Comment was about knowing your finances so you can figure out whether you are being scammed.

If your credit rating is staying that high, it sounds like your debt may be going to the collections department rather than being sold to a debt collector, which is a different thing entirely. That said, I was trying to be constructive. I understand Obamacare is available to everyone, so snarkily implying you have…

You don't have my situation correct at all. But your take on how people react is interesting. If there is a lack of empathy on my part, it is that I tend to get angry and fight rather than check out. The latter is a reaction I have seen, but utterly fail to understand.

You seem to also have a lot of anger. Where does my comment say people who default don't deserve to "get by"? In fact, did you read the part where I acknowledge that says "Life set-backs . . . might result in a debt going into collection—even for reasons that aren't personal finance mismanagement"? Seems like you…

I think proactively managing your finances would give you a better, not worse, window into identity theft.

If this is happening to Mr. M several times a year, I might suggest investigating alternative insurance options, alternative medical providers, or better coordination with the doctor's office. That is not, in my view, normal. And it has to be seriously fucking with your credit.

Eh, it's early, should probably edit better. But this article is actually about fake debt collectors. So it isn't really about cars that need repairs. It's about the mechanic who claims your tranny is shot when it isn't.

Actually, I'm not. I'm just advocating that having stuck the needle in your arm doesn't mean you should give up and abandon all hope of sobriety. Again, having unpayable debt doesn't mean that you have to suddenly resign yourself to having the bills go to collection. Or open yourself to fraudulent debt…

Don't be an ass. Did you not read the part where I actually acknowledge that people can have bad luck that results in your finances going haywire? Don't you think that actually keeping an active eye on your finances is the best way of identifying any of the situations you've identified?

Explain where you think I'm being elitist, since that seems to pervade your comment. Is it advocating knowing who you owe? Keeping track of your finances? There's nothing about what I've said that demands a high income. If you truly believe that your income is that insecure, you should manage your money even more…

I agree with what you are saying, and have dealt with a lot of folks in dire straits. I'll observe that this article is actually about fraudulent debt collection, so it really isn't addressed to people actually in financial extremis. I would also note that the head-in-the-sand approach, while perhaps attractive, is…

OK, that's fair—medical bills with negotiated amounts tend to be relatively inscrutable. But you can call your medical provider and insurance company to figure out what you actually owe, if anything. And if you don't have insurance, you might as well ignore all the calls and just declare bankruptcy.

I don't think I've missed that point. I think the point you are missing is that knowing your are the subject of unlawful harassment and actually stopping the unlawful harassment are two different things. This article presents one way of identifying illegitimate harassment. I've presented another, which is keeping…

Agreed—this article isn't about people in dire straits. It is about avoiding being a victim of fraud. I'd submit the best way of avoiding that is to actually keep track of who you owe. I don't have to ask a debt collector three questions to know I don't owe them anything.

I don't think you are being fair to my comment. First, I'm not advocating never having debt, although I do think people are too quick to pull the trigger on deficit spending. Second, the premise of this article is about fraud—the idea that someone posing as a debt collector will fraudulently try to collect from you.…

Agreed, but you should still know the amount of the debt and when it goes to collection. And I'd argue that there are often ways of keeping debt from going to collection, even if you can't pay.

Learning to read might be a start—see there where it says "I recognize that people can hit set-backs and situations where they end up in that position due to bad luck." Having debt you can't pay and mismanaging debt (i.e., ending up in a situation where things are so out of control that a debt collector you can't…

So, in your book, it is somehow normal for people to have debts—that go into collection status—and not even know whether the debts are legit or not? Life set-backs that might result in a debt going into collection—even for reasons that aren't personal finance mismanagement—don't mean you stop paying attention to who…

I prefer the tactic of managing my money so I don't end up with debt in collection status. I recognize that people can hit set-backs and situations where they end up in that position due to bad luck, but I'd hope, even in that situation, I'd know who I owe and manage the debt appropriately.

As far as the Japanese go, I just suggested in another post that Kenzaburo Oe should be on there—he's got a Nobel Prize in Literature, for god's sake—or maybe Haruki Murakami. Really sort of sad.