Mental mindset when a debt collector calls you


Mental mindset when a debt collector calls you

A Picture Of A Head With Cogs In It With The Words, "Mental mindset when a debt collector calls you"

Recently, I mentioned having the mindset that a debt collector is knocking on your door

I wanted to elaborate on this idea some more and give you another way to think about it. 

Instead of being scared when the debt collector calls you (which is what they want and expect), turn it into an opportunity. 

My phone rings and I answer. 

The debt collector confirms who I am, and then says, “This is a debt collector and we are collecting on this bill.”

What they expect you to do is get nervous, your heart beating fast while they’re peppering you with questions. 

“Do you know how you’re going to pay? I need you to promise to pay right now.”

How can you flip this situation around?

You’ve got to have the mindset that says, “Great. I’m so glad they called. I have a million questions for them. Let’s get started right now.”

Instead of being intimidated or panicking about the situation, you use this situation to your advantage.

You start asking them questions – Who? What? When? Why? How?

Use this as an opportunity to obtain information from that debt collector. 

A debt collector only wants two things from you. 

The debt collector only cares about getting either a payment or a promise to pay.

They want you to say, “I’ll make a $300 payment next Friday” or even better, a payment while on the phone with them. 

This is all that they are looking for. 

They don’t care about anything else. 

They aren’t interested in what’s going on in your life, or even if they have the wrong person

What they care about is a promise to pay or an immediate payment. 

The reason they like to get a promise to pay is that if you agree and then you don’t pay, they’ll call you again to say “You broke your promise. You’re a promise-breaker. Is that how your mother raised you?”

They try to put a lot of psychological pressure on you. 

Well, we don’t care about that. 

What we care about is getting answers to our questions. 

  • Who is calling?
  • What is this debt?
  • When did I incur this debt and when did you buy this debt?
  • How much is it?
  • How did you calculate that?
  • What makes up this debt that you say I owe?
  • Are you going to credit report?
  • Are you going to sue me?

Since we are the ones asking questions, it totally flips the script on them. 

When the debt collector calls you, instead of being nervous, you think, “Good. I’m glad they called. I’ve got a million questions to ask them.”

This is the mindset you need to have. 

Go on the offensive and start asking them those questions. 

They hate this. They can’t stand it. 

Because you asking them these questions does not get them a payment or a promise to pay. 

They look at this as you wasting their time and they are losing their momentum. 

They want that call to come in, maybe even under a local number so you’re wondering who it might be. 

Then you answer thinking it’s someone you know, but it’s really James from Portfolio Recovery or Midland Funding

They want to knock you back with their questions, but when you start asking them questions, it drives them nuts. 

Be sure to ask these questions in a nice way – we’re the good guys, they’re the bad guys. 

Sometimes they’ll be unusually honest with you when you ask these questions. 

You might ask if they will credit report, and they’ll say yes even though they’ve already told you that the debt is 10 years old (past the time for credit reporting)

Or you might ask if they are going to sue and they say, “If you keep playing games with me, then we will sue you next week.”

Whatever the debt collector says, make sure you are taking really good notes. 

It’s like you’re a reporter and you’ve finally got that person you’ve been dying to interview on the phone. 

Write all of this down and compare it with the law. 

Now you have information to help you decide what to do. 

Next time you’re dealing with a debt collector, try this method. 

Maybe one has been calling you and you haven’t been answering. 

Get yourself mentally prepared and call them back or answer them when they call. 

You ask them the questions. Flip the script on them. 

We’ve had many clients tell us over the years that this has been an incredibly helpful mindset. 

We hope that you find this helpful as well. 

If you live in Alabama and you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with us.

We would be glad to help you in any way we can.

You can reach us by phone at 1-205-879-2447, or you can fill out a contact form and we will get in touch with you quickly. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

-John Watts

 

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