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I'm at work trying to unfuck my credit. This thread has been an immense help. I'm sitting on 1,400ish on a credit union visa. Unfortunately, I was stupid and that's under judgement, but it's down from the 2,300 last year and isn't reporting as a judgement, but "Pays as agreed, account closed by customer" possibly due to negotiating the terms before being served. I'm not sure how that worked, but I have some faith that they'll work with me when the debt is finally paid off for a less destructive trade line. The other two are trickier. One 100 copay debt from a hospital in collections... Somewhere. I have no idea where, I haven't heard from these people in a long time. The original debt is about 2 years old now. One 435 dollar Verizon bill. Also a collections account in god knows where. Being homeless a couple months and then kind of bouncing around for a year afterward has ditched any phone calls or letters. The medical bill is coming from a collections group I've never heard from, and Verizon is only showing the OC trade line in spite of being nearly 2 years old, and having been told they're not in ownership of the debt anymore. I fired off disputes To the CRAs questioning them. Either they'll get dropped (haha, loving unlikely) or it'll announce to whomever is trying to get money out of me exactly where to mail the dunning letters and get this poo poo out of the way. Neither of these is out of any reason to pay, but I've actually been actively stalling on doing anything with the Verizon one for the last couple months hoping they'd sell the fucker and give me a shot at a PFD. Edit: how different are medical bills compared to regular credit collections? The hospital bill shows up in a completely unrelated area of my reportfrom the cc and phone accounts. If I just pay them the 100 bucks, will it disappear without the need for all the PFD negotiations and sending letters back and forth? Hell, is it even affecting my credit at all? I'm not bothered by throwing 100 at them to make it go away, a little research tells me this is basically that hospital's collections group, rather than a debt buyer. Vegastar fucked around with this message at 07:23 on Mar 16, 2012 |
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Mar 16, 2012 06:52
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a rowdy mullet posted:Or would they just sell the remainder to another collection agency and gently caress me over? I've spoken to a couple reps there and they're just bullshitting me and saying they don't do PFD's Based on this CA's reputation and your experience with them, you have a challenge ahead of you. Officially, PFDs aren't allowed by the CRAs, so perhaps you can word it a little differently. Something along the lines of, "I don't think this debt is really mine but I'll pay you x dollars to make it go away." They can't really agree to an outright PFD, but if they aren't able to validate the debt (which is highly likely) then they can't report it legally anyway, and they still get their money. You could also probably get the same outcome without spending any money, and spending the money won't necessarily make this process go any faster, so my professional recommendation as a certified internet forum poster is to DV them, wait for them to not respond/respond with a bullshit form letter, and then dispute with the CRAs. If the CRAs verify the debt after the CA fails to, go nutcase and tell the CRA that continued reporting is a violation, etc. After I stopped paying my credit cards a couple years ago, and reading a lot about debt collection since then, it seems highly arbitrary whether you will end up with all the negative tradelines removed from your credit report or not. Some people are able to get all of it removed, even poo poo from OCs. Others get sued. I had well over $20k in credit card debt with three OCs that I stopped paying, and I got a lot of phone calls there for a while. Once the OCs got tired of me, I was getting Dunning letters every month. I was at USPS a lot filling out green cards. I think every CA in the state had my account at least once. After the first year, the Dunning letters slowed to a crawl, and now it's been months since anybody has bothered me about it. I haven't tried disputing anything with the CRAs, but I'm curious how many negatives I could get removed, even if they're legitimate? I might have a slight advantage in that I'm Big Taint the Third, could I convince the CRA that all those delinquent accounts belong to a different Big Taint, not me?
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Mar 16, 2012 07:21
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Is it okay for a debt collection agency to charge interest on a debt, and then use our payments to pay for the interest first, rather than the principal? That means we will never be able to pay it off, right?
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Mar 16, 2012 18:11
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Oppenheimer posted:Is it okay for a debt collection agency to charge interest on a debt, and then use our payments to pay for the interest first, rather than the principal? That means we will never be able to pay it off, right? Isn't that how every loan works?
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Mar 16, 2012 21:22
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Yes, if your payments are less than or equal to the interest accrued you will never pay it off.
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Mar 16, 2012 22:31
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Oppenheimer posted:Is it okay for a debt collection agency to charge interest on a debt, and then use our payments to pay for the interest first, rather than the principal? That means we will never be able to pay it off, right? What are you doing borrowing money if you don't know what a loan is? Fake edit: in order to make this post somewhat informative rather than snide, the way loans work is that if you fail to pay the interest, it is added to the principal; so the phrase "paying for the interest first" is either nonsensical or redundant, depending on perspective.
