Credit Card Debt Collection

Credit card debt collection is on the rise with the current economic downturn. While fewer and fewer credit cards are being extended due to the current global credit and economic crisis, many were issued in previous years and now have delinquent balances from past use. In many cases, accounts that have previously been in good standing are now beginning to fall past due more and more regularly. Many consumers today are seeking debt consolidation, and particularly credit card consolidation as a relief to mounting credit card debt. Don't let your business suffer because your customers fail to pay their debts.

Read the latest credit card debt collection industry news, updated daily.

Your Right to Collect Debt

Credit card debt collection can be extremely tricky and difficult due to the many policies and legislation associated with the process. It seems that some customers view credit cards as their right and privilege. Once an account goes past-due the attitude of many debtors seems to be that their business to the credit card company is so important that they shouldn’t have to pay for their past purchases that were put on their card.

This is of course not the case. It is very important for credit card debt collectors to remind customers that they need to take responsibility for paying the legally incurred debt.

Most credit card companies spend only short periods of time – often not more than ninety days – trying to collect debts themselves. After their given time period, which should always be outlined in the policy and agreement statements the consumer has signed when the credit card is issued, the account is sent to a third party collection agency to be collected on their behalf.

Third Party Collections

When hiring a third party debt collection agency for credit card collection, the person from the agency assigned to the account can pursue the debtor in a few different ways. While laws do limit the methods of debt collection, there are still many legal ways to remind a debtor that an account is overdue and to seek payment. Learn more about credit card debt collection practice.

Generally the company first contacts the delinquent party by mail reminding them that a payment is due and telling them the amount owed. The customer is informed their accounts have been sent to collections. This collection letter must be very carefully worded to state that there can be resulting credit damage if the account remains unpaid, but it cannot threaten or harass, as this is illegal.

In a case where the debtor has a lawyer, all communications are moved from the debtor to that lawyer. The collector must communicate only with that lawyer from that point forward. It is also important to know that the federal legislation Fair Debt Collections Practices Act has created a clause that if a debtor sends in a written request to no longer receive communications regarding their debt, the request must be abided by.

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