So we've been having some people reach out to us about the confusion related to the temporary Covid-19 moratorium on collections.

While it is true that many creditors are offering a welcomed short-term forbearance on regular payments, each program is a little different. Some offer 0% interest, while others just suspend payments for a short period of time.

This is by no means universal, and it may not be available to people who were already in default prior to the forbearance programs.

Because many civil courts have reduced services, or are placing restrictions on certain civil actions, this has led some people to erroneously believe that their debts are either being written off, or are not collectible in the future.

While you may be experiencing some temporary relief from collection activity such as evictions, foreclosures, or garnishments, this is not going to last forever, and we have already being seeing a spike in garnishment activity by collection agencies.

A good rule of thumb is to regularly pull your credit report and see what is appearing.  Since not everything shows up on a credit report, you should try to keep a good record of any collection agencies that send you correspondence in the mail.  Sometimes multiple collection agencies are working the same account, but it is a good idea to keep at least one current letter from each one to show your attorney.

By all means, you should take advantage of any relief from collection, but without a written statement from the creditor forgiving the loan, or a Bankruptcy discharge, you should consider all of these debts active and collectible.