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In the first two articles I defined what a delinquent account that had been sent to collection was, how sending late accounts out to an debt collection company benefits a creditor, and the practice of selling an old debt to a third party collection agency.

I wrote about what type of information a collection agency will collect and use in their efforts, and also that third party collection agencies are governed by federal and state laws and are overseen by the FTC.

Some collection agencies will use illegal, deceptive and strong arm tactics to confuse and scare debtors that include pretending that they are one of their creditors and asking them to verify information, pretending to be an old friend or neighbor to catch a debtor off guard, repetitively calling or mailing a debtor to the point where it gets to be a nuisance, or sending threatening letters or leaving threatening voicemail messages.

Legal but manipulative practices include pressing the debtor, preying on their emotions, and using vague threats like “respond within ten days or further collections attempts will follow.” Other illegal practices include making an idle threat of litigation or pursuing litigation when the debt collector has no intention to, threatening to throw a debtor in jail, threatening to garnish wages or seize bank accounts when they have no authority to, lying about the amount that is owed, or asking for more than what is owed are used as well.

For the bill collection industry, time is the enemy and an excellent collection agent is fully aware of this fact. Their goal is specifically to obtain money as soon as possible.If you are talking to a debt collector, keep in mind that at any time you have the legal right to tell them you are busy and will call them back if you are flustered, hang up, cool off, develop a game plan, and contact them later. An aggressive debt collector will ask you why you can’t make payment arrangements today.

Rapid Recovery Solution is a commercial collection agency that writes articles on commercial collection companies. This article, Legal And Illegal Tactics A Debt Collector Will Use To Collect: Debt Collection Basics Part Three is released under a creative commons attribution licence.

Welcome back to debt collection 101, your beginners guide to debt collection. In article two of this series, I spoke about what a collection agent will do after they have found their debtor and told them about their debt. Oftentimes debt collectors can make it easier for debtors to pay back their delinquent accounts, can be friendly and offer advice, but also have the authority to mark your credit score negatively, and hand your account over to an attorney if you refuse to pay.

In article one, I spoke about the two different kinds of collection agents, in house collectors, and third party collectors. In house collectors are debt collectors that work directly for the creditor, and these creditors are usually financially based organizations like mortgage or credit card companies. Third party debt collectors make up the majority of debt collectors and work directly for a third party collection agency that is hired by a creditor to collect on their delinquent accounts.

Because in house collectors directly represent the creditors, they are not bound by many of the rules and regulations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). On the other hand, third party collection agents are, and there are a number of rules and provisions that they are restricted by.

In addition to the Federal regulations third party debt collectors must follow, they must also be careful to abide by the state procedures that apply as well. Debt collecting is closely monitored because of the fact that people’s financial issues have the ability to be a sensitive issue. According to the Federal Trade Commission, a collection agent has to positively verify that they are speaking with the debtor themselves, and not anyone else before they can proceed with the phone call.

After they have positively identified the debtor, the debt collector will issue a statement, known as a “mini-Miranda” which informs the consumer that this phone call is an attempt to collect debt, and any information in the conversation can be used to do so. The numbers of rules and regulations for a collector who is calling cross country can be overwhelming. A number of companies use electronic systems now to help debt collectors keep track of all of the rules regarding each call. To be continued in parts 4, 5, and 6.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles about new york collection agencies. This article, Debt Collection For Beginners: Rules And Regulations is available for free reprint.

In parts one and two of my primer course on stocks, I let you know that the stock of a business represents the original amount of money that went into founding it. Businesses divide stocks into shares, and each share represents a fraction of ownership. I wrote about shareholders, who are people that own one or more shares of stock in a joint stock company and “share ownership” of the company. I told you that they have special privileges depending on the class of stock they own, and that they will use their shares as votes in the election of members of the board of directors of the company.

Even if you owned fifty percent of a business’ shares and thus own fifty percent of a business, you do not have the right to utilize that business’ equipment, materials, building, or other property. This is due to the fact that the company is considered a legal person that owns all of its assets itself.

Although owning shares means part ownership of a company, it doesn’t mean responsibility for liabilities. If a business goes under and has to default on loans, the shareholders won’t be liable in any way. On the other hand, when it comes time to repay loans and debts, the creditors must be paid first, oftentimes leaving shareholders with nothing.