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Mar 17, 2012 01:42
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Oppenheimer posted:Is it okay for a debt collection agency to charge interest on a debt, and then use our payments to pay for the interest first, rather than the principal? That means we will never be able to pay it off, right? Are they charging interest pursuant to your agreement with the original creditor or interest for a past due judgment as set by the relevant state? They might not be allowed to charge interest at all or might only be allowed to charge a smaller amount than they actually are. Then again, it could be legitimate, but if you're paying a significant chunk every month and it only goes up, then I'd advise consulting with a lawyer if possible.
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Mar 17, 2012 07:32
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Donny posted:What are you doing borrowing money if you don't know what a loan is? It was for a hydro bill.
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Mar 17, 2012 22:56
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I ran into some BS a while back (2009) regarding an apartment rental, long story short they screwed me over by hitting my credit (for $500) and I didn't get the notice of debt until well after the time that I was able to dispute it (it wasn't sent certified mail or anything). So I called the collection agency (Fair Collections and Outsourcing) and offered to just pay it off in return for them deleting the item from my credit report, and they said that they don't delete items from credit reports. I didn't acknowledge that I owned the debt over the phone or whatever. What should I do now? Should I still send them a debt verification letter or what? Dolphin fucked around with this message at 16:21 on Mar 23, 2012 |
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Mar 23, 2012 15:56
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Roger_Mudd posted:Yes TW either cashed the check after writing it off or cashed the check and then sold the debt. I ended up sending them a 2nd letter telling them I'm done with this and to take it up with Time Warner and also sent a copy to the state attorney. They got back to me and told me everything was settled and to go on my merry way. Thanks for your help.
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Mar 23, 2012 16:10
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This got E/N and longer than I thought, but is it seriously worth paying off old collections? For reference last summer I pulled up a credit report, and my score seemed fine actually, considering. It was mid 600's. Anyway, I'm in az, I think the SOL is 7 years. I have 3-4 debts on my credit report I'm considering flaking out on because I'm trying to buy a house, and I'm afraid paying them as they're coming on 6-7 years. I've read that paying these old collections hurt your credit, and that just seems weird. I do have a few positive open lines that have never been late, 2 successful mortgages that were paid off when I sold, and a car that was paid off. I think there's a loan in there for about 5k and some other stuff, but nothing too bad, I was a pretty responsible 20-25 year old. All these positives seem like they'll disappear as well (I'd assume?). The collections: 2 are medical in the 100-200 range I didn't even know about, 1 is a 500 or so credit card, and the other one was a 500ish credit card I recently paid. About that last one, these people were calling random people in my very small extended family saying they were the sheriff's department and wanted to know where to find me. I googled the number and it was a collection agency so I never called them back, because even though I didn't want any debt hanging on me, I thought that that's a pretty lovely thing to do. Finally they called my mom, and she really thought I was in trouble, so I caved. They tried to get 3000 dollars, saying it was interest over 5 years blah blah, and I haggled with them and got them to go under 1000. That seemed like the lowest I could get, from a $500 limit card. Anyway, I paid them, they sent me a release of liability form, and I'll send it out when I'm sure there's no voodoo magic in the wording of the contract, some of it seems sketchy. These people also brought on anxiety like I've never had, I pretty much had a nervous breakdown at one point, and I'm still recovering from it, seriously it was that bad talking to these people, and I wish I was kidding. I'm a weak old man now, I've handled any debt issues like a champ in the past. I'm really worried about that other card now, and whether or not I should pay it. I want to, because I don't want to steal money or whatever, it's the morally correct thing to do. Also, I have some kind of legal insurance through work, and I called several lawyers that supposedly did debt settlement, and they all told me they only do bankruptcies, so I'm guessing I'm on my own here, because I don't want to pay someone to do this for me. I'm too weak to handle the stress/negotiation on my own, and too poor for an accountant. Any advice here? I'm also worried that paying that one collection just brought me under 600 or something, and I'm afraid to even run a report at this point.
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Mar 24, 2012 08:28
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I'd start with sending DV letters to all of the negative accounts on your credit report. Make sure you state clearly that you don't believe the debt is yours, and are requesting validation or removal from your credit report. Give them 30 days, and see what they do. If they validate and it's legit, then start working with them (in writing) about a possible settlement. If they are seriously that old, you should be paying <50% of the original debt, disregarding their bullshit fees and interest. If they don't satisfactorily validate, then send them another letter telling them that continued reporting or collection attempts is a violation of the FDCPA and you would have the right to sue them. Also dispute them with the CRAs, try to get them off that way. Lastly, try to take it easy, many CAs are purposely trying to exploit you with fear and shame, you need to understand that you're not a bad person because you couldn't repay a debt. They are fuckers, don't let them get to you.
