Dealing with Creditors during Debt Settlement

There are certain pieces of information you should never tell your creditors while enrolled in a debt settlement program, should you find yourself in a conversation with them.

o Never reveal your regular or work phone numbers. If you update these numbers with them they will assume you are giving them permission to call you again, and they will.

o Never give them your current place of employment. There are strict laws limiting what a collector can and can't say to a 3rd party, but they have no need for that information so never give it.

o Don't discuss anything about your finances. Never ever discuss how much you make, what your expenses are, how much you have in reserves for settlement, or any information about your finances.

When you originally apply for a line of credit you give the creditor a lot of information about yourself. The creditor also has the ability to obtain additional information from your credit profile as time goes on. All of this information can be used to collect from you when you default on the debt. Knowledge is power and the less knowledge they have, the more you are negotiating from a position of leverage when the time comes.

Until you're in a position to pay out a settlement there is nothing positive that can come from verbal communication with a creditor. If you should find yourself in a conversation you should keep it short and sweet and then hang up.

Many people go through a debt settlement program and don't take a single call from the creditors. Others change their phone numbers or direct them to a land line with an answering machine, which leaves them no choice but to settle. These collectors don't understand anything but cold hard cash and unless you're talking about giving it to them, nothing you say can get you anywhere.

Another very popular collection attempt is through the mail. There's quite a bit of paperwork and mail involved in the debt settlement process. It's all important. Get a file folder or bin and label it debt settlement. Put everything that directly pertains to your debts in there. You don't need to keep every monthly statement you receive, however sometimes it helps to track down your debts once they change hands.