Collections through Facebook?
By K31
@keihimekawa (2007)
Philippines
January 19, 2012 5:33am CST
I heard quite a lot of credit card harassment stories. Defaulters often complain of the way how Collection Agencies/CA harass them to get the money they owe from credit cards. This morning I was able to read about this email wherein a defaulter was tracked in Facebook.
This CA pretended to be this girl's elementary classmate and added her on Facebook. The woman, not knowing who's the person, added the CA as her friend. Eventually, the CA started posting something like "Just pay your cards!" or posting that she had a huge amount but refused to pay.
What's your take on this? I am aware that there are quite a number of credit card defaulters but what I hate are the harassment some CA do to force the other party to pay.
What's your thoughts on this?
2 people like this
5 responses
@grecychunny26 (9482)
• Philippines
20 Jan 12
My take on this is, this people do not deserves to be harrased just to force them to pay. If they can pay it, it is because it has reasons and they can always talk to the person and ask them the reason, but if that person is hiding and do not want to communicate then that is a different case. I disagree with harrassment. If I will be harrass I will not pay, why not bother to pay with monster collection agency like that? They can report that person to Facebook admin and bookmarked or save that harrassment and file a legal action when it get severe. These are just their tactics, they like to harrass so that the defaulter will get scared and will force to pay, but for me, instead of being scared, I will get irritated and annoyed and I will never pay that collection agency. I allow him to sue me instead of paying.
There are lot of things to consider before paying your cards. It is not because there are collection agency saying that you have a debt with this huge amount is you will have to pay it. It grows bigger because of interest and it is quite unfair to pay huge interests like that. First of all, let that collection agency prove that you really have money to settle with banks, do not get scared because you are harassed and humiliated. Having a debt is not a humiliation but a humbling experience, because you learn from its lesson. Ask that collection agency to prove to you if they are legal, because there are fakes that is called Extortionists and yo do not want to deal with this people because you are the one who lose in the end. If they prove it to you, with necessary documents like authorization from the bank, your statement of account (not your billing statement) had showed to you, then call the bank to double check, then if it is legal then talk to the collection agency and make a deal. If you have no money tell them straight.
Even if those collection agencies think that they humiliated someone, it goes differently. It reflects what kind of person they are if they humiliate someone in public. Do we need to deal with them if we know they are not to be trusted?
1 person likes this
@keihimekawa (2007)
• Philippines
20 Jan 12
I definitely agree with you! After learning a lot of their tactics and dirty ways, I ended up talking to them when they get so rude. I even told one of them "Keep that rude act up and no one will really talk to you". There are even times when they call 2-3 times each day and funny thing is, the offer of one agent differs from the other one :P
Being rude is just one of their way to "forcefully" get money from defaulters, thus earning them their "commissions". There are even times when they told me that they'll file a case against me. Agitated, I told them "Better. I prefer that. It's more fair and we have the judge as witness. That way I'll be able to get my SOA. Not the crappy Billing Statement." The CA cursed me and hanged up
@CTHanum (8233)
• Malaysia
19 Jan 12
The way the collector forced them to pay just the same like a loan shark. So they don't asked the money through bills and letters anymore?? The lesson we need to learn here don't use or apply for credit cards as they will go after you in fact in facebook!!
@grecychunny26 (9482)
• Philippines
20 Jan 12
@keihimekawa, tell these people that you are not allowed to entertain personal calls during work. If you have Hr personnel or concierge, tell them that. If they want to talk to you, make it through your cellphone and not to company phone because it is inconvenient on the part of your employer and it is the right of your employer to have that rules.
@CTHanum, there are reason why there is a defaulter. First of all, the banks who offer cards, especially the pre approved cards, are not explaining to the card users that if they pay in minimun, the interest will only grow and it will be harder for them to pay their bills every month. They just give cards. Second, they might be hurt by the gesture of those collection agency, but that is only a tactic to humiliated them, for them to feel sorry for their debt, to belittle them, but if I were them, I will not get affected, why? because I do not have money to pay. And do you think I will still pay them after harrassing me, pay their face! I know they are just doing their job, but it shouldn't be that way. I just hope they still have conscience.
1 person likes this
@keihimekawa (2007)
• Philippines
20 Jan 12
There are still bills, letters and calls. There are even house/office visits and yeah... Most collectors' tricks nowadays are almost same as a loan shark's. Haha I do agree on your last comment though. I'm also a defaulter and I know how time consuming those calls are :P My boss even reprimanded me because of the time I spent on the phone trying to talk with the CA. One of them called me during lunch time and this is our conversation:
CA: Are you having your lunch at this moment?
Me: Yeah
CA: I'm surprised that you can still eat despite the fact that you still have credit card debts.
_
1 person likes this
@KrauseHome (36445)
• United States
1 Feb 12
Wow!! To me this is unreal, and personally if it was me, I would be calling the Credit Card company themselves and asking to speak to someone high up and make a complaint against that person, and the Card issuing company. Personally this does not sound right at all, and I would think would be too much invasion of privacy, but I have heard that potential Employees use Facebook a lot when seeking out who they will hire next.
@keihimekawa (2007)
• Philippines
7 Feb 12
From what I know there are quite a lot of people who have complained about this type of harassment (at least in my area). The credit card company did sent an official letter of apology to the defaulter and transferred his/her account to another collector.
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
22 Jan 12
Hi Kei!
I agree that what the CA had done was unacceptable. She shouldn't have pretended to be the girl's elementary classmate and he shouldn't have posted those things at Facebook. It must have been so embarrassing for the girl. I suppose she have blocked or deleted the CA from her friends. That's what I would have done.
But I also think that the girl should pay her credits. She used the card and now she owes the credit card company some money. If she knew from the start that she couldn't afford it, she shouldn't have gotten a card in the first place.
@secretbear (19448)
• Philippines
25 Jan 12
I guess CAs should have their techniques on how to effectively collect payments.
Belated Happy New Year to you! May you be blessed with wealth and prosperity.
Belated Happy New Year to you! May you be blessed with wealth and prosperity. 1 person likes this
@keihimekawa (2007)
• Philippines
24 Jan 12
I'm a defaulter myself and there are times wherein a person can pay for his/her credit card but due to unseen circumstances/emergencies, he/she gets into a tight financial dilemma and can't pay for the cards :)
I just wish CAs tend to be more courteous in dealing with such things. On the other hand, if they get too courteous, people will just end up abusing them :p
Thanks for the reply dear and a belated "Gonf Xi Fa Tsai" to you :D
1 person likes this
@jaiho2009 (39140)
• Philippines
19 Jan 12
hello kei,
I am not a lawyer, but I am sure this is not a good way to collect a debt.
Granting the person a huge debt from the company the CA is working.
But the CA don't have any rights to harass the person thru the net.
This is against the law of Human Rights...so bad.
Yah, both are bad...the debtor and the collector 
@keihimekawa (2007)
• Philippines
20 Jan 12
That's just so true. Bills, letters and calls are still coming but they embarrass people even on social networking sites. Most even call during office hours and engage in more than 10 minutes worth of call and the conversation just keeps going rouund and round and round _
@keihimekawa (2007)
• Philippines
20 Jan 12
@grecychunny26: That's just so true! These CA would really do anything to get money from you. Those people with weak resolves would quickly crumble. People with credit cards debts are DEFAULTERS not CRIMINALS.
