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What Happens Next? (Full Service Program)
We
contact your creditors. The method and point at
which we contact your creditors varies, depending on
the best strategy for that particular creditor and
debt. It is very important that you forward any
calls or correspondence you receive from your
creditors to our office, as we are prepared to
handle them for you.
At
this point there is a transition period for all the
parties involved. You will be getting to know our
customer service team and will probably have some
questions since this is new to you. Progressive Loan
Assistance will be strategizing the safest and
cheapest way to resolve your debts based on our past
experiences and your specific situation. And your
payday loan companies will be processing our
information and most likely calling you to collect,
(especially in the beginning of the program). So
please be patient. Getting everyone on the same page
will take some time and gaining a reasonable
resolution is a process.
You
will be getting calls from your creditors. No
company can ever promise that this will completely
stop. Keep in mind, there is not a ton they can do
except try and get you to pay them over the phone.
In the section titled, 'how to handle creditor
calls' we will go over the best way to deal with the
calls, but first let's look at some important facts
we must never forget.
You
didn't plan on taking out a loan you could not
afford to pay back. You are not lying, cheating or
stealing by having the need to renegotiate your
current terms in order to feed your family or pay
your livelihood. And you could not foresee all the
financial challenges you would be facing in today's
tough economy.
If
you were irresponsible and wanted to steal money you
certainly wouldn't have hired us to help you satisfy
your loans. Never forget that you are doing
everything you can to stay solvent, especially when
a commission hungry collector tries to tell you
otherwise.
Why
do we say this? Because we know that this is the
general strategy for most collectors. They try and
twist all of the above to make you feel
irresponsible, scared and vulnerable, even if you're
not lying and your family's livelihood is truly at
risk. We don't believe this is right and we're going
to arm you with the facts so you don't fall into
their traps.
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How to
Deal with Collection Calls
First things first, one of the goals of this program
is to handle all of the collection calls for you. We
can limit the calls and at times get them to stop.
The main purpose of this program, however, is to
resolve your debt in a reasonable time frame while
saving you the most money possible.
We
should not be hired to simply stop collection calls
but rather to resolve debt in a means which you can
afford. So these calls are simply a repercussion of
owing money. If you are telling the truth and cannot
afford to pay them back the way you were, then try
not to focus on the calls or they can become an
emotional burden. Focus on what's important. What's
important is you are doing everything within your
capacity to get this matter resolved. Having said
this we will do everything we can to get the calls
to stop in order that this process is as comfortable
as possible.
If a
collector calls you at work simply tell them that
your employer prohibits such calls and your job is
at risk, (if this is the case). This should stop
them from calling you at work. If this persists
please inform us so we can help.
We
have set up a toll free line for creditors to call
us. Tell the caller that you have enrolled in an
assistance program and direct the calls to us. Give
the caller our number and say nothing else. Please
do not discuss the debt with the caller, attempt to
negotiate or give them access to your bank account.
There are 2 basic rules to follow when dealing with
these calls...
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Rule #1- Don't
Get Emotional
Some
collectors are actually trained on how to get a
client to make an emotional decision. This is
dangerous. An emotional decision rarely gets you the
results you need and often works to the collector's
advantage. It invites stress and possible health
issues into an arena meant for professional
compromise. It can drive you to focus on less
important, prideful issues rather than the
progressive steps needed to fix your financial
hardship. Don't ever forget that you and your family
come first. Don't let others make you think
differently.
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Rule #2- Keep it
Short
If a
collector gets you on the phone tell them
professionally that you have hired our company to
assist you. Give the caller our number and say
nothing else.
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The Top 5
Collector Claims
We Don't
Work With That Company
Collectors work for money and seem to gravitate to
where the money is. If a collector says they do not
work with our company often it is an attempt to get
you to pay them directly and immediately. Also, they
may be alluding to the fact that no settling or
resolutions are made until your account is in third
party collections. This may be to your benefit as we
find third party collectors can often propose or
accept fair settlements or payment plan options.
Often we have heard these claims and have still been
able to work out a fair resolution for both parties.
This leads us to believe that this comment is mainly
a collection tactic.
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We Haven't Received Anything from Progressive Loan
Assistance
We
will send your creditors the proper information in
order to obtain a fair resolution as quickly as
possible. This may or may not be in the form of an
immediate payment. Because we did not send them
money does not mean we are not working on your
behalf but rather it means we have not secured an
acceptable resolution yet. We do send them your
'power of attorney in fact' shortly after you enroll
in our program. Often we find that collectors that
say this are mistaken, are not informed or possibly
are not being forthright in an attempt to get you to
pay them directly. We simply have no reason or
motivation to not work on your behalf and are eager
to get you an acceptable resolution.