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Mar 25, 2012 14:31
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dkhertz posted:
This is so illegal. Hire an attorney and sue them.
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Mar 25, 2012 18:31
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So, I have a debt collection agency calling about money I owe them and they won't send a second debt verification letter. "We only send it once." Well, I didn't get the first one and they're demanding I "make an arrangement" with them by basically giving them my bank account number or debit card number. Not happening. When they call again in 6 days, I'll tell them the same thing I told them today. Written verification or they get nothing from me.
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Mar 26, 2012 21:21
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chipclip posted:So, I have a debt collection agency calling about money I owe them and they won't send a second debt verification letter. "We only send it once." Well, I didn't get the first one and they're demanding I "make an arrangement" with them by basically giving them my bank account number or debit card number. Not happening. When they call again in 6 days, I'll tell them the same thing I told them today. Written verification or they get nothing from me. Ask the company name and look up their address on the internet. Then send them a DV letter. They sent a dunning letter not a debt verification letter. 
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Mar 26, 2012 23:40
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Roger_Mudd posted:I'm biased but find an attorney in your area. Most will offer a free consultation and you can figure out your options. It's my opinion that the vast majority of "debt consolidation" companies are scams. This man speaks truth. You basically MUST get a bankruptcy attorney. And that's not a smug self-interested response, but bankruptcy is purposefully convoluted to require an attorney. On a weekly basis I see people lose thousands with pro se cases, with rare exceptions where it's obvious a close family member knew bankruptcy. Even if you are super-organized and research on your own, do-it-yourself bankruptcy is a terrible idea.
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Mar 26, 2012 23:58
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What exactly counts as debt verification? What do they have to do to prove that a debt is legitimate? And how exactly does the original debtor prove that a debt is legitimate in court anyway?
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Mar 27, 2012 04:51
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ratbert90 posted:Ask the company name and look up their address on the internet. Then send them a DV letter. They sent a dunning letter not a debt verification letter. That's what I meant I guess. So, now, I have this outfit NCO Financial calling me to collect on a legitimate debt for a credit card I fell behind on and I am 90 days past due, etc. I do not want to give these people any information if I do not have to. I'm calling the card issuer this morning to check on the status of my account, because logging into the online site for the card, it appears I can still make payments directly to them. So, if the card issuer says I can still make payments directly to them, how should I handle NCO Financial? I'm willing to settle the debt, but not without written verification that they do indeed own the debt and written proof that my payments to them are being counted and, eventually, settled. Update: Called the card issuer and they directed me to a phone number which turned out to be NCO Financial. Called em up and explained that I'm willing to settle the debt, but I need something in writing. They will not send a second notification to me and wouldn't stop repeating "How would you like to settle the outstanding debt, sir?" I lost my cool and thought I'd hung up, but instead accidentally let fly a "gently caress you" before I noticed they were still on the line. I'm guessing this can't help my case. Now it appears I'm beholden to these shady assholes and I've managed to already become so frustrated with them that I've basically cursed them out. Seriously wondering what that will do. Tell me, goons, what is the next step? chipclip fucked around with this message at 14:25 on Mar 27, 2012 |
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Mar 27, 2012 13:51
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Unless someone jumps in after me and proves otherwise, what you want to ask for is essentially a Pay for Delete. First, I'd recommend against contacting them by phone anymore. It prevents them from getting your Irish up and you responding accordingly. Talk to them via Certified Mail; it's trackable, so they can't claim you didn't try to deal with them in good faith. Here's what I sent to a debt collector a while back; I believe it was based off a form letter I found after some Googling. Just fill in the particulars for your own case. quote:<date> I should point out that the place I sent my own letter to never responded at all (it's been nearly 2 months). So who knows?
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Mar 27, 2012 16:24
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Corkscrew posted:Unless someone jumps in after me and proves otherwise, what you want to ask for is essentially a Pay for Delete. This is basically where I'm at, I've sent both a PFD and a verification request to a debt collector and haven't heard anything back from them. Would it be wise to dispute it with one of the credit agencies who lists the debt on my credit report?
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Mar 27, 2012 20:20
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Corkscrew posted:Unless someone jumps in after me and proves otherwise, what you want to ask for is essentially a Pay for Delete. Thanks, I'll use this and see what happens.
