As a collector you've probably managed thousands of calls and heard just as many stories. But unless you've seen first hand the people on the other end of the phone, you probably haven't seen the whole picture. While the people shown below don't paint a picture on the entire public, they are not that unusual and we've all had our share of people playing games like them.
Being lied to is a normal part of the collections industry. We’re all pretty used to it and have thick enough skin to handle it otherwise we wouldn’t last a month in this business. It’s understandable that a person would say almost anything to relieve themselves of the pressure applied, even in the most friendly of methods, by a collector. What is unusual though, is that the sense of anger directed at collectors and the general attitude that is swelling of people who feel we deserve abuse.
I’m glad to see the public is enjoying the consequences of a down economy. It seems as though they have found something of which some of them are publically proud of as illustrated by their numerous postings on YouTube, Facebook and other websites. With titles like “Debt Collectors are Bottom Feeding Maggot Skum”, it appears to me that not only do the need to learn to spell scum but, there seem to be persons who strongly dislike collectors in general. Searching through the internet, there are many places they go to vent about us and learn tips to avoid us. They have have their own Facebook Page called "I Hate Debt Collectors."
While I can certainly understand that being called by a collector is uncomfortable and being in debt for money you may not be able to pay is not a good situation, but I fail to understand why it would be perceived as the collectors fault that they are in debt and even more so why such hateful attitudes persist. After all, we’re not the ones that loaned them the money. We’re not the ones who may have laid them off. We’re not the ones who are the source of their problems. We are merely the consequences of them.
“Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. “
-Shakespeare
I think you know what he meant by dulling the edge of husbandry. Perhaps that is the problem. Maybe it is our faults that they don’t feel good about themselves? After all, haven’t they been hearing for a couple of years now that we have to modify their loans and that there are government programs to erase their debt? Let’s face it, the public has been lied to a lot and the concepts of self responsibility and consequences have been under attack for years now. There seems to be a very large part of the population that feel they are entitled to everything and when the bill comes due, they act out like spoiled children.
I hope they enjoy themselves now. One day when they need a loan, because of their own actions, they won’t be able to get one. Don’t blame us. We tried to help them help themselves. If they want the most effective strategies for avoiding collectors, perhaps they should try the oldest ones.
