Part 3 of 3 - Credit Card Debtor's Perspective on R.A. 8484

Let us do a “throwback” a bit. Before that collection letter with the provision of RA 8484, (because I think that’s the final straw), you had at some point had a brush with what “Rebecca  Bloomwood” in Shopaholic experienced: collection agent!

Don’t worry, this part will teach you your rights when that awful phone rings. But of course, we are not discounting the fact that those banks deserved to be paid. It’s just that, just as they have their rights, so do you.  The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) issued a set of rules and regulations governing the credit card operations of banks and affiliate credit card companies. The following (but not limited to) are considered unfair collection practices:

a)            the use or threat of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person.

b)            the use of obscenities, insults, or profane language which amount to a criminal act or offense under applicable laws.

c)            disclosure of the names of credit cardholders who allegedly refuse to pay debts, with certain exceptions.

d)            threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken.

e)            communicating or threat to communicate to any person credit information which is known to be false, including failure to communicate that a debt is being disputed.

f)             any false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt or to obtain information concerning a cardholder.

g)            making contact at unreasonable/inconvenient times or hours which shall be defined as contact before 6:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m., unless the account is past due for more than sixty (60) days or the cardholder has given express permission or said times are the only reasonable or convenient opportunities for contact.

As a rule, banks, subsidiary/affiliate credit card companies, collection agencies, counsels and other agents may resort to all reasonable and legally permissible means to collect amounts due them under the credit card agreement. However, in the exercise of their rights and performance of duties, they must observe good faith and reasonable conduct and refrain from engaging in unscrupulous or untoward acts, including those enumerated above. (http://www.bsp.gov.ph/downloads/primers/CCS5.pdf) 

For a complete copy of the primer, visit the mentioned link.

There is another blog that’s very helpful: livingonelife.  Here’s just a part of his blog.

Credit Card Woes - The Letter

Now that you’ve figured out how to deal with that credit card collectoron the phone, expect them to start pushing up the ante. The battle has now been joined, and they’re now ready to unleash one of the most effective weapons in their arsenal, The Demand Letter. Just one of these if received unprepared - especially the first time - is enough to bring a grown man down to his knees in surrender. So let’s gear-up and find out if there’s a reason to fret about this threat.

Most credit card demand letters come in two types.

One is the pretty straight-forward type, specifying how much you owe, a reminder of the contents of the credit agreement, plus a bonus threat regarding what action they’re gonna take against you.

The other kind of letter is more indirect in its approach but nonetheless more potent. It is formatted to look like an official civil/criminal Complaint ready to be filed - or to the impression of some - already filed in the appropriate Trial Court. No wonder people who are uninformed and unfortunate enough to get one of these would seriously contemplate on how much painful it would be if they were to jump off a building.

So before you jump, allow this to sink in: You’re not in trouble, it’s just your impression. So CHILL! (repeat as needed)

For the complete experience, read the blog on this link: http://livingonelife.blogspot.com

End Note:

Because you took pains of reading my 3-part blog, my belief is you are a creditcard debtor in good faith who wants to pay off your debt, it’s just that, now is not a great time. Just keep pushing on making that small payment. And my wish for you is that , you could pay off your creditcard debt sooner, than later.  Because there is nothing more rewarding and peaceful than being able to sleep at night, with no debts to worry about.  How I paid off mine will be another blog soon, but for the meantime, I’m happy that you now know better than to allow credit collectors to harass you using R.A. 8484.