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What should I do when a credit card debt collector contacts me?
Receiving a call from a debt collector can be a stressful experience. After all, if your debt is in collections, you may be worried about the potential impact the delinquent debt can have on your finances, the possibility of legal action by the debt collector and how to handle the communication effectively. That’s a legitimate concern considering that the way you handle initial contact from a debt collector can significantly impact your financial future.
Your initial response to a debt collector’s contact can set the tone for the entire debt resolution process. Making the wrong moves — such as immediately acknowledging the debt or making promises to pay, for example — could complicate your situation or even restart the statute of limitations on old debts. On the other hand, understanding your rights when your credit card debt is in collections and taking appropriate action can help you maintain control of the situation and work toward a resolution that fits your circumstances.
Millions of Americans face similar situations with debt collectors every year and there are established protocols in place to help you navigate this challenge. So how exactly should you handle being contacted by a debt collector about old credit card debt?
Find out what your debt relief options are here.
What should I do when a credit card debt collector contacts me?
Here are a few moves you should make when you’re contacted by a debt collector about your credit card debt:
Stay calm and gather information
The first thing to do when a debt collector contacts you is to remain calm. Take a deep breath and prepare to gather as much information as possible during the call. In general, debt collectors are required by law to provide specific details about the debt, including the original creditor’s name, the amount owed and other relevant information, all of which you’ll need to determine a path forward.
During the call, you should also write down the debt collector’s name, the company they represent and their contact information. You also have the right to request a written validation notice, which will confirm the debt amount, the original creditor and your rights in the debt collection process. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) mandates that debt collectors provide this notice to you within five days of the initial contact.
Learn more about how to tackle old credit card debt today.
Confirm the debt and verify its accuracy
After receiving the validation notice, take time to verify the debt’s accuracy. Mistakes can happen, and debts may be sold multiple times, leading to possible discrepancies, so review the information carefully to confirm that the debt is yours and that the amount is correct. If there’s an error, you have the right to dispute the debt in writing within 30 days of receiving the validation notice. The debt collector must cease collection efforts until the dispute is resolved or the debt is verified as accurate.
Understand your rights (and what to expect)
Debt collectors must adhere to strict guidelines under the FDCPA. They cannot harass, threaten or deceive you. Familiarize yourself with your rights to feel empowered in your interactions with the collector. For example, debt collectors cannot:
- Call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
- Contact you at work if you’ve told them not to
- Use threatening or abusive language
- Make false statements or misrepresent the debt
- Contact others about your debt except to locate you
Come up with a plan of action
Start determining a plan of action by assessing your financial situation, including your income, expenses and any other debts. This will help you determine how much you can realistically afford to pay each month. From there, you can weigh your options, like paying the debt in full, negotiating a reduced amount or exploring other debt relief options.
What debt relief options should I consider?
If you decide to try and use debt relief to get rid of the debt, here are the options you may want to consider:
- Debt consolidation: With debt consolidation, you combine multiple debts into a single loan, generally with a lower interest rate. This could result in a lower monthly payment and make it easier to keep track of your debt.
- Debt settlement: Another option is to negotiate with the debt collector to settle the debt for less than the full amount, which is known as debt forgiveness or debt settlement. Some people choose to work with debt relief companies that negotiate on their behalf, while others choose to negotiate directly.
- Credit counseling: Many credit counseling agencies offer debt management plans, agreements where the agency negotiates with your creditors to reduce interest rates and fees. This can be a useful option if you need structured assistance but don’t qualify for debt consolidation or settlement.
The bottom line
Facing a credit card debt collector can be intimidating, but with the right approach, you can turn it into an opportunity to regain control over your finances. Start by gathering information, verifying the debt and understanding your rights. From there, create a plan and explore debt relief options such as consolidation, negotiation or credit counseling to find a solution that aligns with your financial goals. Being proactive and informed can make the difference in managing your debt and building a stronger financial future.
CBS News
Map shows Trump’s 2024 election victory came as voters shifted red across the country
While the 2024 presidential election was among the closest in recent memory — with President-elect Donald Trump ahead by about 3 percentage points over Vice President Kamala Harris — Trump’s vote share grew in a diverse array of regions across the country and across different demographic groups.
It’s the first time in Trump’s three campaigns for the White House that he’s topped his opponent in the popular vote, and only the second time since 1988 that any Republican has done so. In 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won almost 66 million votes (48%), compared to Trump’s nearly 63 million (46%), but Trump won the Electoral College. In 2020, he lost both the Electoral College and the popular vote to President Biden, who received about 81 million votes (51%) nationwide, compared to Trump’s 74 million (47%).
Trump’s victory in 2024 was driven by improvements in support in a vast majority of counties nationwide — more than 9 in 10 — according to data from counties where at least 95% of votes have been counted as of Friday. Trump’s improvements crossed regions, and included urban, suburban and rural gains.
Trump even fared better in most places where a majority of voters preferred Harris, like New Jersey, or across the Hudson River, in his hometown of New York City.
The Garden State, a longtime Democratic stronghold, swung markedly in Trump’s favor. For instance, the latest data show Trump with a slim 3% lead in suburban Passaic County, where he got just 41% of the vote in 2020.
In New York City, where Trump grew up and spent most of his life before entering politics, he didn’t just surpass his two previous results; his roughly 30% vote share topped every Republican candidate since Ronald Reagan, 40 years ago.
Nearly 2,000 miles away, Maverick County, Texas, a majority Latino border county that Biden carried easily in 2020, swung even more, about 28 points. Trump in 2024 outperformed Biden’s 2020 showing, and Harris fared worse than Trump did in 2020.
