By now it should be of no surprise that some collection agencies are armed with legal representation. I suggest that you be armed and ready as well in order to mount a counter attack should debt collector harassment ever become so overwhelming that it pushes you towards your breaking point.
If debt collectors are a constant annoyance in your life, I highly recommend that you seek out the assistance of a prepaid legal service so you’ll be ready to fight back for little or no cost at all to initiate things like “cease and desist” letters to legally put debt collectors on notice that they are not to contact you other than to inform you of their intent to sue. However, most times, they just cease collection of the debt and sell it to the next collection agency.
There are several types of prepaid legal services available but I personally only know of two. There is ARAG which is the company that I currently subscribe to and then there is the more common known company called Legal Shield. Currently, ARAG® only offers legal and financial solutions through employers, organizations or associations. Legal Shield is open to everyone.
I have used ARAG on no less than 4 occasions including when I was recently sued and I have yet to be charged for 3 cease and desist letters to bill collectors and one defense of a summons I was served for non-payment of an old debt. In the case of the summons, I was given instructions on what form to file with the courts, along with a fully detailed outline of what to include in my answer to the summons. Oh, and did I mention that I won the case?
Legal Shield, and companies like it, is a nationwide network of attorneys that provide services for people in need of an on-call attorney for a variety of miscellaneous legal issues at a reduced legal network rate. In some cases, they provide 1 hour free services and often times there is no charge.
On one recent occasion, I was quoted $450 for legal services from a non-network attorney until I remembered that I belonged to the ARAG prepaid legal plan. I called up ARAG and explained what I needed and I received 1 hour free legal services and the only thing I had to pay out of pocket was a $60 court filing fee! Now that’s some kind of savings!
ARAG charges single members just $9.95 a month for their services and I can happily say that it’s some of the best money I’ve ever spent. If debt collectors are going to be armed with legal representation, it would behoove you to arm yourself as well. I don’t use their services near as much as I should because I rarely let debt collectors get under my skin, but I still feel that I’ve gotten my money’s worth.
Legal Shield’s services start at around $17.00 a month depending on what state you live in. Not near the bargain as ARAG but in my opinion still worth it. You always have the option to shop around for similar prepaid legal plans from other companies where you may be able to find a better bargain.
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