Debt can be hard to keep track of; debts may have been hidden away in accounts and sold off to collections agencies.
There are ways to help identify all your debts and devise a plan to clear them away, and this article will guide you through three steps to locate all of them.
1. Check Your Credit Report
Companies collect information on how you pay bills and loans, then create reports containing this data. You can obtain these reports through one of three nationwide credit bureaus. Typically, credit card, auto loan and mortgage debt will appear on these reports; medical debt, retail store credit cards or one-off debts such as rent to property management companies may not.
Make a list of everything you owe and compare it with your credit report to detect discrepancies. Inspect mail and voicemail for messages from collection agencies to confirm debt accounts that may have gone undetected by you or were missed during reporting. However, keep in mind that debt collection laws in each state only allow collections on debt for so long before expiring – it’s wiser to deal with all your debts as soon as possible before this happens!
2. Check Your Mailbox or E-Mail
If you want to address debt head-on, the first step should be doing some financial homework. While there’s no one-stop shop that lists all your outstanding balances, an effective place to start may be checking your credit reports and reviewing old mail.
As part of their monthly statements, many creditors provide customers with letters or emails outlining current balances, account details, interest rates and payment due dates – as well as providing any available assistance programs or assistance packages. In some instances, creditors may contact customers if payments have fallen behind and provide further details.
Some people create spreadsheets to organize their debt accounts and track information like interest rates and balances for each debt. Although creating such a document may be helpful, creating it is not required if you do not wish to put forth the effort required for maintaining it regularly. If this option appeals to you, make sure it stays updated!
3. Contact Your Creditors
Creditors send regular statements – either electronically or by traditional mail – detailing account balances, transactions details and any terms such as interest rates that apply to your debt. They will also contact you if payments fall behind and may provide assistance or offer information about available support programs.
When receiving letters from creditors or debt collection agencies, make sure they’re kept safe in a secure place in case an accurate entry appears on your credit report. Keep them as evidence in case any disputes arise concerning inaccurate entries.
As soon as you’ve compiled an exhaustive list of your debt accounts, use either a spreadsheet or notebook to organize them and calculate current balances. Prioritize each debt either by its balance or interest rate to help create an action plan to pay it off more efficiently. It is also important to negotiate with any entity which owns your debt–sometimes debt is sold and sometimes creditors know who owns it–when creating this plan for repayment.
4. Contact Collection Agencies
Debt collectors can be an annoyance and outstanding debts can damage your credit score, yet clearing them out is crucial to taking control of your finances. Sometimes debts get sold or transferred between different collection agencies over time making it hard to track what owe.
Contacting the debt collection agency that holds your account can help identify who is trying to collect from you, what they claim you owe them and whether any promises made are binding under law. Keep in mind that debt collectors cannot make false threats or pose as government officials when collecting.
Reputable debt collection agencies will be able to provide evidence that proves they are the original owner of your debt and its balance owed, including whether or not the statute of limitations has passed; in such cases they will likely request you pay up.
