We are all too aware of how the debts in this country have grown beyond manageability over the last 15-plus years. Democratic and Republican administrations have allowed banks and financial services to write and rewrite their own terms almost at will, and too many customers accepted too-good-to-be-true terms without the necessary due diligence.
Now that the debts have come back to haunt us all, creditors often use means that are, in fact, illegal — but they do so without much fear of reprisal. The Neighborhood Housing Association of Baltimore has been on the forefront of helping people take back control of their debt and assets through education and community services. NHS Baltimore recently posted a tweet on this very subject.
The report comes from Eileen Ambrose in The Baltimore Sun. Ambrose reports on some of the pressures creditors, especially their third-party collectors, put on customers. The upshot? Debtors have rights and should exercise them, especially when in the crosshairs of third-party collectors. Keep good records and be willing to contact a lawyer or advocacy group if you are being hassled. Creditors have rights too, of course; but debtors have more avenues for assistance than they might think!