1. Get loan
2. Don't pay it back
3. Ask debt collector friend to buy debt
4. Pay him off
Why would this not work?
Inside the Dark, Lucrative World of Consumer Debt Collection
81–90 of 269 posts
Re: Inside the Dark, Lucrative World of Consumer Debt Collection
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you think its financially viable to run an ethical debt collection agency?
What about a non-profit that purchases this debt and then targets the debtors with the tools and support to get them back on their feet to the point where they CAN pay off the debt?
Non-profit "debt counselors" is actually a huge scam industry that operates in the loopholes of nonprofit debt-counseling law.
Re: Inside the Dark, Lucrative World of Consumer Debt Collection
#83I think that borrowers should have the right of first refusal when their debt is sold. For example, if you're about to sell $1.00 worth of my debt to someone for $0.10, first you must offer it to me at the same cost: $0.10.
That seems simple and fair at first, but I think it actually creates more problems than it solves. First, you get a horrible incentive to not repay debts: 1. A relatively innocent and good-natured Bank lends a jerk $1.00 2. The jerk refuses to pay it back, knowing the bank can't transfer it to someone who isn't a pushover without giving him a steeply-discounted offer first 3. In response all loan requirements and int…
Everything you've described sounds like an awesome idea to me. It leads to quick price discovery. It's economically efficient.
Re: Inside the Dark, Lucrative World of Consumer Debt Collection
#84entertaining read! and learn 2 important things: 1) don't ever go to collection, your personal data will circulate across the globe for many years, 2) look at statute of limitations before taking any collection call seriously.
Re: Inside the Dark, Lucrative World of Consumer Debt Collection
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't understand why people freak out so much about their credit reports. I have no idea what my credit score is and don't care. I guess it's poor people who need credit to scrape by on a regular basis? If you have a lot of cash it seems like a completely empty threat. The bank is not going to care about your $400 unpaid comcast bill when writing you a mortgage. People who have declared bankruptcy twice are getting…
Even rich people take out mortgages, for plenty of reasons. Banks will look for any reason to charge you a higher interest rate. That $400 unpaid comcast bill is a perfect excuse for them to charge you an extra $15,000 in interest or more on a loan (over the course of the loan's lifetime).
This is why we get competitive bids from multiple banks.
Re: Inside the Dark, Lucrative World of Consumer Debt Collection
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sometimes the debt is bullshit, but it might be easier to buy it for a small percentage than to pay it off. We get letters for a medical debt that's factually wrong, but by the time we convince Debt Agency N that we don't actually owe it, they've sold it off to Debt Agency N+1 for 1/10th of what they claim we owe them (which is already 1/10th of what was originally 'owed'.) It would be well worth paying 1/100th of th…
I'll tell you, you're playing that game wrong. It's not your job to convince them of anything. The next time they sell, and you get the initial dunning letter, you should write back a simple letter with your name and address stating that you refute this debt, and demand that they validate the debt as they are required to do under § 809 of the FDCPA [15 USC 1692g]. The burden of proof is on them . You only have 30 day…
Everyone should understand the FDCPA. Once invoked, any legitimate debt collection company will get in line. The problem ones are the fly by night places being run out of a strip mall.
Re: Inside the Dark, Lucrative World of Consumer Debt Collection
#871. Get loan 2. Don't pay it back 3. Ask debt collector friend to buy debt 4. Pay him off Why would this not work?
They are sold in parcels. There isn't like a list of debtors in default the bank maintains that you can go pick from. It's more like here's 1,287 loans defaulted on, worth a total of $4,342,230 that you can bid on.
Re: Inside the Dark, Lucrative World of Consumer Debt Collection
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
What about a non-profit that purchases this debt and then targets the debtors with the tools and support to get them back on their feet to the point where they CAN pay off the debt?
http://rollingjubilee.org/ ? That is likely close enough.
Anyone know of any other similar type organizations?
Re: Inside the Dark, Lucrative World of Consumer Debt Collection
#891. Get loan 2. Don't pay it back 3. Ask debt collector friend to buy debt 4. Pay him off Why would this not work?
debt collector friend....ha
Re: Inside the Dark, Lucrative World of Consumer Debt Collection
#90I was called by a collector once. Old medical bill, the clinic had sent it to an old address and the mail forwarding had expired. Why they never called or tracked me down I don't know, but they eventually sold it to a collector who had no trouble finding my phone number. When they called I was confused at first, then remembered and realized it was legit, paid it, end of story. They were utterly professional and court…
I think this is more the norm. I wrote software for a large debt collection company for years and being courteous, professional, and legal was extremely important. For example, all calls were recorded. Some were even QAed in real time. Do anything illegal and the agent was fired on the spot.
As a large debt collector, they were easy to find and sue if one of the agents did anything wrong.
The horror stories you hear about collectors are often these fly by night places with 100 people crammed in a strip mall location. They use illegal tactics and hope to collect enough money before being shut down and forced to sell off the rest of the portfolio.