You've been placed in a deep financial hole along with millions of other people due to a poor economy. You might have lost your job due to the famous "downsizing" and have not been able to secure another position. Your bills are piling up and you're possibly facing bankruptcy.
Your financial problems don't mean that you have to be harassed by your creditors. There is protection under the Fair Debt Collection Act. You can not be verbally, mentally or physically abused in order for someone to collect on a debt (an obligation to pay money for a transaction whether from something tangible or intangible). The Act covers many things to help protect the debtor from cruel collection practices.