There are certain tips and tricks that you should know about while dealing with a collection agency which a travel company has sent after you. Hundreds of people face this problem all the time and it is best in your interest that you know how to deal with it beforehand.
Firstly, you must always be aware of the rights that you have. If a debt has not been incurred by you, then you have the right NOT to pay it. If a client does not pay then the company can hire a collection attorney and have you sued. But this is only in the case of you having incurred the debt in reality. If the court rules in your favour then the company cannot try to recover the debt from you.
Secondly, no representative of the collection agency can just walk in to your house and beat you up if you do not pay the money at once. If a collector does contact you about recovering a certain amount then they have to follow the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. By that act they can send you a written notice only five days after the call. After the notice, you can try and dispute that charge within a period of a month. The best way to dispute is to do so through writing. However, if the debt is not yours then you should inform the collection agency and even then if they persist then you should contact a consumer law attorney.
Thirdly what are the chances that the travel agency will actually transfer your account to a collection agency. There are certain criteria based on which accounts are transferred and these depends on the amount of money the debt is worth. Also remember that collection agencies do not accept all accounts from all companies. If they feel that the account is not worth it, or that the company itself is not completely creditable then they would not even take the account.
To conclude you should know how to negotiate and bargain with the travel agencies and the collection agencies as well. Talking things out always helps and you can always work out a mutually profitable and yet flexible deal. These agencies can be accommodating as well at times. You just need to be aware of the rules and talk things over.