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Mar 28, 2012 11:49
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I settled my debt with the collection agency plaintiff, now they mailed me a "stipulation and order for dismissal without prejudice" to sign and return to them. A quick google tells me without prejudice means they can litigate against me in the future, is that correct? What's my next play?
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Mar 29, 2012 15:29
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DrPain posted:I settled my debt with the collection agency plaintiff, now they mailed me a "stipulation and order for dismissal without prejudice" to sign and return to them. Did you pay them up front in full? I'm guessing it's a payment plan and they want the ability to sue you if you don't make payments.
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Mar 29, 2012 19:23
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Roger_Mudd posted:Did you pay them up front in full? I'm guessing it's a payment plan and they want the ability to sue you if you don't make payments. I made payments of $100 in december and january to show good faith and stop legal action. Feb 28th I made a lump payment for the negotiated balance. Now they sent me this stipulation.
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Mar 29, 2012 20:37
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DrPain posted:I made payments of $100 in december and january to show good faith and stop legal action. Feb 28th I made a lump payment for the negotiated balance. Now they sent me this stipulation. We'll the good news is, if they try and drag you to court again you could pretty easily show that you have paid the debt in full. I'd demand dismissal with prejudice but ultimately the debt is paid and pretty easily proved.
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Mar 30, 2012 13:58
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Corkscrew posted:I should point out that the place I sent my own letter to never responded at all (it's been nearly 2 months). So who knows? Lblitzer posted:This is basically where I'm at, I've sent both a PFD and a verification request to a debt collector and haven't heard anything back from them. Would it be wise to dispute it with one of the credit agencies who lists the debt on my credit report? Could anyone comment on what happens at this point? I sent the exact form letter posted a few posts above via certified mail. I have the receipt stating that they got it about two months ago. Today I received a form letter saying that they hadn't heard from me, completely ignoring the letter I sent. They want me to call them, which seems like a Bad Idea. I have the money to pay it off, and it's a valid 'debt'-- my employer (US Air Force) overpaid me and rather than accepting the money back decided to sell the debt to a collection agency. I just want the debt off my credit report. Do I send another letter? How long do I wait before I appeal to the credit agency?
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Apr 3, 2012 21:34
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God I fucking love Diablo 3 gold, it even paid for this shitty title
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I'm going through a dilemma regarding my internet access through Time Warner Cable. I signed up last Wednesday, they came by Saturday and installed it, and then I got a call this Monday afternoon stating that my service was going to be canceled because a past tenant at that address owed them $300. The thing is, I don't even know this person. Trying to work it out with them is impossible because the Collections people are adamant that this has to be paid. Ugh. I don't know if they're a third-party collections agency (I don't think so, since everyone I've talked to has referred to them as the "collections department"), so I don't know if I can pull the FCRA card. They're claiming that since I've lived at my current location for roughly two years and this person's account went delinquent last year, it's "attached to the address". I was in and out a lot of the time for the first year I was there, spending way more time at the house of a girl I was dating, out with friends, at work, etc. and only coming there to sleep and change clothes/whatever. There were a few other people who were staying there at the time and were in and out much like I was (subletters, like myself) and I think this debt belongs to one of them, but I have no way of getting a hold of this person and even then they'll probably tell me to piss off if I contact them to try and get them to pay. So now I've basically spent around $150 (installation and first month) for internet access that I got to use for two whole days. Any advice? Thanks, gang.
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Apr 5, 2012 00:04
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They have the right to refuse to sell you their product, but you should be able to get a refund for what you paid. If they refuse to give you a refund, you have several options. If you paid by credit card you can file a chargeback to get your money back. If you paid by check you should contact your bank and get a stop payment on the check. If the check has already gone through or you paid in cash, it will be more difficult, I'd suggest contacting your state attorney general.
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Apr 5, 2012 04:48
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Konstantin posted:They have the right to refuse to sell you their product, but you should be able to get a refund for what you paid. This is generally true but there are usually more guarantees of access if your state considers cable a "utility." I have no idea if it does but it might be worth your time on Google to find out if: 1) cable is considered a utility 2) if yes, the grounds that they can deny access 3) if yes, who over sees utility access in your state and how to contact them
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Apr 5, 2012 14:13
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YeahDavidLeeRoth posted:So I open the letter from the agency. It tells me I owe $1015. However, I have in my hand the last statement I received from the hospital. That amount shows $331. So I got a response from the collection agency. It's just a print out from the hospital showing the charges and what I've paid. It does show the payment that I most recently paid. This brings the total they show to $929.57. The discrepancy from the statement I received to what they are showing here is sneaky on the hospitals part. When I had these services I was uninsured. They gave me an uninsured patient discount. That was $683.90. They have put that amount back on the bill. Any thoughts on this? I think it's lovely on the part of the hospital. I owe the money, I know this, but that part rubs me up the wrong way.
