Last Saturday I had one of those mornings: my alarm clock never went off, I had no clean socks, Mooshu (my cat) stole my work shoes and hid them in his “fort” (inside my box spring, which he clawed open as a kitten) I had twenty minutes to get to work.

As I ran through my apartment getting ready, a 1-800 number showed up on my cell.

“Oh look who finally picked up,” an unfamiliar woman’s voice said. Stunned I replied, “Excuse me?”

It was a debt collector calling to notify me that I was one month late on a credit card payment.

“Yes, I know,” I said while crawling under my bed for my shoes. I explained to her how I was in London and had already notified the bank that the month’s payment would be late. I explained that I would be paying off the card in full the following Monday morning (two days away).

She snickered and replied, “I’m sure” in a mocking tone.

Telling the woman repeatedly that I was late for work and could not talk about the matter, she pressured me into giving her the bottom numbers on one of my blank checks. “This,” she explained condescendingly, “will be easier than you messing around at the bank.”

If I had not paid off my card on Monday, she informed me, then the debt department would send a check in my name to pay off my card.

Ignorant whether a collector could tamper with my credit score if I hung up the phone or refused their offer, I said “all right,” hung up and hurried to work.

Right away, I regretted giving her the numbers. Speeding to work, I thought, “what if she didn’t work for the bank, what if I can’t get to the bank to put the money into my account, what if all my money is gone when I get home?”

For the next few days, I checked my online banking statement meticulously.

As promised, I went to my bank at 9 a.m. Monday morning and paid off my entire credit card and told the teller what happened. She was shocked and said that she never heard of their debt department harassing and pressuring a customer. We called the debt department’s manager and both verbally authorized that the card had been paid off and so that no checks would be sent in my name.

After, the teller said that if there was any unauthorized fluctuation in my checking account, to call immediately. “They are not authorized to harass you like that,” she said. “Next time, just hang up the phone.”

Days passed and I began to feel more at ease about my misjudgment. Then, one morning I noticed that a few thousand dollars was missing from my checking account. Going to the bank instantly, I soon learned that the debt collector who called my house previously had made out a check to pay off my card without my authorization.

Spending three hours in the bank making sure my money would be put back into my checking account, that my credit card had been paid off and that my credit would not be damaged, I was finally told that my money would not be restored for another week.

Because my account had been depleted due to the unauthorized check and in the process of being restored, I could not take any money out of or put any money into my account all of my utility bills were late.

This situation could have been worse than a bad headache; because of my ignorance about money matters, I could have had identity theft and/or lost all of my savings. This is why it is important for people of all ages, especially young adults with newfound freedom and expenses, to understand how to manage their accounts and to understand what banks legally can and cannot do.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov), “debt collectors may not harass, oppress or abuse you or any third parties they contact.”

Some examples the site gives are: collectors may not use obscene or profane language, repeatedly use the telephone to annoy someone, use any false or misleading statements when collecting a debt, say that they will seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages, unless the collection agency or creditor intends to do so or deposit a post-dated check prematurely.

I was harassed and pressured to make an ignorant decision I was not comfortable with – young adults every day are. So, I am going to see what can be done about this situation.

Originally published Sunday July 20, 2008