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You
Can't Consolidate Payday Loans
This
is a play on words. Consolidate, as defined in
Dictionary.com, means to unite or to bring together.
Consolidating debt often means when a bank loans you
the money to pay your creditors in full. In turn,
you would make one payment to them each month at a
set interest rate until the loan is paid in full. We
do not loan money. So in this sense the collector is
correct. However, we can and do resolve payday
loans. Because the term consolidation does not
accurately define our program does NOT mean we
cannot handle your situation with a settlement or a
payment resolution. You do, however, only have one
payment on our program which could be construed as a
form of 'consolidating' your payments.
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We
are Going to Send You to Collections
This
is part of the process when you are having trouble
paying a creditor. Collectors will make it sound as
if it's the worst thing in the world that can happen
to you. The bottom line is if you cannot afford to
pay them the creditor will follow their collections
process. This does not mean we cannot work with
them. In fact, we may be able to secure a better
settlement or resolution through a third party than
with the original creditor. Also, getting a third
party collector to stop calling you is much easier
than getting an original creditor to stop calling
you.
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We are
Going to Have You Arrested
We
are not lawyers and do not provide legal advice.
However, the chances of this happening seem
incredibly slim based on our experiences. There is a
website that can help you determine how your state
of residence views a closed account that has a check
written on it, or you may decide to get legal advice
if you wish. The website address is
www.paydayinfo.org. There are phone numbers on this
website in which you can contact a regulation office
in your state to confirm the validity of any
creditor threats. It is always a good idea to be
forthright with your creditor and let them know that
your check will not be going through due to your
insolvency and that you will arrange to get them
paid as soon as you can, (if this is the case). This
is not legal advice though this seems to be the best
way to handle the situation if you truly cannot
afford to pay your creditors.
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The Top 5 Client
Concerns
Why Don't All of My Creditors Have Payment
Arrangements?
Arranging payments immediately with your creditors
may not be in your best interest. Our primary focus
is to secure a resolution that will cost you the
least while resolving your account in a reasonable
time frame. Some creditors may provide settlement
offers 6 months into your program that are very
attractive and are worth waiting on. So please
understand that our strategy is determined on a case
by case basis and is designed to get you out of debt
as quickly and safely as possible. Patience is the
best way to get the best results.
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When Are
the Calls Going to Stop?
It
is not possible for anyone to come up with a
specific date that creditors will stop calling you
though we can let you know the best way to minimize
or stop the calls based on your specific
circumstances and our past experiences. The Fair
Debt Collection Practices Act lists the acceptable
and unacceptable methods of collections. You may
find this information online at
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf.
We are not lawyers and cannot provide legal advice
though from our experience it seems getting a
collector to stop calling you at work is as simple
as telling the creditor that your job is at risk
when they call. It seems that you can request
correspondence in writing only when a third party
collector is calling you at home and you would like
this to stop. We find most creditors will stop
calling once a resolution is in place. Even though
this is the case, we will not set up a settlement
resolution just to stop creditor calls. This is not
in your best interest as the main purpose of our
program is to get you the best settlement possible.
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Can I Adjust My
Payments?
We
understand that circumstances may arise where you
will not be able to make the monthly payment towards
the program and we are flexible in this regard. If
this is the case you will need to call our office at
least 3 business days before your due date and
request a change in your payment. This change
carries a $20 administration fee if done more than
once in a given calendar year. Keep in mind that our
success hinges on you making timely payments in
full. Negotiating with your creditors is hard to do
without a consistent payment and we can lose
leverage and settlements as a result. Please make
your payments timely so we can do the best possible
job for you.
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What's
Happening with the Money?
Your
money accumulates in an escrow account until a
reasonable settlement offer can be made to a
creditor. Once your creditor accepts the settlement
offer and sends us the terms in writing than it will
be paid through your escrow account until it is
settled in full or until you stop paying into the
program. We will work hard to assure that this
resolution or settlement is in your best interest.
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When
Do You Start Paying My Creditors?
We
start paying your creditors once a reasonable
resolution is accepted in writing. The time at which
your creditor is paid or accepts a settlement varies
based on many factors including but not limited to
the size of your monthly payment, the total amount
you owe and which creditors you owe. You will be
informed every time a reasonable settlement
arrangement is received in writing.
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In Conclusion...
We
hope this information helps. Customer satisfaction
is PLA's primary focus. It is very important to us
that you have reasonable expectations of how our
program works and what to expect while on our
program. If you have any questions whatsoever please
contact our customer service line at 877-590-1847
ext.102.
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