Debt collection is a frustrating endeavor. Whether you work in the business of collecting debts, or you are a person who is believed to owe money, frustration abounds. Heaven help those of us who actually owe money and hit hard patches that make repayment difficult.

In this post I’ll talk about the debtor perspective. Full confession, I’m not perfect and I’ve overextended myself. With the help of a consumer credit counseling agency things are getting back on the right track and the creditors are getting paid because I want to honor my obligations. Maybe if healthcare were more affordable in this country (and education), I wouldn’t find myself in this boat because I wouldn’t have delayed paying off credit cards in favor of medical bills, but that’s another post for another time.

In spite of my admitted lack of perfection, in my 10+ years of being a debt-carrying credit card user, I’ve never missed a payment and only been late three or four times (and not even by a full 30 days). But last month, the payment on one credit card was underpaid by $6 due to an ongoing miscommunication between the agency and the creditor. Because I’m on a plan, I no longer submit payments directly to the creditors, even in the face of such errors. Since July 28, when I received the email from the creditor alerting me to the underpayment, I have received 23 phone calls to try to collect that money ($6). The agency has called the creditor and worked out a solution to this situation and the money will be in their hands on Friday, but the calls keep coming.

23 phone calls for one $6 shortage on one account.

I can’t even imagine how much the stress level would increase if you multiplied that 23 phone calls by all the accounts I have. Some people reading this may be thinking, “that’s what you get for {being overextended} {being a lazy bum} {being sloppy}.” I’m just a microcosm of our society though. And generally speaking, I’m one of the lucky ones. I went and got those degrees that are part of the “pathway to prosperity.” I’ve got decent jobs that pay well (could be better but it could be worse too).

I heard an interesting story on the radio today about the recently publicized statistic that nearly 40% of credit users have debts on collections. According to the program’s speakers, companies buy overdue accounts for pennies on the dollar in exchange for the right to collect the debt. However, the original creditor makes NO guarantee that the information they are providing is accurate. Thus, collectors are calling people claiming they owe money. Many do, but many don’t because it’s already been paid, disputed, or discharged in bankruptcy. Good people are paying money they don’t owe because they are sick of getting 23 phone calls in a week. Good people are paying because they can’t figure out how to solve the problem. Good people are paying because they can’t afford a lawyer who might be able to figure out how to clear up the errors.