In parts one and two in this set of articles on the very basics of debt collection, I wrote about the differences between an in house collector and a third party debt collector. I wrote about the different types of ways that debt collectors will locate the debtors, and described a number of statements that the debt collector must say before they can proceed in their attempt to collect debt from you.

Debt collectors refer to these legal guidelines as a “mini Miranda.” If a debt collector does not give this information to you, he or she is violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. If questioned, the debt collector is obligated to tell you her name, the name, address and fax number of her agency, and what creditor she is calling on behalf of.

If it is necessary to do so the debt collector will go over the terms of sale with you, or credit contracts. Bear in mind that your conversation will probably be recorded, and a good debt collector is a sneaky one. They will most likely use their listening skills to try to determine the cause of the delinquency.

Even though you may have heard some incredible anecdotal stories, or you may have read sensational stories in the news, most debt collectors are empathetic people, working to make a buck like you. Even if your debt collector is calling aggressively, it is never a good idea to ignore their calls. A debt collector will have the authority to offer a repayment plan, or some other type of help to make it easier for you to pay off of your debt.

At times, they have the capacity to find answers to your financial problems. After all, they work with people like you all the time. They can even offer you some useful advice or they might be able to refer you to some helpful debt counselors. Unfortunately, it has been said that all stereotypes have some truth in them, and there will be an occasional debt collector who may use strong arm or even illegal tactics to collect a debt. If something doesn’t sit right with you, consult the FDCPA, and call your local attorney general’s office to report the incident.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on credit collection agencies. Check here for free reprint licence: The Very Basics Of Debt Collection Part Three.

Get ready: you may receive a call from the debt collector, and it may make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Bearing the massive amount of recent lawsuits that have been filed against abusive and dishonest debt collection agencies recently, ACA International, the largest American trade group of professional creditor and collectors, tells us that more and more collection agencies are working towards increasing empathetic feelings in their employees.

In an industry that has been defined by threats and repetitive phone calls, empathy may just be the plan of action that could potentially turn a big profit for the right debt collection company. Numerous people who owe debt are not just being called by one collector; they’re being called by a few, and if they do get a hold of some cash that they want to use towards paying off debt, chances are they will give it to the person they can work with, not that mean aggressive collector. I mean, think about it: put yourself in their shoes. Wouldn’t you rather fork over your money to the nicest person you owe it to first?

While debt collection companies work on completing training courses that include seminars on how to speak gentler with consumers, ACA International tells us that there will be a change of focus in the way collection agents speak to debtors that will be marked by a shift from threats and aggression to coaching, mentoring and offering counsel. In these training sessions, debt collector trainees are advised to think back about their own personal experiences with their own collectors, or someone that they know who has had to put up with them.

One surprising trend has been to train debt collectors to suggest that debtors talk to their parents or grandparents about taking out a loan against their life insurance policies or a reverse mortgage against their house to help them pay off their debt. These collection agencies theorize that our grandparents remember the Great Depression, and won’t want to see this generation experience that kind of torment, and therefore may be more prone to take out a loan to help out their kin.

Debt collectors who use this tactic believe that it is actually a positive thing to advise someone to put their parents or grandparents in such a situation. They claim it doesn’t hurt anyone. After all, if a person borrows against life insurance it might be preferable to borrowing against a 401(k) or a retirement plan, because with those accounts, the person will be depending on that money to live on. My opinion? Leave grandma out of this! It isn’t her fault that you racked up all that credit card debt! Don’t force her to make such a decision! And about the debt collectors? Hey, I’m all for everyone being nicer to each other. It’s just this reverse mortgage gimmick that makes me wary. Kind of reminds me of a loan shark who acts all friendly to you at first, wanting to help you out, then two weeks later, comes to break your fingers cause you haven’t paid up.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes stories about medical collection agencies. Check here for free reprint licence: Debt Collection Agencies Get Schooled In Sensitivity.

The IRS, armed with more funding and smarter computers, is planning to amp up its audits of individual taxpayers this year. Although if you have high income you are less likely to simply fall below the radar, having a lot of money alone is definitely not the only factor that can trigger an audit. Actually, last year only about 6.4 percent of the country’s 440,000 highest-income tax payers were audited.

What this means is that there are precautionary measures you can do, or actions you can avoid to minimize your chances of getting audited. A lot of the times, the less attention you draw to yourself, the less likely you are to get audited.

A lot of things you can do are no-brainers. For example, be certain that all of the Forms 1099 that you have received for interest, dividend, and other investment receipts are reflected somewhere on your tax return. Usually this will be done on Schedule B. Internal Revenue Service computers are more efficient now and have gotten better at matching the copy of the 1099 that got sent to them with your return, and noticing if you left anything out on your return. If it notices any type of omission, the result may be a CP-2000 letter from the IRS giving you thirty days to explain the mismatch, or even the start of an Internal Revenue Service audit.

If you are planning on claiming big deductions for gifts to charity, be certain that you meet the “paperwork requirements.” These include having a receipt or some type of proof on paper for each donation no matter how small, and for every donation of two hundred and fifty dollars or more, written acknowledgment from each charity.

Bear in mind that in the case of these larger donations a canceled check will not be enough. You must have an actual letter from the charity before you can file for the return. The IRS is asking for this paperwork in “correspondence audits” and then denying deductions that otherwise may have been valid because of untimely or missing paperwork.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles about credit collection agencies. This article, How To Avoid An Audit By The Internal Revenue Service- Part One is available for free reprint.