This is my advice to you, when a lender or creditor calls asking for their money:
You Say : "Listen, Mr. Lender. I accept that I owe you money. It's true I have missed my monthly payments. There is no question I am behind. The truth is...I don't have any money to give you. Let me tell you why...I have lost my job or my spouse lost his/her job or I made bad investment decisions or my business failed or I am a poor money manager or I do not plan to make any more payments...So you see I will not be able to make any payments to you for at least 3 (6, 9) months. There is no reason to see my financial paperwork, since I told you that I will not be able to pay you for at least 3 months. Now that I explained my situation, will you stop calling me for at least 3 months?"
Lender Underpaid Rep Says : "We'll Sir, we can't stop calling. Your number came up through our computerized calling system. Our system has been programmed to call you 5 to 10 times a day. We are told that the more we harass you, we may be able to get something instead of nothing. We do appreciate your honesty. We will notate your account with your honest statement. OK. And there it is I just notated your account. While we understand you will not be able to pay us for at least 3 months, unfortunately we will call you tomorrow"
You Say : "What a minute. Let me get this right. I just told you that I cannot pay for several months, so what do you think I can say or do, if you call me tomorrow. You can't squeeze blood from a stone. If you know that I can't pay, won't your call amount to harassment."
Lender Underpaid Rep Says : "Sir, under applicable agreements and our internal directives, we have the right to call you any time. I understand where you are coming from, it just that...you know...we have to follow our polices."
You Say : "Then your policy is simple: 'Even if the Borrower does not have the money, we need to call them everyday anyway'. This does not make any sense. What additional info will you get tomorrow, if you know, RIGHT NOW, I can't pay for another several months. I mean...you are not calling me to talk about the weather."
Lender Underpaid Rep Says: "Sir, I understand. The truth is I am just a low paid laborer who acts like the front line infantry. We get hit first when the bullet's fly. Your right. It doesn't make sense, however our jobs become meaningless if we do not call you with our fake 'we care for you tone'. This is just another form of high pressure sales. We want to make sure you eat, sleep, sh..t, and talk about what you owes us. EVEN THOUGH YOU TOLD US YOU DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY."
You Say: "Well then. I appreciate your honesty. However, your honesty does nothing to help me, except to prove that 'phone call boarding' is your company's torture policy. At this point, I want you to NOTATE MY ACCOUNT with "If the calls continue, I intend to use any legal means necessary to stop the calls and to receive compensation for your harassment. So have a good day. Thanks for opening up. And...pick your head up. I know you got a job to do.
Lender Underpaid Rep Says: "Thank you sir, and you have a good nite."
You Say : "Listen, Mr. Lender. I accept that I owe you money. It's true I have missed my monthly payments. There is no question I am behind. The truth is...I don't have any money to give you. Let me tell you why...I have lost my job or my spouse lost his/her job or I made bad investment decisions or my business failed or I am a poor money manager or I do not plan to make any more payments...So you see I will not be able to make any payments to you for at least 3 (6, 9) months. There is no reason to see my financial paperwork, since I told you that I will not be able to pay you for at least 3 months. Now that I explained my situation, will you stop calling me for at least 3 months?"
Lender Underpaid Rep Says : "We'll Sir, we can't stop calling. Your number came up through our computerized calling system. Our system has been programmed to call you 5 to 10 times a day. We are told that the more we harass you, we may be able to get something instead of nothing. We do appreciate your honesty. We will notate your account with your honest statement. OK. And there it is I just notated your account. While we understand you will not be able to pay us for at least 3 months, unfortunately we will call you tomorrow"
You Say : "What a minute. Let me get this right. I just told you that I cannot pay for several months, so what do you think I can say or do, if you call me tomorrow. You can't squeeze blood from a stone. If you know that I can't pay, won't your call amount to harassment."
Lender Underpaid Rep Says : "Sir, under applicable agreements and our internal directives, we have the right to call you any time. I understand where you are coming from, it just that...you know...we have to follow our polices."
You Say : "Then your policy is simple: 'Even if the Borrower does not have the money, we need to call them everyday anyway'. This does not make any sense. What additional info will you get tomorrow, if you know, RIGHT NOW, I can't pay for another several months. I mean...you are not calling me to talk about the weather."
Lender Underpaid Rep Says: "Sir, I understand. The truth is I am just a low paid laborer who acts like the front line infantry. We get hit first when the bullet's fly. Your right. It doesn't make sense, however our jobs become meaningless if we do not call you with our fake 'we care for you tone'. This is just another form of high pressure sales. We want to make sure you eat, sleep, sh..t, and talk about what you owes us. EVEN THOUGH YOU TOLD US YOU DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY."
You Say: "Well then. I appreciate your honesty. However, your honesty does nothing to help me, except to prove that 'phone call boarding' is your company's torture policy. At this point, I want you to NOTATE MY ACCOUNT with "If the calls continue, I intend to use any legal means necessary to stop the calls and to receive compensation for your harassment. So have a good day. Thanks for opening up. And...pick your head up. I know you got a job to do.
Lender Underpaid Rep Says: "Thank you sir, and you have a good nite."