For help near you, look up the National Foundation for Credit Counseling at www.nfcc.org or the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies at www.aiccca.org. The California Association of Collectors maintains a consumer website, www.askdoctordebt.com, to answer debt-related questions and explain consumer rights
Here are some of Tavelli's answers to questions from McClatchy Newspapers readers:
Question: Debt collection consistently ranks high on U.S. consumer complaint lists. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission put it No. 2. Why do debt collectors have such a bad reputation?
Answer: There's always conflict when you call a consumer and they don't want to pay. Fortunately, there are very few bad actors. But they make big headlines. Unscrupulous debt collectors are those who break rules, who go after debt they shouldn't, who try to sue for debt that's 15 years old. Most debt collectors - about 97 percent - do it right.
That's where AskDoctorDebt.com came in. It's an effort to give consumers a better understanding of what we do; a way to separate us from the bad actors.
Q: What are your debt-collecting strategies? How often do you go after bad debts in court?
A: It starts with a conversation. We send out a notice, listing [what they owe] and their rights. We follow up with a phone call within four to five days, asking if they got the notice. We're here to collect the debt but to work with [consumers] to try and resolve it.
It's talking to people, listening. Not shutting them down. You have to have a dialogue. You do get more bees with honey.
