A lawsuit against forestry contractors local to Arrow Lakes, that was filed by an American collection agency has been temporarily put on hold by a Delaware judge. On January 20 a hearing was held in a U.S. court with PricewaterhouseCooper legal counsel attending via telephone conference.

Concerned contractors spoke with the judge who agreed that something should be done. The orders that are being entered didn’t affect any of the Canadian entities, or at least they should not. The case was pretty much put on hold while mediators and lawyers tried to determine the best possible route for the lawsuit.

A spokesperson for the contractors says that she was notified of the lawsuit by mail, like a lot of others in the area. She claims that she has lined up her defense in case the proceedings continue, but she believes that the lawsuit is simply a last-ditch scheme to get cash.

The Minnesota-based legal collection company asked the contractors business, Summit Lake Services for $19,000 for work finished three months before Pope and Talbots collapse. Another local contractor, Reg Gustafson of Cougar Valley Ventures seems to also believe that this is a ploy for money. Indignant about being asked to return $41,000, Gustafson claims that they will have to put him in jail before he pays up. He says that although he took the legal papers very seriously when they were first served, he now has been able to put the situation into context.

He says that he will continue to take it seriously, but he will make a point of saying no. Crystal Larder of Mountain Meadow Contracting has a business that has been asked to repay $49,000. She hasn’t put up any defenses yet, but even if the local contractors were to be tried in court, it must be in Canada.

Mallory Megan works for a debt collection company. She also writes stories on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies. Also published at American Collection Company Put On Hold In Legal Battle.

Individual phone collectors will be given a portfolio of accounts, and the bulk of their workday, every day, will be spent working them. Debt collectors are subject to frequent performance evaluations and the bulk of their money is earned from personal commission payments. Thus, the size of a debt collector’s paycheck depends on how successful he or she is at collecting from debtors. This factor, coupled with relentless confrontations with angry and sensitive debtors, makes for an extremely high stress job with high employee turnover.

If a collection agent tries to call a consumer and comes into contact with somebody else, they are legally prohibited from informing this person that they are calling about a debt. Each state has its own laws that debt collectors must abide by, and sometimes, the collector can speak to the debtor’s spouse.

If a collection agent gets an answering machine or voicemail, they will usually leave a message, but theoretically someone besides the debtor might hear it. Therefore, the details of the call will not be disclosed, and the tone of the debtor will be apathetic. Collection agencies generally have to provide a toll free number so that it does not cost money for the debtor to return the call.

When the debt collector speaks to a debtor on the phone, they will begin with what is referred to as a “mini Miranda.” Much like your Miranda rights, which tell you that “anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law,” the mini Miranda informs the debtor that this is in fact an attempt to collect debt, and any information disclosed will be used for that purpose. This is usually what separates a mediocre debt collector from an excellent one. A mediocre collector will often do most of the talking, but a skilled collector develops good listening skills to ferret out important information.

Therefore, debt collection phone calls are generally recorded, and any key information is written down on the debtor’s permanent record. Key information includes anything that could be used to ascertain the probability that they could successfully collect, or if taking legal action could be a good decision. In other words, if the debtor mentions that they are employed, makes mention of assets, or admits that they owe the debt, this is very encouraging for the collector and could be used in future litigation.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on medical collection agencies Free reprint avaialable from: I Have A Collection Agency On The Phone! What Now?.

In the last article in this series I wrote about how long different marks remain on your credit report. I mentioned that mistakes will be removed immediately, soft inquiries will have no effect, and hard inquiries can hang around on your credit report for two years. Late payments have the capacity to do way more damage.

Despite the fact that some creditors may choose to show you mercy and remove past credit problems if you pay your account immediately, late payments can have an effect on your credit score for seven years. Luckily, these negative marks are common and do less damage to your score than the rest of the marks I will go on to discuss.

With a tax lien comes seven years of bad credit. When you do not pay your income or property taxes when they were due, and the government comes in and takes ownership of your property, you are dealing with a tax lien. Unlike creditors, no matter how fast you settle your tax lien, big brother is annoyed that you made him go out of his way to take your property, and it will stay on your record for seven years.

Foreclosures are equally as damaging and they will be on your credit report for seven years. Foreclosures are looked at as one of the worst negative accounts that can appear on your credit report. In fact, if you do have a foreclosure on your credit history, good luck buying another home unless you are planning to pay for it all in cash.

It’s not the good old days anymore, so never default on those student loans either. Before the administration of President W., student loans generally were forgiven if they were declared when someone filed for bankruptcy. Now times have changed, so it’s crucial to pay your student loan debts. After 270 days of nonpayment, defaulting occurs, and before the loan defaults, you can bet your life that you will be the unlucky recipient of a whole slew of late payment fees.

The last, and most serious negative mark that can go on your credit report is bankruptcy. Bankruptcy will stay on your record for ten years, and instead of having a creditor pull your report, you might as well get in contact with them and say “I am fiscally irresponsible and will be that way for the next ten years.” Filing for bankruptcy can put a damper on your ability to get a new car, any type of new credit or a new place to live. So watch your credit report, or you might end up living with that rude mother in law I wrote about in article one.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on commercial collection agencies. Unique version for reprint here: How Long Will A Negative Mark Stay On Your Credit Report Part Two.