*Positive points from a negative industry*
INTRODUCTION
Being in debt is stressful. Which is why it’s understandable when people simply shove it out of their minds and avoid dealing with it. Although this might relieve some of the pressure in the short term – in the long term, you’re only causing more stress and heartache for yourself. This stress is often times unnecessary and can be relieved by simply taking a few moments to speak with your debt collector.
MISUNDERSTANDINGS
Our agency typically handles medical debt. One of the most common and easy to fix situations in the medical collection industry is when a consumer’s insurance isn’t properly applied to their account. With proper communication with the collection agency, the insurance information can be gathered and the situation can be corrected. This can be the difference between you owing thousands of dollars and nothing! Nobody is perfect – and the same goes for almost any billing department out there. Not only do insurances not get ran properly, sometimes confusion can occur with consumers with similar names, for example. Perhaps the service was provided for John Doe Sr. and the bill was sent to John Doe Jr. This is a very easy mistake to correct – but not if you don’t answer that call!
INFORMATION
One of the most important roles of a debt collector is to provide the consumer with information! This doesn’t just mean when, where, and how much. Collectors are equipped with a range of information from how to get insurance reapplied, as stated in the previous section, to how to apply for Financial Aid. Some agencies, such as our own, will even send Financial Aid paperwork to the consumer to make it even easier to get the help needed. Collectors ask specific questions to get an idea of the situation at hand and will provide a solution to the debt. For example, many consumers have HSA accounts or “Health Savings Accounts” through their employer. This is essentially free money specifically meant for paying medical debt – wouldn’t you want to use that to… pay your medical debt? Many consumers aren’t even aware they have such a thing. This is just another reason you should answer that collection call!
FLEXIBILITY
For those of you who know there weren’t mistakes in billing, don’t have an HSA card, and won’t be approved for Financial Aid – answering that collection call can still be very beneficial. Having accounts sitting in collections is obviously horrible for your credit score. We don’t need to talk about the various implications of having a lower credit score as it seems to effect almost every aspect of our financial lives. If payment in full is not an option, collection agencies are typically willing to work out a payment plan that fits within your financial capabilities. This will, at the minimum, get you on the road to being debt free and removing that blemish from your credit. With our agency specifically, we have offered hardship arrangements for consumers who have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. This will often times include three months of half payments to let the consumer get in a better place financially while still working towards the goal of being debt free. Although with a payment plan you may not be getting everything taken care of all at once, you will be on the right path if you would just answer that collection call!
CONCLUSION
No one enjoys being in debt. Especially when someone is continuously contacting you, reminding you of that debt. Rather than avoiding it for a few moments of relaxation, next time answer that call and finally get some relief! Debt collectors are there to provide SOLUTIONS!
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