CBS News exit polls from the last two elections showed Trump gaining among both men and women this year. In 2020, Trump won men by a hair, 49% to 48%, but in 2024, his campaign’s efforts to woo men appear to have paid off: his support from men grew to 55%.
In 2020, Trump managed to win 43% of women voters. In 2024, despite Democrats’ focus on women voters and abortion access, which boosted them in the midterm election races, Trump still increased his numbers with women, notching up that figure two ticks, to 45%.
Trump made gains among core groups within the traditional Republican coalition, such as evangelical voters. But he also increased his support among groups Democrats have relied on, including young voters and Latino voters, such as those in Maverick County and another former Democratic stronghold, Florida’s Miami-Dade, which Mr. Biden won in 2020, with 53%. This year, Trump carried the county with about 55% of the vote, becoming the first Republican to win there since 1988.
The chart below shows the change in support for Trump in demographic groups between 2020 and 2024.
CBS News
No verdict on first full day of jury deliberations in Delphi murder trial for killings of two teenage girls in Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS — The first full day of jury deliberations ended without a verdict on Friday in the trial of Richard Allen, who is accused in the 2017 killings of two teenage girls who had vanished during a hike in Delphi, Indiana, in 2017.
Jurors began their deliberations Thursday afternoon, spending two hours deliberating before wrapping up for the day. They then spent seven hours on Friday deliberating without reaching a verdict, and will return Saturday morning.
Allen had pleaded not guilty to two murder and two felony murder charges in connection with the 2017 deaths of Liberty “Libby” German and Abigail “Abby” Williams, who were 14 and 13, respectively.
He could be sentenced to up to 130 years in prison if convicted of all the charges.
The seven women and five men continued their deliberations Friday after hearing closing arguments in the weekslong murder trial. Deliberations ended after about two hours and will resume Friday morning. They will deliberate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday until they reach a verdict, CNN reports.
Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland told jurors that Allen is the man seen in a grainy cellphone video recorded by one of the girls, known as Abby and Libby, as they crossed an abandoned railroad bridge just before they vanished on Feb. 13, 2017.
“Richard Allen is Bridge Guy,” McLeland told jurors. “He kidnapped them and later murdered them.”
He noted that Allen had confessed repeatedly to the killings — in person, on the phone and in writing. In one of the recordings he replayed for the jury, Allen could be heard telling his wife, “I did it. I killed Abby and Libby.”
Allen’s defense cast doubt on the confessions, putting up witnesses, including a psychiatrist who testified that Allen was delirious and psychotic after months in solitary confinement. The defense further argued there is no physical evidence tying Allen to the murders and said confessions he made in the past were “involuntary” and stemmed from being in solitary confinement for months.
No witness explicitly identified Allen as the man seen on the hiking trail or the bridge the afternoon the girls went missing, he noted. No fingerprint, DNA or forensic evidence links Allen to the murder scene, Rozzi said.
And for more than five years after the teens were killed, Allen still lived in Delphi while working at a local pharmacy.
“He had every chance to run, but he did not because he didn’t do it,” he told the jurors.
Before the trial began, Allen’s lawyers had sought to argue that the girls were killed in a ritual sacrifice by members of a white nationalist group known as the Odinists who follow a pagan Norse religion, but the judge ruled against that, saying the defense “failed to produce admissible evidence” of such a connection.
Timeline of events surrounding Delphi murders
The Delphi murder case goes back to February 13, 2017, when “Abby” and “Libby” went for a hike on the Monon High Bridge in Delphi. The two girls were reported missing after they failed to meet Libby’s father that afternoon. The next day, their bodies were found, both dead from cuts to the throat, partially covered by sticks.
The case attracted public attention in part because of a photo and audio recording of the suspect taken from Libby’s smartphone. The image shows a man walking on the bridge with his hands in his pockets, and the audio includes a man’s muffled voice saying, “Guys, down the hill.” Although police circulated the photo and audio just days after the killings and identified the “Bridge Guy” as their prime suspect, the case ran cold for more than five years until Allen was arrested in 2022.
Allen had seemingly evaded police notice, staying in the small town of Delphi and working at a local CVS pharmacy, until a clerk digitizing tips related to the investigation in September 2022 noticed he had placed himself at the scene of the crime. Just days after the bodies were discovered, Allen told police he had been on that trail during the timeframe the girls were thought to have been killed.
Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett said despite the tip, Allen “got lost in the cracks,” according to CNN affiliate WLFI. Around a month after the tip was rediscovered, Allen was arrested after police matched an unspent cartridge found between the girls’ bodies to a pistol recovered from his home during a police search.
After Allen was arrested on October 26, 2022, he was charged with two counts of murder while committing or attempting to commit a kidnapping five days later. Prosecutors later amended the charges to include two additional counts of murder.
Over the course of the trial, which began October 18, the prosecution highlighted Allen’s dozens of confessions while incarcerated: He confessed to the crime more than 60 times, prosecutors say, including to his wife, his mother, the psychologist who treated him, the warden and other prison employees and inmates. They played audio recordings of some of the confessions for the jury.
Monica Wala, the former lead psychologist at Westville Correctional Facility where Allen was housed, testified he initially told her he was innocent, but began confessing to the crimes in April 2023, around the time he was placed back on suicide watch.
Wala testified that Allen had told her, “I killed Abby and Libby. I’m sorry,” according to WTHR. He said he originally planned to sexually assault the victims but ran away when he saw a van nearby, and that he had cut the girls’ throats and covered their bodies with sticks, she testified.
contributed to this report.
CBS News
Gov. Tim Walz speaks publicly for first time since 2024 election loss
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