The Harassment Process - The Visit

1. Don’t let them in; they might be holduppers for all you know.Ask for proper court orders
(See Rule 113 ( Arrests); Rule 126 (Search Warrants) of the Rules of Court)

2. Ask, politely and calmly, for supporting documents ( that is SOP)
a.any identification
b.authority to represent the collection agency
c.the authorized signatory of the collection agency
d.authority to represent the bank (Collection Agreement)
e.Bank’s Board Resolution appointing them as such
f.authorized signatory for the bank, duly notarized
g.Latest Statement of Account showing what you owe
b.SOA duly certified correct by the bank ( not them)

If they cannot produce ALL OF THE ABOVE, they are not authorized and are merely posing as representatives for the purpose of...tadah.... FRAUD. simply extortion.
CALL THE POLICE!!!!

3. If you’re in the office, tell the receptionist or the guards not to let them, if possible. you got so many reasons for that:
– "It’s against company’s policy to entertain personal visits during office hours",
"We’re having a meeting"
"The person you are looking don’t want to see you,"

If they insist, see no. 2 above.

4. If they are ever successful, don’t ever listen to anything they say nor sign anything. They got really nothing to say which you did not know already.Dont sign ANYTHING, even those "Amnesty Program" with offers "good until today only". Imagine signing your own death sentence?

Paranoia Prescriptions - How To Settle Your Debts

Signs - Animated

1. Ask for a Statement of Account

Duly signed and Certified Correct by the Bank
Under Pain of Perjury

This is the FIRST step. You mean you are willing to accept just ANY
amount just because sinabi nila ?.... okay, I give up then.
go ahead, pay.

Otherwise, you cannot go to Step 2 without resolving this issue first.

Mga Maling Rason Nila( Alibi):
1.“Ma’m, its confidential”
Reply – “ Then, I’ll pay ‘confidential’ na lang”
2."Ma'm, sayang ang AMNESTY PROGRAM mo!"
No such thing. jack-up the price, then "reduce" it - much like
those Midnights Sales and other promos you hear.
3.Billing Statements are being sent
Those are computer-generated with no breakdowns
4.You have to pay before I give you an SOA
Give me a receipt to show to the bank/BSP/Court

2. Once received, review.
Is it duly signed and certified correct by an authorized bank
signatory? baka hinde authorized yan? confirm it by phone.
You would not want a janitor signing your SOA, would you?

3. Offer what you can afford, not what they want.
You are the one responsible for its payment, not them.
propose reductions or waivers.
(especially those excessive charges!)

4.If there's an Agreement, document it!
No verbal agreement Please. They can deny it later on.
Never trust.

5 If they won't agree, don't force yourself to agree.
borrow from Pedro to pay Juan? (debt consolidation)
"just to show willingness" or stop their harassments"

Wrong reasons for paying. It will only dig you deeper into debts.
You are likewise engaging yourself in a never-ending financial
marathon

6.If no agreement is reached, better let the court decide.

The Court is such a compassionate court that it will reduce your
interest from 3.5% per month to only 1% p.m. ; penalty from 60%
per annum to 12% per annum and about P 10,000.00 attorney’s fee
instead of 25% of your total obligation.
Ayaw mo pa noon?


Learn from the lessons from here on.
Avoid making credit cards as your financial crutches.
Respect Money. Dont use it to meet your emotional needs.
There is more to life than credit cards.

NEVER AGAIN.Promise Me.

What's YOUR Diskarte?

I made a terrible mistake today :D

I answered the phone and talked with a collector form PSBank. The good news is the collector was very polite. Maybe its because I told him I was the "sister" of the one he was looking for. Hehehe

I guess he was following a script because he was reciting the usual lines.... the account has been referred to us blah blah blah... pay or we will file... blah blah blah.

Maybe its because I never spoke with any collectors since my account became delinquent or maybe I feel a bit tougher, knowing about my rights and such --- I found myself lecturing the collector! about criminal case vs civil case, estafa vs failure to pay due to financial constraints, and even about negotiating with the CC directly.

The collector was actually at a loss for words. I told him there is no point in calling again since my sister (me) refuses to have anything to do with collection agencies and is negotiating with Metrobank (owner of PSBank) directly. I said goodbye and that was that.

after 30 minutes, the phone was ringing again and I let the maid answer it. Hahaha! Surprise! Supposedly it was a long distance call from Metrobank! I guess the first collector talked to his supervisor and decided to retaliate.

