What is a Debt Collector?

The FDCPA or Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, defines a debt
collector as “any person who uses any instrumentality of
interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another. Not­withstanding the exclusion provided by clause (F) of the last sentence of this paragraph, the term includes any creditor who, in the process of collecting his own debts, uses any name other than his own which would indicate that a third person is collecting or attempt­ing to collect such debts. For the purpose of section 808(6), such term also includes any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the enforcement of security interests. The term does not include—

(A) any officer or employee of a creditor while, in the name of
the creditor, collecting debts for such creditor;

(B) any person while acting as a debt collector for another
person, both of whom are related by com­mon ownership or affiliated by
corporate control, if the person acting as a debt collector does so only 4 §
803 15 USC 1692a for persons to whom it is so related or affiliated and if the principal business of such person is not the collection of debts;

(C) any officer or employee of the United States or any State to
the extent that collecting or attempting to collect any debt is in the
performance of his official duties;

(D) any person while serving or attempting to serve le­gal process
on any other person in connection with the judicial enforcement of any debt;

(E) any nonprofit organization which, at the request of consumers,
performs bona fide consumer credit counseling and assists consumers in the liquida­tion of their debts by receiving payments from such consumers and distributing such amounts to credi­tors; and

(F) any person collecting or attempting to collect any debt owed
or due or asserted to be owed or due another to the extent such activity

(i) is incidental to a bona fide fiduciary obligation or a bona
fide escrow arrangement;

(ii) concerns a debt which was originated by such person;

(iii) concerns a debt which was not in default at the time it was
obtained by such person; or

(iv) concerns a debt
obtained by such person as a secured party in a commercial credit transac­tion involving the creditor.. “

This is quite an extensive definition for the person on the other end of the phone calling about your past due credit card but in actuality the definition goes beyond the FDCPA  and also includes employees of the original creditor. Although the FDCPA does NOT require the original creditor to comply with regulated collection efforts most creditors voluntarily comply to avoid legal issues.

Debt collectors are successful, only if they learn to be great communicators. Great communicators have several weapons in their arsenal: Strong content, effective preparation, negotiation skills, good timing and tone, a sense of urgency in their delivery and a great delivery. A debt collector, who succeeds in getting you on the
phone and then drops the ball, due to grammatical errors, lack of preparation
or a less than confident delivery will not be in the business very long. The debt
collector must effectively anticipate and rebutt objections.

Debt collectors generally believe that people who owe money always make excuses and that means the successful debt collector will almost always have to sell sources and pitch benefits. The debt collector’s input and feedback can assist in not only rebutting objections but can offer valuable ideas to assist in resolving the debt.  Let us not forget that unless the talk off puts the debt collector in the position to close the deal it was not a success for them.  Successful debt collectors are professional negotiators driven to earn a commission based on their ability to
convince you to pay a bill; that and that alone is their sole function and
determining factor in their success!

Patrick Ingegno can be reached at inner-circle@optimum.net or
www.innercircledebtsolutions.com