The Secret World of Debt Collection: Beat Collectors at Their Own Game—A Former Collections Executive Reveals How Paperback – May 22, 2015

Im in the credit repair space and so I love reading any book related to consumer law. Mr. Cardoza gives some applicable tools to help with the debt collection process. Even life advice. Great book !!!!

A few days ago, received a call from a collection agency. The HOV toll lanes on 495 passed me over to a "Law Enforcement Group" for collection. (I never got a violation notice, bucko!) I started to receive a number of phone calls and several dire-looking letters about my malfeasance. I have also a relative by marriage who is sketchy so people are always looking for that person. Ordered the Kindle edition of "the secret world of debt collection" by Mike Cardoza because it seemed appropriate to this situation. I instantly began reading it the minute I got it from Amazon. The book is wonderful: everything you needed to know about these wretched companies. (Cardoza says not to take it personally, but unfortunately I do.) The book is readable, well constructed, Informative and gives you the tools to really level the playing field for ordinary people like me.Why doesn't anybody tell you this stuff? We are besieged by ads about our credit scores and to help us to get out of debt, fee based. Also, knowing your credit score is important. However, it is nothing to be too terribly worried about, says Cardoza if you follow his advice and check them once in a while...One suggestion for the author is to talk a little more about debt. For example, you do not want to stiff the Internal Revenue Service. Those people do not mess around.What Cardoza does in a funny and realistic way is to explain things that are pretty frightening to the uninformed. I strongly recommend this book to people who even have the most casual relationship to legal and collectional agencies. Good job Mike Cardoza, Esquire.

The book was moreso a “Debt Collection 101”. It gave nuggets here and there but nothing really useful for the reader to apply when these agencies. The knowledge in this book can also be found in the FDCP act. I wouldn’t re-read

Best thing I’ve read on this. Wish I had read it before. I’d actually be moving on with my life instead of fighting endless creditors

I really liked this book. I wish it were longer and more detailed but it definitely is unique in that the author worked for a debt buying company in the past. I think this book is interesting and helpful for anyone interested in consumer debt and/or credit repair.

Very poor, Poorly written. I didn't think it was informative at all. It seemed to me that he was just shooting his mouth off. It's easier said than done. And you probably won't win.

Generally, I think this is a very good book with good advice for consumers with general credit card or payday loan debt. I do have a few points where I would disagree. Well, not so much disagree, as I think there are several unstated shortcomings to the strategy of not paying the debt and just keeping a log of FDCPA violations on which to bring a private right of action.First, I think the book understates the harm (psychic, reputational, and economic) of ignoring debt collectors. Debtors need to understand that unscrupulous collectors may use some pretty harsh language, and debtors will need very thick skin to deflect the constant barrage of insults coming from wave after wave of collectors when adopting the don’t-pay strategy. And there will be the reputational injury if those collectors call family members or third parties (the fact that such calls are illegal does not cure the reputational harm). And there are possible economic consequences if bad-actor collectors call employers (again, even if such calls are illegal). I’m not saying that the strategy proposed in the book is wrong, I’m just saying consumers need to fully appreciate what is in store if they follow that course.Second, I think the book assumes (perhaps over optimistically) that the debtor and his or her lawyer will be able both to identify and locate the unlawful collector. Many collection boiler room are located offshore and it is unclear if you could get jurisdiction over them. Further, with commercial mail drops and Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VOIP) phone service and fictitious business names, it is getting easier and easier for collectors to hide who they are and where they are located. Thus, I don’t think it is a given that a debtor would always be successful in bringing a private action, if only because he or she may be unable to locate the defendant company.Finally, there are several larger-ticket and well-papered categories of debt in which the collectors are likely to go to litigation and likely to win even if the debtor does show up. Student loans, automobiles, and mortgages come to mind. Thus, the book’s strategy is probably best for generic credit card and payday loan debt.

Great book from an insider. Read it if you want to learn about the debt collection business or figure out a way around it.

A good structured book with both practical and technical advice it was a very good read well done thanks again