Success in dealing with unsecured creditors!
One of the most difficult and personally taxing aspects of facing financial hardship and being unable to pay your creditors are the annoying collection calls. Even though you have absolutely no means of repaying the debt and are able to demonstrate that to your creditors, it is still very difficult to get them to stop harassing you.
When a client comes to Second Wind Consultants, they often have several creditors whose loans are collateralized by our clients business and personal assets. More often than not, they also have about a half dozen or so “unsecured” creditors who are not in a position to be paid back should the business be wound down or sold for less than or equal to what is owed to the secured creditors.
Because of this, the “unsecured” creditors know that the only way they are going to get our clients to pay is by incessantly calling and harassing not only the client, but their family and employers as well. This causes a great amount of stress for my clients and their families. In order to alleviate this annoyance and allow my client to focus on more important tasks involved in turning around their business or resolving their debt, I have them send out the following boiler plate cease and desist letter to their creditors:
Dear (fill in the blank)
Please accept this correspondence as notification of enforcement of my rights as a consumer pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Protection Act. I am requesting that you immediately cease and desist any further communication with me with relation to any and all alleged debts, including any debt for account number (fill in the account number). I also request that you discontinue any further communication with my family members, neighbors, friends, and any other party you may try to contact with regard to this issue. Pursuant to the FDCPA, you may contact me only one more time to discuss any future plans or ideas you may have regarding this debt.
Please be notified that if you refuse to comply with this request, I will immediately file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and the (your state here) Attorney General’s office. Appropriate action will be taken, including but not limited to, any and all retribution available to me through the civil court system.
The result of this was staggering. We had instant success across the board and the creditors actually stopped calling. I have several clients who are happy to be able to just sit through dinner with their family and not have the phone ringing off the hook.
It should be noted that this should not be construed as legal advice by Second Wind Consultants, but an example of how we not only work to turn around your business or work out your debt by negotiating with the banks and the SBA, but that we also deal with the unsecured creditors, landlords, vendors, and always find a way to achieve success. It should also be noted that this is only a bandaid to the situation and the creditors will have to be dealt with eventually. They will still maintain some correspondence in order to keep you updated of your current balance owed and any legal measures that are taken to collect on the debt, but this is generally done through the mail. In the mean time, you have the upper hand and they will have wait to hear from you.
