Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Many people are in fear from debt collectors as if they were serpents from a mysterious abyss who have come to invade their home through the pipes that make up the plumbing systems and other every day convenience. These horrible creatures crawl inside your walls, planting their listening devices and recording your every move, ready to pounce on you as you stroll to the mailbox in search of the daily paper.

In reality, debt collectors, for the most part, use only legal remedies to collect debts. However, it can pay to know your rights when it comes to bill collectors. So do some research. Learn about what they can and cannot do to you. Search the web, ask your friends, especially if one of your friends happens to be an attorney.

Do it Yourself Debt Settlement

If you are faced with the prospect of dealing with debt collectors then one of the first things that you will want to do is get organized. You will want to keep a record of all your communications with each debt collector that you face. Start a journal. Keep your journal with you or place it by the door or by the phone so that it is handy whenever you need to deal with a debt collector.

Keep in mind that debt collectors are professionals. They are trained to be tough. That doesn't mean they will show up at your door with a baseball bat. It just means that they may call you on the phone and be very persistent about getting money from you. They will use a number of tactics in order to make you feel like you need to pay up. If you do your research and know your rights then they won't be able to use many of their sneaky tactics.

One of the more common mistakes that people make when dealing with debt collectors is to tell their sad story. Everyone who is in debt has a sad story. Sure, your sad story may be much more sad than the last person that the bill collector talked to on the phone but remember, that's what they do all day (or night) long. So they hear one sad story after another. They simply do not care why you cannot pay your bills. They just want to do their job.

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Try to keep your finances in perspective. A debt collector will try to make it seem like the world is going to come to an end if you do not pay your bill. It's just not as big of a deal as they let on. If you don't pay then they can add a late fee charge to your bill or try to initiate a lawsuit against you but they cannot eat you. You, on the other hand, do need to eat. So prioritize your spending according to your most basic needs. If you need to use your money in order to feed your family then do that rather than paying a credit card bill. You have to take care of you before you can take care of the debt collectors and their clients.

You might try bargaining with the debt collector. Without going into your big sad story, let them know that you are having problems. When they ask if you can take care of this bill immidiately over the phone, you might just simply tell them no. Let's say they want $450. You look at your finances and realize that you simply can't pay them any more than $200 this month. Just tell them that. But first, think like a car salesman and start your bidding a lilttle lower. You might offer to pay $100 this month and let them know that you will try to get back on track to making full payments next month. Because commissions for debt collectors are based on what they do each month, you may want to try negotiating near the end of the month. You could land a really good deal.

Be sure to keep track of all your emails, letters and phone calls with debt collectors. You should ask for the debt collectors first and last name, write down the date and time that they called and make notes of what was discussed.