When you get a call from a debt collection agency, it might sound confusing initially. If you are running a business, then having debts in the market can be natural. Now, if one of your creditors has hired a commercial collection firm to get the money back, then it is also their right. However, this might create some confusion for you.

Here, we have put together a few points that will help you find out which collection agency you owe and who is the actual lender. Take a look at the following points to know more.

Asking the Original Lender:

The people from the debt collection agency will call you up or send you an email. They are supposed to tell you about their clients who have hired them to address the debt situation. They should be sharing in clear details about the company that is asking for the money. If there is any vagueness in their information or you still have doubts, you can talk to the original lender. Ask them about the debt and whether they have hired a third party agency for business debt collection or not.

Checking Voice Mail or Caller ID:

Any legitimate agency will have its website, voicemail number, or phone number. Check their caller ID to find out if they are registered or not. You can also directly reach their number to find out about their voice mail. While you enter their number on the search engine, you might get to see their website too. Take a look and find out their authenticity.

Check Your Credit Report:

There are many major credit bureaus in each state. Check with them. Get your credit report from them. If the collection agency has reported your credit already to any of the credit bureaus, it should reflect in your credit report too. So, make sure that you can get the report. If the agency is new, you might not see your credit reported though.

Wait for the Call:

If you have already used these above-mentioned methods and you are yet to find any proper answer, then wait for the collection agency to call you. They are most likely to call you and inform you in detail about your debt situation and how you can pay them so that they can pay their clients back.

Negotiation:

Now, once you have identified the debt collection agency, find out who is getting the money. For settling the account, you need to know if the debt collectors have already purchased the debt or not. In that way, even the best collection agencies pay a nominal amount to the creditor. And in turn, they profit from the actual debt. Often, in this case, they can settle for fewer amounts than what you actually owe them. However, be careful and get all the terms written before you make the transaction.

So, now as you know how you can get the information from the debt collection agency about whom you owe the money, use these tips. Make sure the transaction happens safely.

Author's Bio: 

Donald is an expert blogger on business debt collection. Here he writes on how you can know which of the best collection agency you owe.