What's the best way to piss off bill collectors?
464186
You can ask them to hold for a minute or ask them to call you back in a hour.  You can also ask them to not call you again (get there name 1st).  If they do you can file legal against them for harassment.
894109
Sue the people that sent you the bill!!!
808926
Send them a letter via mail return receipt requested stating that the money is not owed and the reason why. If you have a receipt showing that you already paid the debt.  Inform them if they do not cease harrasing you, you will (1) report them to the better business bureau and any other state agencies that deal with unscrulous debt collectors and (2) institute a claim under the fair debt collection practices act, and you will seek treble damages. Request they send you a letter stating that you do not owe them any money.
924040
I am legally blind and I know that problem. I can never tell what bill I have and have to rely on the kindness of others to tell me the truth when I pay a bill or buy something. I have been ripped off before. I would love it if the money were easier to tell apart but it sounds like we would go through a lot of ex pence to get it done. I will just use my Debit card for now. Maybe that would be the best solution.
856209
YES!  And sorry to say, but you probably won't get your issue resolved.  They are always right and you are always wrong.  That's will all of the bill people you have to call.  Good luck to you!
219435
click on "report abuse" beside the rude comment.\n\nFrom there, select why you are reporting it and then add your 2 cents and click send.
983913
It is very easy to get a collection agency to stop calling, you simply send them a letter telling them to do so. Send them a C&D (cease and desist letter). Simply write: "In line with my rights under the FCRA, please do not contact me again in any way, shape, or form regarding this debt". If they contact you again - by phone or mail - they are breaking the law.
285151
Call the company, and be firm.  \n\nI warn you.  They'll try to persuade you to keep the account. I argued with one "representative" for nearly 15 minutes.  I grew more angry over the length of the call, and (sorry) began a bit of profanity towards him/her.\nAlso, write a letter (and keep a copy of it).  Keep it brief and simple.\n\nExpect your request to be satisfied immediately.
188604
e-banking is annoying.  I really like having paper copies of my bills, and I don't trust paying online.  Also, if you don't have a printer, no copies!\nATMs, on the other hand, are great.  So convenient!  Also, you can always get a receipt for free.
463137
1. Write a letter POLITELY explaining the situation and that you want them to stop sending emails asking for money.  (If you can find a mailing address, send it certified mail with return receipt, so you can prove they received it)\n\n2. In the letter ask for confirmation IN WRITING that you have $0 account balance and that no further charges will be incurred.  Give them a deadline of between 7-10 days to respond (give the date, e.g. 5/1/06).\n\n3. If you do not get a response, or they refuse to follow your request, file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.  They can help mediate this type of dispute.  Bonus: your complaint goes on record for the public.\n\n4. If the BBB doesn't work, write another letter, certified mail again, with another 7-10 day deadline, still polite but more strongly worded.  Communicate what action you will be "forced" to take if you do not get a good resolution in this time frame (complaint to the state or US Attorney General, litigation...)\n\n5. As a last resort, consult a lawyer on what you can sue for in small claims court (some only allow monetary claims and are unable to enforce changes in behavior - or if small claims even has jurisdiction).  Most cities have a legal hotline you can call to find a lawyer who will give you a 1/2 hour consult for a small fee: Cincinnati $10.\n\n6. Monitor your credit report.  You want to know it if they file collection actions against you.\n\nRemember to document all communication with the company (keep copies of letters, a notebook with dates/times of any phone calls about the issue), put your name, address, email address and any account number on all correspondence, above all be polite!  If they are working in good faith to help you, then be a little flexible.  This could be an honest mistake!\n\nGood Luck!  This sort of thing can be tedious and frustrating, but well worth the effort.\n\nlizzy (Winner - v. Family Dental Care Associates, billing dispute 2003-2004).
512773
pay your bloody bills
480463
askbill@microsoft.com\n\nSend your annoying questions there, not at us.
