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There was one time that I was having issues with a hospitals billing contractor and they ended up passing my bill to an attorney for collection - I was able to call them and explain what was going on, and they were ultimately fine with passing the bill back to the hospital once they understood that I did intend to pay and was trying to resolve other issues (long story). Hospitals get a lot of people who struggle/fail to pay, so they're pretty used to it. If you have contact information for whoever is actually filing the suit, try to contact them and work something out. Look at it this way, it takes them time and effort to drag it through court, and if you are broke and on disability they're going to have trouble collecting on a judgement anyway. If they can get you onto a payment plan with a 15 minute phone call, that's much better for them as well.
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Dec 13, 2016 15:58
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So I just left court with an order for payments and I have no idea where this debt originated. The judge said there was already a judgement against me for the debt and the hearing was just for a payment plan. The law office I'm supposed to send a payment didn't send a lawyer. Is it possible to dispute this at this point?
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Dec 22, 2016 19:53
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IANAL (and you need a lawyer now) but you are probably boned. At some point prior to this, someone sued you and there was a hearing about the debt where, I guess, you didn't show up and they just got a default judgement against you. In order to unravel it at this point, I think you would have to show there was some deficiency in the previous process - not that the debt wasn't valid/accurate, because the hearing was to resolve that, but that you were not served or notified. I don't even know if that would help you at this point.
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Dec 22, 2016 20:07
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Is this a possible "sewer service" situation where you were never actually served?
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Dec 23, 2016 21:03
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Three-Phase posted:Is this a possible "sewer service" situation where you were never actually served? I definitely was not served. The first notice I had of any court stuff was the sheriffs dept serving me the notice to appear for the payment hearing. Puppy Galaxy fucked around with this message at 20:19 on Dec 24, 2016 |
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Dec 24, 2016 20:14
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Puppy Galaxy posted:I definitely was not served. The first notice I had of any court stuff was the sheriffs dept serving me the notice to appear for the payment hearing. If you weren't served then something is really screwed up here.
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Dec 25, 2016 01:10
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Ask to see the service affidavit. Service isn't always required to be personal. They can sometimes get away with substitute service (leaving it at your place of residence with someone older than 13) or even service by certified mail. Hell. Sometimes they can just tape it to your door and walk away if neighbors confirm you live there.
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Dec 25, 2016 15:08
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Just saw this thread. I had a few collections that I paid off, but I didn't get pay for delete. If they have been paid off am I basically SOL? Is there any other way to clear the paid collections from my report, or am I just hosed until 2022?
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Dec 31, 2016 11:01
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They're on there for 7 years. Paid collections don't hurt that much, though. Yeah, it's not as good as not having collections, but it's still a paid off account. People really underestimate that.
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Dec 31, 2016 18:26
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You're not going to get them to do anything now it's paid. Why would they? The best thing you can do is not get behind on anything again, and recent good history will outweigh the bad.
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Dec 31, 2016 18:46
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The Azn Sensation posted:Just saw this thread. I had a few collections that I paid off, but I didn't get pay for delete. If they have been paid off am I basically SOL? Is there any other way to clear the paid collections from my report, or am I just hosed until 2022? Yeah, don't worry about it. Getting pay for delete is difficult at the best of times and the credit bureaus have been cracking down on it lately. Paid off debt won't hurt you too badly, and it will drop off soon enough. Congrats on paying them off! 
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Dec 31, 2016 20:31
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I have a student loan debt (a private student loan debt, not a federal one) that is about 6 months away from the statute of limitations, and I recently received one of those notices from a debt collector stating that they've acquired the debt and will be attempting to collect on it. In the past I have followed conventional wisdom in this here thread, sent a letter of verification and never heard anything back, but in this case I'm wondering if that would actually just draw some attention to my account and if the correct play isn't just to ignore this and wait it out until the statute has passed. Any advice?
