My creditors are lovely, lovely people.
They call here almost every day, so faithfully, an ever-optimistic crew of people who actually believe in me. They have high hopes that I will recover from my temporary cash flow crisis, and they let me know that they have faith in me.
Really, with creditors like these, who needs friends?
There is Alex in Vancouver. He has a soft, mellifluous voice to match the memorable 1-800 number he calls from. Always a joy to see it pop up on my screen. He believes in me so much that he has said any payment, no matter how tiny, would keep the account open.
Unlike my friends, my creditors never fail to return my calls. They are never forgetful, always reliable, always cheerful, and even when they are not so happy, yes even when they get angry with me, I know it is only because they care about my financial recovery just as much as I do.
I have a good relationship with my creditors because I actively pursue them. Unlike other debtors, I call them up before they call me: I call them first and say "company so-and-so has advised me that you are the collection agency currently holding my personal debt to them; I wish to advise you that I am doing everything in my power to attend to this matter promptly; I wish to make a good faith payment as soon as possible but I do not have a mailing address or contact information for you other than this phone number; also, I do not as of yet have my file number; please return my call at your convenience." I will admit that I am a model debtor, and that good debtors make for good creditors; but even so, I never fail to be impressed with the adorability factor amongst my creditors.
The other day, when I got a new job, the only person who congratulated me, was the creditor representing the company that is currently pursuing my biggest credit card debt. When she said "congratulations" her voice was so warm, her tone so heartfelt, that I actually believed she meant it.
I was touched.
