES a formal complaint letter that stated that she was telling me she was mailing a pmt and would gladly phone pay a pmt, then I went off asking her inappropiate questions, and then started harassing her. She made other comments such as "Does your company like to waste time harassing it’s customers and does Pathros_1983 have nothing better to do? My supervisor’s boss (because my direct supervisor wasn’t in today) laughed and thought the lady was a complete jerk. Little solace until my direct supervisor sees the little complaint letter. I don’t fear anything, because he always supports what I say to a customer, but this event made me mad.

Forgive me for trying to help or protect your credit.

2

[disclaimer: I despise fucking bill collectors]

YOU called HER. She doesn’t need your fucking “company permission” to record you.

Learn to take a fucking hint. It’s none of your fucking business why she was late. Quit asking.

The fact that your company is willing to destroy someone’s credit for being a week late is the problem with America.

3

I have to agree with Mr. Cynic (a first I think).

After reading your rant I don’t have too much sympathy for you.

4

Yes, she does, if she has any plan to use such evidence in a legal action. Pathros doesn’t mention where he lives, but in a handful of states, recording is not permitted at all without mutual consent.

Of course it’s his business. The woman has a contract to pay a debt on a certain schedule. If she fails to do so it’s his job to find out why and how best to fix it.

Is it your contention that people who prove themselves untrustworthy should be entitled to unlimited credit by virtue of being able to breathe? No person’s credit would be “destroyed” by recording a single late payment, and if you actually bothered to read the OP, you would have seen that he was attempting to avoid having to do so.

5

That may be true, but it’s hardly Pathros’ fault. He’s trying to do his job, which is both unpleasant and necessary, and he’s trying to do this woman a favor. Saying that the company is willing to destroy her credit for being a week late is untrue: the company is able to do so, but (in the person of Pathros) seems to be going to some effort to avoid doing so.

There are two rules I live by: never insult people who handle your food, and never give shit to people to whom you owe money. After the second hang-up, I’d go ahead and assume she wanted her credit history messed up. Sucks for her, but it could’ve been avoided with a little common courtesy.

6

I used to work collections (for a payday loan company, so we did phone and field collections), and at times we would make a note to the customer’s account if they were …rude isn’t the right word and neither is aggressive. These comments did not go to a credit report- we didn’t pull a credit report on our customers at all. But basically, a call like that would send up a red flag about the customer. Sometimes it was nothing. They’d had a bad day at work, the kids were screaming or had been fighting all day. But sometimes those were the next customers to have checks returned to us or who seemed to suddenly file bankruptcy.
Neither of those may be true for this customer of yours. I think it’s entirely possible that she had a rotten day and you happened to get caught up in it. But at the same time, being prepared with a tape recorder indicates to me that she’s been getting other collection calls lately.

7

Most of the time the consent of only one party is required. If one party calls another, and is told up front that the converstaion is being recorded, the party who called has the option to hang up or to continue talking. To continue talking is to imply consent, even if they say they don’t give it. If they are talking while they know they are being recorded they are consenting. Only twelve states require the consent of both parties anyway.

It’s the collectors job to try to get the money. his mark, the target in this case had already made arrangements for a payment. The collector’s job is over at that point. It is completely fucking irrelevant why she was late. She is under no legal obligation to tell him.

Destroying someone’s credit for being a week late is evil.

8

It seems the simplest solution to this whole problem would be if the customer paid her bills on time. What’s so hard about that?

9

Point taken Mr. Biased. As I said before, which I put there so someone doesn’t think I come across as too heartless, I DID grow up in a single parent home where there were some nights I went to bed hungry. I now work in collections. I see both sides of it, which is why I enjoy doing collections. I get to help people who are in similar positions as my mom once was.

As per law yes she does.

Then…

Thank you. If I better know what’s going on, I can determine if it’s a long or short term problem, or not a problem at all. Some people just have busy lives and telling me “I’m late because I forgot with all the other things I do,” prompts me to say “well, we have automatic electronic transfer so you don’t have to worry about the bill being paid,” OR if someone states that their hot water heater went out, I could easily offer a 1 or 2 month deferrment on their loan to help, OR if they went on disability I could help them with their insurance company by directing them as to what to do, OR if their spouse passed away and they have a permanent reduction in income, I can offer to rewrite their contract for a lower monthly payment. I also have the empowerment to waive late charges, remove over 30 marks on one’s credit report, and waive extension fees. All of which, depending on the situation, I am more than willing to do to help someone out.

Then…

Thank you very much Friedo. I also have removed over 30 marks on credit reports out of simple courtesy to the buyer. (Of course, it’s with the understanding they realize what a credit report is, and how they need to avoid marks for the future)

Well, I think everyone is entitled to a bad day, and perhaps that is all this was. The extent of how she reacted and how unwilling to cooperate with me, though, implied that maybe it was a little more.

The company I work for (which shall remain nameless) reports automatically when a payment reaches the 30th day. Noone save the customer has the ability to prevent that from happening. Now, I DO have the power to remove that mark, if either the company I work for made a genuine mistake, or I feel it’s necessary for good customer service and the situation deems it necessary.

10

FWIW:

Is “combative” the right word? That’s the word that goes into the account notes we use at our office.

We do most of our own collections internally, all commercial accounts. If the clients’ payable clerks/comptroller/owner/whoever is/are combative, it most definitely indicates a problem.

People don’t usually get bitchy over a one-time forgotten/lost invoice or payment. They get bitchy because they are being bugged constantly and feel scared/helpless/harassed/sick of it.