Mikey Purp fucked around with this message at 23:35 on Jan 4, 2017 |
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Jan 4, 2017 21:26
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If you really want advice, get a lawyer. Can't tell you what to do. The first thing I do when I receive a dunning letter is to fire off a DV in writing within 30 days. I get a return receipt and signature required, but USPS hosed me over last time. I use simple language which is plenty effective. I use the FDCPA for reference when dealing with someone I think may be legit, and cite it when I am dealing with a zombie debt collector because it's been effective in getting them to back off. There are a lot of blogs out there regurgitating a lot of bullshit that is not rooted in fact or law. If they're shitheads, I cite the section where it says they're not to contact me and that this is officially a cease-and-desist notice. Either they have their paperwork in order and they were going to proceed whether I demanded validation or not, or they don't have it together and they leave me alone. I think if they're sending me a dunning letter within 6 months of the SOL I'm already on their radar. A short, non-insane DV is not generally going to get them riled up to sue me when they wouldn't otherwise, regardless of what they say. They will tell you the sky is green if they think it'll get money out of you. The farther you get from the OC/closer to the SOL you get, the farther down the evolutionary ladder they are. If you're 6 months from the SOL you've basically got a talking algae overgrowth. I got everything in writing that I could when dealing with Navient, and recorded all phone calls because it was legal to do so in my state and because they said they were recording. They were a loving candida infection with mouths. Debt validation is not about finding some secret gotcha or if a debt collector can't find an arbitrary list of documents transcribed in five colors of ink addressed to the corporate person ::nancy-pants::, whoops, now I don't have to pay them! It's pretty simple: They have With the increasing number of retailer and even government data breaches, it is not difficult for scam artists to look at a credit report and see delinquent debts then pose as debt collectors. Do people actually do this? I don't have a clue. I do know that people pose as law enforcement and the IRS, and I know that they get hold of identifying info, because I have someone from Pakistan with my full SSN calling me every so often claiming to be my "local sheriff," the FBI, and the IRS threatening to arrest me over supposed bad checks unless I put $300 on a Green Dot card. I know that people have been exchanging these debts on memory sticks in back alleys since the technology existed. Seems like there might be some duplicates in there. So no, Dick Wick Debt Collector, I'm not sending you money just because you say I owe it to you now. I'm not going to pay Dick Wick just because he said I owed him just for Joe Blow to come along three years later and produce the paperwork because he's legitimately owned it the whole time, and now I really do have to pay him. And if the guy I really owed it to didn't care enough about it to collect on it within 7 years, I'm not going to pay some jerkoff anything for it, just because he was stupid enough to pay someone for a folder full of them. It's the free market, I hear. BonerGhost fucked around with this message at 23:37 on Jan 4, 2017 |
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Jan 4, 2017 23:27
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Hmm, ok. I mean, I understand the point of a verification letter, but my question really boils down to "what is the best strategy to make it past the SoL without being sued?" From your answer it sounds like you don't think that my actions are going to matter one way or another, and that if they have the info and resources then they'll sue no matter what, but this collector has not attempted any other form of communication yet. Because of that, I'm wondering if this wasn't just a batch letter mailed out to all accounts in their newest folder of junk debts and that my account isn't specifically on their radar at all. If that's possible, then it feels like responding will put my account in front of someone who may then choose to proceed in a last ditch effort when they otherwise wouldn't. I really don't have much of an understanding of how debt collectors think or what their strategies are, so I'm not sure if my debt would be considered a "likely to pay" or "unlikely to pay" scenario for them or what kind of information they even have at hand to make that sort of judgement call. Which leads me to a second question - how much of my personal info i.e. income, credit score, account balances, etc. do these people generally have access to and how much of that do they use to decide which debts to pursue?
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Jan 4, 2017 23:46
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Mikey Purp posted:Hmm, ok. I mean, I understand the point of a verification letter, but my question really boils down to "what is the best strategy to make it past the SoL without being sued?" It has far less to do with your personal income than the amount of the debt. If it's within the SOL and they have their documentation in order, if they care enough to send you a letter they probably care enough to sue you and I can say with almost certainty that they will win. What kind of money we talking? Sending a DV at least lets you get a bead on whether they have their ducks in a row. It's not like they're sitting there saying, "oh well if he doesn't do anything, just toss it in the round file and move on to the next guy but if he pisses us off, sue him out of spite." They might say that or try to give that impression if you talk to them on the phone, but they're debt collectors. Intimidation and emotional manipulation is literally their job. e: your debt is on their radar. Sending you a letter is literally the definition of being on their radar. Sending a DV in response to a dunning letter is not kicking a hornet's nest. Sending a DV to something sitting on your credit report can sometimes rile things up, but that's different than this. An OC has authorization to look at your credit report. I don't think that a third party can look at it unless you give authorization. None of those entities has any authorization for income info unless you hand it to them or otherwise authorize it, but you may have already without thinking about it. The only indication of willingness to pay is going to come from you negotiating with them. If they have their poo poo together, which you would find out by forcing them to validate the debt, it doesn't matter whether you are willing because they can force you with a lawsuit and then a garnishment or account attachment/lien. BonerGhost fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Jan 5, 2017 |
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Jan 5, 2017 00:09
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I don't know if this is the right thread for my situation, as it's UK centric and involves quite a small amount of money (<£100). Should I post it here or is there a more appropriate thread elsewhere?