Shares of a business have the ability to be transferred from shareholders to other parties by selling, and stock markets have been established for trading shares and other stock derivatives. Even though there are various methods of buying and financing stocks, investors will usually be represented by stock brokers, people who buy and sell shares of a wide range of companies.

Stock brokers can be full service, or discount. Full service brokers will charge more per trade, but offer advice when it comes to investment or personal finance. Discount brokers will offer little or no advice but charge less for trades. A third type of broker would be a bank or credit union. Another way to buy stock is to buy the stock directly from the business itself. If you own at least one stock, most companies will permit you to purchase shares directly from the company. To Be Continued In Part 4.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on credit collection agencies. Unique version for reprint here: Stocks 101 Part Three.

Debt can be an exhausting problem that weighs you down and affects your personal life greatly. But what if you have exhausted all of your resources and still can’t free up enough money to start repaying your debts in a big way? You still have choices. Perhaps it is time to think about the big things in your life- private schools, your house, and your cars. Are these things truly a necessity? Another option you have is to go through your house and your things and see if there is anything of value to sell. You can go after more money at your current job, or by taking on a second one. And there are still other alternatives yet. Credit counseling and bankruptcy are always available, but you are not there yet, so for now, take a deep breath and determine what you can accomplish on your own.

If you are a parent with kids that go to private school, think about moving them from private to public. For mothers and fathers, the notion of moving their children from one school to another can be overwhelming. If this is not something that you as a parent are willing to do, you can always see about applying for financial assistance from your current school.

It is also a possibility that your living environment is sabotaging your capacity to make ends meet. Just last decade, we were fearful that if we didn’t buy at the very moment that we would be priced out of the only neighborhood we desired to live in. It’s a hard decision, but it very well may be that selling your home is a solution that you have to consider. While it is a conventional pearl of wisdom that your house is the asset you’ll retire on, and the most valuable asset in your portfolio, unless you can afford to make the payments, it’s also going to be the one that can be your downfall. Trading down – switching a larger house for something more manageable and less expensive can be an option, but you also may need to consider renting for a while. Bear in mind that if you can keep the cost of moving low, renting will save you the cost of homeowner’s insurance. (Renter’s insurance is much cheaper.) Other things you will save on include yard care, and commuting costs if you can find the right location to rent from.

If you can wrap your head around it, there is probably another, less expensive way for you to get back and forth to work each day. Think about it. Could you get by without a car for a while? Not only would it save you the expenses of paying for the car itself, and it’s upkeep (oil changes, repairs etc) but think about all of the money that goes to parking, insurance and gasoline. And if you feel as though you cannot go without a car, what about trading in your expensive car for one that runs just fine but is used?

Often, just allowing yourself to think outside of the box is all that it takes to pull yourself out of a hard situation. If you approach your situation with a calm and open mind, you may find that the solution comes easier to you than you ever thought possible.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles about new york collection agencies Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory

In today’s economic hardship the changes seem giant. Just last year a number of tax laws were made to bail us out of dire situations. These are a few new tax laws that you should know about.

The first concerns new car sales and tax deductions. If you purchased a new vehicle, including a car, motorcycle, light truck or motor home, on or after February 16th 2009 and by December 31st 2009, any excise or sales tax paid may be considered a deduction.

In 2010 and also 2009 the American Opportunity Credit replaces the Hope Education credit. This new credit is worth $2,500 per student, this is based off the first $4,000 of qualifying educational expenses.

Homeowners that make energy efficient improvements to their existing homes can claim a credit of 30 percent of the cost of all of the upgrades, up to $1,500. This includes things such as adding insulation, energy efficient exterior windows and energy efficient air conditioning and heating systems.

Last year was rough for a number of workers, and layoffs hit record levels. However, unemployment compensation is considered taxable income. But now, the first $2,400 in benefits is excluded from income.

Because of the Bicycle Commuter Act, cyclists will receive reimbursement of workplace transportation costs into a tax favored account and bikers can utilize the cash to put towards purchase of a bicycle, helmet, bike lock, bike parking fees and general bike maintenance.

Also, if you pay your income tax by credit or debit card, you can deduct the convenience fee that will be charged for the transaction. The card fee, as well as any other IRS approved miscellaneous deductions must exceed 2 percent of your adjusted gross income before they will count. Despite the fact that this measure limits the value of this break for many, filers with substantial expenses to claim should be sure to add the card fee.

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