More people in both the UK and the USA are in debt than ever before, part of this is due to the current credit crisis and the fact that people are losing their jobs, and part of it is down to bad financial advice and management.

A lot of people get into debt with credit cards, when you find that you cannot make the repayments, a lot of credit card companies will then sell on your debt to a debt collection company. Debt collectors are notoriously unsympathetic and will keep on badgering you to pay more than you can afford. When debt collectors don’t get what they want they start calling you from morning to night, even though this is, strictly speaking, regarded as harassment and against the law, in an attempt to wear you down.

If you are having problems with debt collectors and want to know how you can get them to stop calling you then the first thing that you should do is tell them that in future, you will only deal with them by post. Most collection companies will still keep calling you and the next thing that you should do is to send them a letter asking them to stop calling you and reminding them that they are harassing you. When you write to debt collectors about their constant phone calls, this is known as a cease and desist letter.

Debt collectors may still call even though you have asked them not to and have written confirming that request, if this happens to you, then you should tell the debt collector that you will no longer accept their calls and will only communicate with them in writing. Tell them that you will be sending them an official request not to do so, as is your right. Once you have told the debt collectors of your intentions then you should write the letter and send it to the debt collection company by registered mail, that way the company cannot say that they have not received any letter. Don’t stop paying the company, even if you cannot afford to pay the amount that they request you should continue sending them what you can afford.

The debt collector may call you again, either to tell you that the debt has been discharged, which is highly unlikely, or to tell you that they are taking legal proceedings to recover the debt. You should still continue to pay the collection company the amount of money you said you can afford. If the case does go to court, which is again unlikely as you are paying something, then the judge will take into account the fact that you have been paying the company and may uphold what you can afford to pay.