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Jan 14, 2017 19:11
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Along those lines, since I've started checking on my credit scores and working to improve my credit overall, I've noticed small and old debts that have gone into collections, or maybe moved from one agency to another. Is it correct that it will help my credit score to go back and pay them? These would be amounts less than $100 that collection agencies wouldn't want to bother with a pay-for-delete. I guess my question is how to figure out when these are worth paying, and getting a rough idea of what kind of value for money there would be. I'd also appreciate any tips on negotiating these down, how to do it, when it's worth trying, etc.
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Feb 14, 2017 08:11
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Bad Titty Puker posted:Along those lines, since I've started checking on my credit scores and working to improve my credit overall, I've noticed small and old debts that have gone into collections, or maybe moved from one agency to another. Is it correct that it will help my credit score to go back and pay them? These would be amounts less than $100 that collection agencies wouldn't want to bother with a pay-for-delete. I guess my question is how to figure out when these are worth paying, and getting a rough idea of what kind of value for money there would be. I'd also appreciate any tips on negotiating these down, how to do it, when it's worth trying, etc. There are different credit scores for different purposes. If you are buying a house or a car you should speak with the loan company about their requirements. They generally do not care about paying off small debts and old debts, but you may have to write a letter explaining them. They may require that you pay them off before funding the loan. The older a debt is the less of an impact it has on your credit. Paying off a debt in many cases will have no impact, or a very small impact. Keeping up to date on your current accounts, applying for new accounts, and giving it time will all help. If you are not buying a house it doesn't really make sense to pay off small debts.
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Feb 14, 2017 10:15
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Cool, thanks.
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Feb 14, 2017 13:15
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I'm trying to get a mortgage and the loan officer is telling me that as long as I have this $5,000 collections account on my report, nobody will give me a loan. The account is over 5 years old, so not too far from dropping off. My credit score is in the upper 600s, everything has gone relatively well since I had to walk away from that credit card. I have other cards, a car loan, etc. I'm seeing so many mixed messages about pay-for-deletes. Wondering how best to approach this. Considering offering the collections company something small like $500 to delete. I really don't want to wait 2.5 more years to be able to buy a house, but I cannot pay off this account in full. As for verification, I think this company called me one time in like 2013 but has not contacted me since. If I ask for verification and they cannot furnish it, do they actually remove the account from my credit reports?
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Feb 27, 2017 18:30
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For what it's worth, I had a lot of luck disputing old accounts with credit bureaus. Even old OC stuff was removed. All were past statute and nearing expiration anyway.
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Feb 27, 2017 18:35
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Hmmm. The statute in Colorado where I had this card is 6 years so I'm in the last year of it. The collections account hasn't been updated since 4/15, but the OC account is still updating monthly. On what grounds could I dispute?
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Feb 27, 2017 18:44
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I'd be very careful about trying to negotiate a pay for delete without knowing what I was doing. If you admit you owe that debt you're reaffirming it and resetting all SOLs from the date you reaffirm it. SOL is more of a defense to a lawsuit than anything. It doesn't bar anyone from reporting, bringing suit, or even attempting to collect a debt unless your state specifically bars it. You don't have to have grounds to dispute anything on your credit report. If they're a third party collector, you can look up the FDCPA text (not blogs, the actual law text) and see how to demand they validate the debt; if they continued to report without validation you'd have a reporting violation and leverage at that point. However, that only applies if they're a third party collector and don't have proof of the debt in hand.