317036
Here is a method I used once to get rid of a legitimate debt that I owed. You may be ablet to adapt this and use it for yourself. \n\nI owed a $485 bill to AT&T that I refused to pay until they took down a cell phone tower that had been illegally erected right next to someone's back yard. Of course they ignored me, so I ignored them right back and things went round and round for a few years like that. finally the debt was sold to a collection agency and then to another one and finally to one in Florida. Up to this point none of them had reported it to any of the credit bureaus. Suddenly one day, there it was! A festering puss-filled sore right in the middle of my credit report! I immediately wrote a letter to the collection agency saying that the debt was not mine, that this was an old debt (by now it was over five years) that was being shopped around until they could stick it on somebody. I told them this was very damaging to my credit, that I had no other late payments, and I demanded they remove it immediately. Also, I said, at the time this debt was incurred there had been two other people living in the same county as me with exactly the same name as me, and it must have belonged to one of them. Again I demanded that they remove this thing from my credit report. About two weeks later I got a very apologetic letter from them saying how sorry they were for the mistake and yes it would be removed from my credit report immediately. It was and I never heard from anyone about this again.\n\n"Hell no," said Tom. "I'm not paying this. You can take this bill and shove it!"
521657
Drink a lot. I mean a whole lot. Then pretend that you are a magician, and tell everyone in a loud voice to pick a card, any card.\n\nWhen they start to ignore you again because you don't have any cards, put a lampshade on your head and start walking into walls.\n\nBefore they have time to kick you out, puke on the living room carpet.
393137
First of all, don't go clumping everyone who can't pay their bills into the same group of deadbeats!  That is what really pisses me off abut you collectors!\n\nEvery person has their own reasons.  Sure, you got a lot of irresponsible people, but a whole lot more have legitimate problems.\n\nDivorces, medical emergencies, loss of jobs, personal accidents or disasters...all of these can ruin someones ability to pay bills.  \n\nFrom my experiences, most people want to pay, but because of the above reasons they can't!  They certainly can make an effort, but collectors like you won't give them a chance!  It's either pay it all now, or your credit is ruined!\n\nIt certainly doesn't make it easier when credit card companies totally screw you with their tricks.  Like when you miss a payment by a few days, and suddenly your interest jumps from 13% to 29%!  Years of good payments mean nothing to you...but miss ONE payment and you are screwed!\n\nAnd it's certainly nice of them to raise your credit limit without your knowledge.  The next think you know, you are $5000 in debt on a card that you thought only had a $2000 limit!  OK, that's the fault of the irresponsible consumer for not knowing their card limits.  But you see how it can destroy someones budget?\n\nI've posted a lot of comments here.  I've had a ton of nasty emails from collectors calling me a deadbeat.  \n\nTruth is I pay my bills.  And in a sense I'm a collector too (GASP!).  \n\nI run a storage facility, and I have to deal with non payment issues all the time.  But in two years I have never had to evict anyone!  I understand that people run into hard times, and I will work with them to catch up.  I'm damn proud of my history with working with people!\n\nHow many people have you sued?
152227
make sure you never charge mare than you can pay when the bill comes.  just because you have one, doesn't mean you have to use it.\n\nif you get in trouble slightly cut it up and send it back.  pay more than the minimum payment due.  if your minimum due is 30 send them 60.  the longer it takes to pay, the more you pay.  the higher interest the more you owe.\n\nie: if you spend $1000. and your minimum due is $30, if you pay them $100, they will put at least $10 onto your card for interest.  so instead of only owing 900. you now owe 910.  and they do this every month.\n\nso never buy more than you can pay in a month, or you will owe more than you bought.\n\nread the fine print\ngood luck
198442
Relax, I can fix your problem real quick with just a phone call and a letter.\n\nCall up the cell phone provider and let them know your account was sent in error to a collection agency, and inform them to call off the dogs.  \n\nThen send a cease and desist letter to the collection agency.  The link below has a sample letter, just change it around to fit your purpose.  \n\nBe sure to include a statement telling them not to call or write to you again.  \n\nBe sure to check your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com to make sure that the collection agency didn't put any negative comments on it.  If so, I've enclosed some additional links that will help you out.\n\nMail the letter Certified USPS so you can prove and track it.  Keep logs of all letters and phone calls that you make in case you need to follow up with legal action.\n\nI'm 99% certain that by following the above advice you will not hear from them again.  Unfortunately, many collection agents are so narrow minded (all the see is green) that you may need to stop them in court.  \n\nIt's very important to note:  Unless the debt is large (at least $1000) many collection agencies won't even try to sue you to recover the debt.  They are content to going after your credit history and messing up your life.  \n\nYou are fighting a war!  Do not fight these guys unarmed.  Knowledge of the law is your only weapon!  Get armed!  Read the links below.