How do you put somebody in to collections?

Answer 1

You have to contact the collection agency and broker a deal with them. The agency will buy the debt from you for much less than the debt is worth. The agency will then contact the person, and keep any money paid by the person.

Answer 2

In the United States the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from engaging in abusive behavior. Debt collectors are prohibited from doing the following:

• Call you repeatedly or contact you at an unreasonable time (the law presumes that before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. is unreasonable).
• Place telephone calls to you without identifying themselves as bill collectors.
• Contact you at work if your employer prohibits it.
• Use obscene or profane language.
• Use or threaten to use violence.
• Claim you owe more than you do.
• Claim to be attorneys if they're not.
• Claim that you'll be imprisoned or your property will be seized.
• Send you a paper that resembles a legal document.
• Add unauthorized interest, fees, or charges.
• Contact third parties, other than your attorney, a credit reporting bureau, or the original creditor, except for the limited purpose of finding information about your whereabouts. Unless you have asked collectors in writing to stop contacting you, they can also contact your spouse, your parents (if you are a minor), and your codebtors.

If you think you are being harassed unlawfully by a debt collector you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Contact the Federal Trade Commission at 6th and Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20580. You can get more information at its website.

Send a copy of your complaint to your state's consumer protection agency and the local Better Business Bureau. Sometimes even making the threat to report calls to the authorities is enough to make them stop. If the behavior is especially abusive you can sue the debt collector in small claims court or by using a private attorney.

Answer 3

You can hire a collections agency, or you can collect the debt yourself. You could also hire an attorney to write a collection letter for you.