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Feb 27, 2017 19:40
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Pay for deletes are basically non-existent nowadays. Might be able to make it happen with the collection agency, they're about the only ones who occasionally do, but it's still really unlikely. Certainly not for a 10% payment though. It wasn't clear from your post if you understood this or not, but you don't have to have the collection entirely gone, you just have to have it paid. It may even be okay to be on some kind of payment plan with the collection agency if they'll give you a letter explaining it (which you give to the lender), if you really need to go that route. You may be able to get the collection account off after it's paid. I've seen good results with disputing through various methods AFTER payment. They're not supposed to do PFDs according to their agreements with the CRAs, but once they have their money, there's really no incentive to be timely with responses or give a poo poo about record keeping. The marks from the OC will be there until they fall off at 7.5 years. What can you afford with regard to this collection? Paying just 50% of it is a pretty standard deal. You can probably get them down to something like 30% Below that would require some real negotiating skills. Call them up, act poor, ask about stretching the payment out, cry a little, hang up and call back the next week, etc. If they haven't sued you yet, they probably aren't going to, but 5k is a fair amount of money so don't tell them you have enough money to be looking to buy a house. If you're worried about reaffirming the debt, just remember to not admit you owe anything annd don't make any preliminary payments without a deal in place. When you strike a deal, have them email you the terms before you send payment. They *probably* aren't going to rip you off, but it never hurts to be sure. Kase Im Licht fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Mar 4, 2017 |
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Mar 4, 2017 23:11
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Thanks that helps. To be clear I am still broke in terms of savings&assets but I'm recently making about $32k with another raise coming. I'm trying ideally for a USDA rural loan which is zero down payment. Unfortunately, the credit standards are quite stringent. They won't accept a paid collections account within the last six months unless I was already on a payment plan prior to that. This is why delete seemed like the only option. Pretty much any money to pay off this account I'd be receiving thru family. Sounds like I'm probably just not buying a house til this drops. I dunno if this makes a difference but my OC is still reporting a balance. Some things I've seen googling around say the OC is supposed to set the balance to zero when they sell off the account to collections, meaning they may have put my account on commission but still actually own the debt?
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Mar 7, 2017 15:00
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Talk to a different mortgage broker. They dont all care about 5 year old debts. You should be checking a bunch of them anyways. But the debt collectors could theoretically sue you after you get abhouse, and if you refuse to pay the judgement they can get a lien on the house and eventually foreclose. Unlikely for $5k.
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Mar 7, 2017 16:24
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The OC could still own the debt and have contracted a third party only to collect it. Short of disputing the tradeline on your report or any dunning letters you may receive in the mail, there isn't a conclusive way to find this out if you're not in contact with them otherwise. I know this isn't about dealing with creditors, but houses cost money beyond your mortgage. Give serious consideration to the fact that if you can't come up with 5k to pay off a delinquent debt to qualify for the loan, if something happens like your hot water heater shits the bed, your HVAC unit breaks down, or you need to fix the roof, you might find yourself overextended.
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Mar 7, 2017 16:24
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NancyPants posted:The OC could still own the debt and have contracted a third party only to collect it. Short of disputing the tradeline on your report or any dunning letters you may receive in the mail, there isn't a conclusive way to find this out if you're not in contact with them otherwise. This. I had to show up to closing on my house with a surprise $1300 with like a days notice. Then my furnace needed replaced. Plan for that poo poo.
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Mar 8, 2017 00:56
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 Is this legal? It says the account was "opened" in April 2016, but the original creditor is an emergency room that I think I last used in 2013. I made a few visits in 2012 and 2013, and I'm pretty sure I didn't visit in 2014, but I definitely did not visit in 2015 or 2016, so it seems strange to me that these two derogatory remarks are listed as "opened" in 2016. These are the only negative remarks on my credit report, so I'd like to get them removed.
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Mar 18, 2017 21:38
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I'm soon going to be negotiating payments for a debt. I'm going to try to get a pay for delete, but don't expect that to work. I'm prepared to pay $150 a month. Since the chance of a pay for delete is probably a bit less low if I negotiate, should I say I can pay $100, and then when they ask for more, say $150 in return for a pay for delete? Or just say $150 initially and when they try to negotiate for more just stand my ground on it?
