If you have found your self in debt or are having trouble paying your bills you know how incredibly annoying debt collectors can be. Some bill collectors will call you every day a few times a day to remind you of what you already know. I do not have the money to pay my bills.

There are laws to stop bill collector harassment to the consumer under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. You can even find a cease letter to send to bill collectors which requires further contact by law. And you can most assuredly take that route to make bill collectors stop calling you, but I would like to suggest a different route if you would really like help.

Answer the phone.

Yes, you heard me right, I said answer the phone.

Let me tell you a personal story before I give you my advice. Years ago, I had a car repossessed. It was a time of complete change. The collector called me to retrieve the delinquent amount. We had an hour long conversation. I admitted to my mistake and told him I knew I was responsible. He was shocked. He said, nobody has ever admitted that it was their fault before. I explained my financial and personal situation and you know what - they never called me again. Yes, it was still on my credit report, until I paid it. I could not ignore my debt. I just tried to comply as best as I knew how.

The importance of answering your creditors’ phone calls. No one likes to be ignored. If you lent money to a friend and that person mysteriously disappeared, you would no longer trust them? Now, if you were in the business of collecting debt, would you cut a person slack who was trying to dodge you?

Answer your phone, plead your case and explain your situation. Let them know that you WANT to pay your debt; you know it is not going away; you just do not have the ability right now. Did you know that most credit service companies have hardship departments? If you had good credit history and lost your job, some companies help you by stopping the late fees, or other options that may help. If they have no way of helping you, you may want to consider a Debt Consolidation Loan

You can not ignore your debt forever, you will have to face it sooner or later and the sooner the better. Maybe they will have the perfect way to work out your debt. Maybe not. But facing your debt collectors is probably the most ethical way to get them to stop calling. Not all collectors are the same. See what they can do. They may have many options to help you until you get back on track financially.

Trisha Dingillo is an Illinois Licensed Mortgage Broker. She hopes to help Americans learn to Stop Bill Collector Harassment with a "Cease Letter"

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