However understandable those feelings are, it never helps to be bitchy with people who are only asking debtors to do what they agreed to do in the first place. People who pay their bills don’t get collection calls.

Please. If you borrow money, you are not a “mark”, you are a debtor. Lenders have the right to share credit information with each other. The debtor is obligated to protect their own credit rating by sticking to the terms of the agreement or suffer the consequences, simple as that.

11

This person was not a week late, they were 30 days late. They knew their monthly payments and due date before they signed the dotted line.

Yes, it is very relevant. If there is a long term problem, then we need to address it to avoid any loss down the road. I also think perhaps you are missing a big point here. I can, and DO help people. Knowing why they are late better tells me what I can do to help them get back on track. If I wanted to be rude about it, I could easily tell the customer we have a right to know why they are late because they entered into a contract and have defaulted on it.

The company I work for does deem certain arrangments unacceptable. In this case, the person did not say how much they were paying, and had stated they would only send a payment after it was 30 days late. (by then they would be due for 2 payments.) Simply telling us “I’ll pay on this date and that’s when you’ll get the money” is not acceptable. Now, I am generally quite tactful with this. I usually try to probe when the next payment is, advise them of their credit, etc etc etc. I didn’t include this in the OP because it wasn’t necessary. Every situation with payment arrangments is different, and I could spend a considerable amount of time addressing every facet of it. For this instance, though, the arrangments were actually NOT acceptable to the company, even though I never addressed it with her because the whole point was I would be willing to help her protect her credit or get back on track if she needed it.

Usually people who have never had an over 30 mark on their credit, will take a pro-active approach to avoiding one from getting there.

12

Diogenes, you’re being disingenuous, at best, purposefully obtuse at worst. One report of a payment which is 30 days past due isn’t going to destroy anyone’s credit on its own. It’s a lapse, certainly, but credit rating is a cumulative creature – its overall performance that matters, and negative effects only start to come into play when someone begins to rack up a number of such reports.

That is no one’s fault except the person who is failing to pay their bills and failing to cooperate or deal proactively and professionally with their creditors.

This is how the conversation with Pathros could’ve gone.

Pathros: Mrs. Smith, we called because your account has gone 30 days past due, and we were concerned about getting this matter cleared up in a way that protects your credit.
Mrs. Smith: Oh, that payment. Yeah, I’m making that payment tomorrow.
Pathros: Okay, and will you be putting that in the mail or…
Mrs. Smith: I’ll pay it online. Or, how much does it cost to do a check by phone?
Pathros: There’s an $8 fee.
Mrs. Smith: Oh, ouch. I’ll make that payment online tomorrow, then, after my paycheck clears.
Pathros: Okay, Mrs. Smith. I’ll make a note of that. I’m required to ask: was there a problem that caused you to be late with this payment?
Mrs. Smith: Just juggling some money, it got a little tight this month. Why?
Pathros: Well, if there was some kind of emergency or problem, we might be able to make some changes in your account that could make things a little easier. We’re more than happy to work with you to adjust your payments or change your due date, if that could assist you in staying up to date.
Mrs. Smith: Oh, no, I just got a little over my budget this month, some special occasions and things. I’ll be caught up with the payment tomorrow, right, if I make last month and this month’s payments?
Pathros: Yes, that’ll bring your account up to date.
Mrs. Smith: That’s what I’m going to do.
Pathros: Okay, Mrs. Smith. I’ve noted in your account file that you’re paying tomorrow, but if you have any problems or questions, please feel free to call us and we’ll work something out.
Mrs. Smith: Thank you.
Pathros: Thank you, Mrs. Smith, and thank you for your patronage of ABC Bank.

Mrs. Smith, however, had to act like a hyperdefensive, immature idiot. The escalation of this issue is solely on her head. If she’d paid her bills on time and been a decent, polite person in general, she’d never have needed to make the phone call which began the entire situation.

My scorecard reads Pathros: 1. Mrs. Smith: 0.

13

Yeah, or she could have just hung up on the guy, which is what I would have done.

14

Hanging up on the guy doesnt solve any of the problems at hand though, why hang up? Because if its not pathros you deal with it will be someone else, someone who may not be willing to help out so much, thats whats going to ruin your credit rating… Pathros was only doing there job.

15

She already had made arrangements to pay the bill. There was nothing to talk about.

16

Diogenes ,it seems like you don’t care about this particular situation at all, and are using this to vent a beef with collections/creditors in general. can you please just come out with it so that we can go on? Because from what I’ve read, Pathros does not deserve any of the scorn that you are directing his way.

17

You’re absolutely right, Stonebow. The first thing I said in this thread was that I despise bill collectors. I freely admit it. I think it’s a sleazy job. If Pathros is going to vent in the pit because one of his targets doesn’t feel the need to share her personal pproblems with him, I’m not going to feel sorry for him.

18

Ok, who knows how to do Pathros’s job. You? or Pathros? I’m going to take a wild stab at it and say Pathros, now if he felt he had to call back, then I would say thats his call to make, afterall, he is the one trained to do the job.

Pathros, if your not male, sorry for referring to you as if you are :rolleyes:

19

If you’re too blind to see that he was trying to help this woman from developing bad credit, then feel free to rant away. He was not demanding his money Right Fucking Now, nor was he using any threatening techniques, simply asking why a payment was late and if there were any extenuating circumstances that caused this that could be explained and not lead to bad credit… But then, you always seem to be grinding an axe lately.

20

Better yet, couldn’t she just have paid the bill on time?