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Mar 23, 2017 19:05
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22 Eargesplitten posted:I'm soon going to be negotiating payments for a debt. I'm going to try to get a pay for delete, but don't expect that to work. I'm prepared to pay $150 a month. Since the chance of a pay for delete is probably a bit less low if I negotiate, should I say I can pay $100, and then when they ask for more, say $150 in return for a pay for delete? Or just say $150 initially and when they try to negotiate for more just stand my ground on it? Nobody is going to do PFD on a payment plan.
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Mar 23, 2017 22:25
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Yeah, I figured, but I lose nothing by asking. Unfortunately I don't have 5600 on hand to take care of the whole thing. Unless the housing market crashes around here I won't be buying a house for a long time anyway.
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Mar 24, 2017 15:53
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I had a general debt/collections question: if a debt is contested, say in the case of ID theft that someone didn't handle in a timely manner, is it legal for the company to just quietly sell he debt to another company to sort of "kick the can down the road"?
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Mar 24, 2017 20:16
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Three-Phase posted:I had a general debt/collections question: if a debt is contested, say in the case of ID theft that someone didn't handle in a timely manner, is it legal for the company to just quietly sell he debt to another company to sort of "kick the can down the road"? There really isn't very much consumer protection, or even defined procedures, in the FDCPA and FCRA.
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Mar 24, 2017 21:49
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I have a couple debts in various collection agencies that are around $200-500. They are pretty old and my credit report says they are estimated to be removed in ~2019. Should I try and pay for delete or just wait for that? I just saw my credit score on a credit application yesterday and it said 547! Ouch.. Anyone have advice on how I can quickly start rebuilding my score? e: wrong thread? Bleh Maestro fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Apr 4, 2017 |
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Apr 4, 2017 20:26
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Bleh Maestro posted:I have a couple debts in various collection agencies that are around $200-500. They are pretty old and my credit report says they are estimated to be removed in ~2019. Should I try and pay for delete or just wait for that? You're almost certainly not going to get a PFD, credit agencies have cracked down on them and they're not supposed to do it. As for your score, are you trying to get a car or house or other high-dollar loan soon? If not your score doesn't matter too much. Pay your bills on time and pay in full if you can. The longer you do the better your credit history becomes. Don't close paid-off credit that's been extended to you if they don't charge fees - having unused credit will increase your score because it shows you have options and the discipline not to use them. The Credit Karma website will give you more specific suggestions and is free I believe. Longer-term goals to help your finances: Start a budget and stick to it. There are other threads in BFC that can help. Pay off credit cards in full if you can. If not, pay them down until you can, and then don't carry a balance. You pay way more in interest and fees than if you just paid it directly. Once you pay it off in full each month you won't be charged interest at all. Mathematically it's best to pay off the highest interest loans first, but some people like to do a debt "snowball" where they pay off the smallest one first, then use the money that would have gone to that on the next-lowest, so on and so on until they're still paying the same per month but are attacking their debt aggressively by the end.
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Apr 12, 2017 14:44
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Credit scores are used from everything to employment background checks to setting insurance rates. It absolutely loving matters even if you're not trying to push a new loan as hard as possible.
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Apr 12, 2017 22:31
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Gotta agree with Pryor - especially on car insurance rates unless you are in a state that doesn't allow using credit scores to determine insurance rates.
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Apr 12, 2017 23:10
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Ok I think but haven't confirm that I have a very small debt floating around, I'm talking like $60 from an unpaid cable termination bill years ago. I received a letter 2 years ago from a collections agency and nothing since. But I've been receiving daily calls form an unknown number I have yet to pick up and answer but I'm guessing it got passed off to another collector. I have no debt besides this, I recently checked my credit and nothing shows up it's all clean. What should I do in this situation? I read something about "Nuisance Debts" in which banks/creditors will ignore small debts under $100. I'm planning to answer one of these calls but I'm not sure it's worth validating and paying it or if it'll likely never effect me.
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Apr 18, 2017 23:48
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Did you check all three bureaus? If it's not on any of your credit reports, gently caress 'em. Block the number on your phone, or start answering it and practice your Liam Neeson "I have a very particular set of skills" speech.
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Apr 20, 2017 04:09
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