This week on Talk Credit Radio: Friday September 2, 2011
Tune into Talk Credit Radio this week with Credit.com’s personal finance expert Gerri Detweiler, live from 4-5 ET/1-2 PT on WSRQ.
Debt Collectors Using Children to Collect
How to deal with difficult debt situations like high-pressure collection tactics, threats of lawsuits from your creditors, or even the possibility of losing your home, are the focus of this week’s episode on Talk Credit Radio. Consumer law attorney Michael Forbes will join host Gerri Detweiler to talk about:
- What do to (and what not to do) when a debt collector is pressuring you to pay more than you can afford.
- How to respond when a credit card company threatens to take legal action over a debt you owe.
- A little-known way to pay for bankruptcy if you can’t afford to file.
- How to save your home and your credit if you are falling behind on your mortgage.
- How some debt collectors are being encouraged to cozy up to kids to help them “get past the gatekeepers” to collect on your debts.
Michael Forbes is a Philadelphia-based consumer law attorney with experience in family law, bankruptcy, debt collection, mortgage foreclosure and credit reporting. His goal is to reach as many people as possible to let them know that they do have some good options to combat collection agency bullies, correct inaccuracies on their credit reports, and save their homes from foreclosure. His ultimate goal is to help them change their lives for the better.
Ask a Question!
Call in live or submit a question for Gerri or her guest to answer, and if she uses it on the air, you’ll win a free copy of your choice of her books, Debt Collection Answers: How to Use Debt Collection Laws to Protect Your Rights or Reduce Debt, Reduce Stress: Real Life Solutions for Your Credit Crisis. Call into the live program at 941-373-1220 or send your question by email to creditexperts@credit.com.
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Talk Credit Radio is sponsored by Credit.com, ArcLoan.com and CESI Debt Solutions.
Gerri Detweiler Credit.com's Personal Finance Expert, Gerri focuses on financial legislation, budgeting, debt recovery and consumer savings information. She is also the co-author of Debt Collection Answers: How to Use Debt Collection Laws to Protect Your Rights, and Reduce Stress: Real-Life Solutions for Solving Your Credit Crisis as well as host of TalkCreditRadio.comTalk Credit Radio. Reach Gerri at creditexperts@credit.com.
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Please help me understand how the title of this post is not intentionally deceptive, if not unethical. Unless I’m missing something, the only content related to child debt collectors is the headline and a repetition of it in the post. I surmise that the heavily veiled reference points to collectors speaking to a child who happens to answer a consumer’s telephone, but if we assume the least sophisticated consumer standard, I find it hard to believe that most readers would assume you’re referring to underage debt collectors. In any event, as I see it thus headline is the worst kind of media trick, akin to yelling ‘fire’ in a theater as a cheap way to garner pageviews.
Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Michael Klozotsky, managing editor
insideARM.com
Michael,
Good eye! Unfortunately, you’ve uncovered no great conspiracy to deceive, but you did bust us on a poorly worded headline.
We’ve revised it, since we’re certainly not suggesting that debt collectors are employing random children to go out and collect debt. We’ve also added a relevant bulletpoint to the teaser for Gerri’s radio show. Her guest, Michael Forbes, is discussing the questionable tactics debt collectors use to deal with debtors’ children, a.k.a. “child gatekeepers” — the discussion is actually inspired by an article on your site: Getting Past Child Gatekeepers.
I invite you to listen to Gerri’s show, which is airing right now.
Best and page views,
Melissa Heltzel, managing editor
Credit.com
Correction: I meant to say, “most readers wouldn’t assume…”