Of course, I did not speak with the person! Even as I am writing this, I am berating myself for answering the first call. Now, I can probably expect daily calls!

Sigh!

The Credit Card Medicine

Harassed by our friendly Atty. Collector? no need to argue, nor explain. No need to pay a token amount "to show willingness to pay". There is also no need to sign anything.

Just go and ask for your detailed Statement of Account, or better yet,a Bank Certification of your outstanding obligation with them, duly signed and certified correct.Do it formally, in writing via registered mail or if done verbally, follow it up with a confirmation letter. Address it to whoever is asking you to pay.

THAT would be your defense and reply for those :
a. annoying calls and SMSs
b. threats to visit your home or office
c. threats of RA 8484
d. threats of filing a case
e. harassments from "NBI, Police, Barangay" or even the "court".

Let them prove first that you owe that much before you pay, otherwise, what debt are they talking about?

Let us not assume that everything is always true - that they are really from the bank, that they are authorized, that they are lawyers or that you owe them debts.

In God We Trust, all others, we audit.

Sample Proforma Letter & Documents

Date


Dear {Citibank, HSBC, etc.)
{Atty. Molaer, or other lawyers)


Thank you for sending me that demand letter. I wish however to clarify certain things, hence, this reply.

Much as I wanted to fully settle my obligation with you, I cannot do so considering:
----( choose the appropriate situation )---
1. I have yet to receive the Updated Statement of Account I requested from you last {DATE}, showing the breakdown of how much do I owe you, the applicable interest and/or penalty rates and the covering periods, and other miscellaneous charges, if any.

Once received, I will review it and propose soonest a repayment program based on my current and projected cash flow for your consideration and approval.

2. Your demand to pay you in full such huge amount immediately, given the short notice, is quite unreasonable, arbitrary and impossible to achieve. I am therefore requesting reconsideration from you for a more practical repayment program in close proximity with my current cash flow and which would be beneficial to both of us.

3. Your required regular repayment is beyond my monthly net disposable income, after deducting modest cost of living expenses, and does not even consider my existing cash flows, basic to credit and financial management practices. Acceding now to your proposal will merely result in another default on my part of which I am truly trying to avoid.

4. The amount quoted represents charges made against my stolen card which were duly reported to you within the reasonable time allowable and has already been the subject of our mutual communications latest of which was on {DATE} for which you (state action taken by them if any)

5. Others (impossible demands, inactions of your requests, etc.)

Needless to say, should nothing progress from hereon, perhaps, I will just look forward to the court for a more judicious arrangement, repayment or settlement.

Respectfully yours,

Your name

LOAN RESTRUCTURING AGREEMENT
( summary)

This Agreement is entered into by and between:
CC ( Creditor)
You( borrower)

1.BORROWER acknowledges indebtedness to CREDITOR in the
amountof P xxxxx
2.BOTH PARTIES hereby agree that the account shall be
restructured under the following terms and conditions :
a. Amount : P xxxx
b. Interest : ___% p.m.
c. Repayment: ___ months at P____/month inclusive of
interest
3. Events of Default
4. Remedies
- plus 5% p.m. penalty
- etc.

signature/authorized signatory
BORROWER CREDITOR
ACKNOWLEGEMENT





Next.. Am tired of your threats.. Go on SUE ME!!!

Go ahead, SUE ME!!!

Dear Creditor,


Thank you for sending me a demand letter …..
Translation: See? You can still contact me. Therefore I am not hiding from you.

Much as I wanted to settle my obligation….
Translation: I have no intention to defraud you. Hence, no applicable criminal case under RA8484 nor possible preliminary attachments under Rule 57 of the Rules of Court


Sue Me In Court? Consider the following first:

1. You have no authority from the bank to sue me in their favor;
2. My account is quite minimal versus your additional expenses;
3. The judge does not want to be your collection agent (only clogs court cases)
4. Court will just refer the case for mediation/conciliation
5. Case will take long, so, no immediate Christmas bonus for you!
6. The decision will be in your favor but amount is diminished.
7. The debtor will also ask: “Do I have money to pay you?”
8. If you cannot collect money, does your debtor have properties you can attach?

Remember Family Code:

Art. 155. The family home shall be exempt from execution, forced sale or attachment

9. What else can you do? NOTHING, thus you just go back to :

“Making a compromise repayment arrangement that is practical and easy to meet by me –which was what I have been requesting all along in the first place!” Tsk….tsk…tsk… what a waste of time and efforts, and all because of greed?”

Next… The Call