rapidrecoverysolution

It appears as though the music industry has found a new strategy to cash in on royalties. As music lovers are well aware, at first these companies tried to sue individual users for illegally downloading music. But it is painfully clear that this approach to recover from major financial loss has destroyed their image in the public eye.

In lieu of lowering the price of albums in order to go up against the free music circulating through the internet, the music industry has turned to collection agencies who are now taking legal action against cellphone companies over royalties from ring tones. They claimed that ring tones counted as public performances so cell phone companies should be obligated to pay performance fees. The courts quickly renounced this claim.

After this unsuccessful attempt to collect money, Broadcast Music Inc is now suing T-Mobile over ring back tones, contesting that the cell phone company is selling them without agreeing to licensing agreements. Instead of ring tones, which play out loud when someone calls a cellphone, ring back tones play expressly to the person calling. That is to say, instead of hearing a cellphone dialing tone, the caller will hear a song chosen by the cell owner.

Critics are quick to point out the apparent irony of this lawsuit. If ringtones, which can be heard by anyone around a cellphone, do not constitute public performance, it seems ludicrous to sue the mobile carriers over a ringback tone that can be heard only by the caller. With record companies suffering from huge financial losses, it seems as though they are grasping at straws in order to collect any money that they possibly can.

It does not appear that lowering the cost of CDs, DVDs and other media is an plan that has occurred to the music industry. There are still quite a few fans out there that prefer to collect and own the actual products, but with prices constantly spiking, downloading music for free seems very appealing. Many CDs generally go on sale for about seventeen dollars.

A few bands have bypassed the issue of free music downloads through creative tactics. Radiohead, an alternative rock band, built a website where fans can obtain the mp3s for free, or for a donation. Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor made a similar site. The music industry’s unsuccessful lawsuits and declining public image leads one to believe that thinking outside of the box and lower pricing may be more effective than bullying money out of mobile carriers and individual users.

When speaking with a debtor, many collectors (especially those without much experience) will use a script, which contains a pre-written introduction, request for payment, and has various branches to follow, depending on how the debtor responds. If one debtor in particular is taking up too much time without making arrangements to repay the debt, the collections agent may be inclined to move on to other accounts. Any information that the debtor gives about his/her financial situation (e.g. income or current employment, etc.) will be recorded on the file’s record and used to estimate the probability of a recovery, the advantage of legal action, and so forth.

So what can a collection company do? If they are working the debt 100% commission, they can send some more demand letters and make some more scripted phone calls. They can also mark the item as negative with the credit bureaus. In the case that they are working on contingency, they have the authority to recommend filing suit, or if they own the account, they can file suit themselves. However, the actual chances or intentions of this are often quite less than they try to suggest to the debtor.

Collection companies can not legally seize a debtor’s assets, bank accounts, or garnish wages unless there has been a successful lawsuit already that comes with a judgment awarded in their favor. Collection agencies can’t legally make any kind of public announcements or disclosures concerning the debt, except to the credit bureaus.

Collection companies can not legally get a debtor fired from his/her job. Collection companies can not legally engage in any type of physical violence or threats thereof.

Why does a person in debt pay? A number of times the reasons include guilt, intimidation, fear and a lack of knowledge of the legal remedies available. Plus it is the right thing to do. The debtor may feel guilty and ashamed of being a “deadbeat,” and may perceive a judgment of his/her value as a person. The debtor may have greatly exaggerated ideas about what collectors are (legally) capable of doing, and may have outdated stereotypes in mind.

The debtor may be overwhelmed by the aggressive and relentless demands, from companies that may seem so powerful. She or he may take it personally, and come to the conclusion that great individual attention is being given to this particular collection file. Customers being contacted by collection agencies are typically in serious financial distress, and under emotional pressure about the general situation, so they might be confused and defenseless.