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Apr 6, 2012 00:45
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Okay, need advice. Just got a call from a collections agency. They're filing tomorrow (Good thing they sent ANYTHING in the mail, I never knew about it), to "enforce the judgement". Here's the lowdown: About 8 years ago, opened a jeweler's card, bought some poo poo. Maybe 600 dollars worth of poo poo. Right now the "principal" is up to 1500 and some change. They've already filed a judgement (Again, no notice on that either). That judgement was in 2006 for the 1500. Well, it's about to fall off my credit, so they're back at it. They're offering me a "settlement" of 1300 and some change. I'm planning on going to court tomorrow to challenge or do whatever I can. What should I expect? What should I do if they challenge it? If the judgement or "enforcement" goes through, can I make arrangements then to pay? Am I hosed either way and should just accept the settlement?
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Apr 9, 2012 22:32
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Gothmog1065 posted:Okay, need advice. Just got a call from a collections agency. They're filing tomorrow (Good thing they sent ANYTHING in the mail, I never knew about it), to "enforce the judgement". Here's the lowdown: Judgments don't fall off your credit that easily, and usually don't follow the same SOLs. Make sure you actually mean "judgement" as in the court found you liable and entered judgement against you (by which it sounds like a default judgement?). Absolutely go to court and get the info, they may have hosed up the service, and you can possibly get the judgement vacated. EDIT: Outstanding judgments can potentially stay on your credit forever.
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Apr 10, 2012 00:07
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LorneReams posted:Judgments don't fall off your credit that easily, and usually don't follow the same SOLs. Make sure you actually mean "judgement" as in the court found you liable and entered judgement against you (by which it sounds like a default judgement?). Yes, it was default, I never knew about it in the first place. Much like this time they've been "sending letters" that I haven't received. Here's what I have: Date Filed: 6/22/2006 Reference #: 06CVD228 Court: MONTGOMERY COUNTY DIST Plaintiff: ARROW FINANCIAL SERVICING LTD LI Liability: $1,502.00 That's direct off a court. Supposedly what the guy on the phone was threatening me with was (probably bullshit) was they had the judgement on my credit and they were going to "enforce" it. Basically force me to pay by garnishing wages/taxes/etc. Supposedly they were doing this tomorrow. I'll find out what they say.
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Apr 10, 2012 01:07
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It's no threat, with a judgement they can absolutely do those things.
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Apr 10, 2012 16:02
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LorneReams posted:It's no threat, with a judgement they can absolutely do those things. E: Should I also attempt to contact the company that originally had the loan? Gothmog1065 fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Apr 10, 2012 |
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Apr 10, 2012 18:11
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I am no lawyer, but you need to get the judgment vacated if possible. You need to research how they handled service, and prove they did not serve you correctly, otherwise you are pretty much at thier mercy for that amount. If they correctly served you and you just blew off the court date, then you will probably have to take their settlement, but I would make sure it's handled within the court system so the judgement can get released.
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Apr 10, 2012 18:39
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Gothmog1065 posted:Well, what do I do now? They've "attempted" to contact me by leaving automated voicemails on my home phone and cell phone with no callback numbers, the one time I talked to them they did they typical pressure poo poo. The judgement actually happened while I was in another state, I guess someone else picked up my judgement letter, never knew about it. Should I start the mail correspondence, assuming they'll even "settle" now? The court told me that now It's .33 a day increasing on it (Since.. When?). I really can't afford to settle this right now, got too much other poo poo going on financially. So you have a few options, this is general advice and I'm not your lawyer and probably not authorized to practice law in your state. 1) Attempt to have the judgment vacated, preferably hire a lawyer to do this but I imagine an attempt could be made via google. The difficulty of this task will vary depending on which state you live in. 2) Attempt to settle with the collection agency. As long as they agree not to try and garnish your wages (if available in your state) or other assets, you pay them X per month until paid in full. Threaten bankruptcy for leverage and ask them to reduce the principle or any interest accruing. 3) Declare bankruptcy. Bankruptcy will prevent them from any attempt to enforce the judgement. Assuming your income level is low enough to qualify for a chapter 7, you'll end up paying the attorney about the same as the judgement against you. Your credit is already probably pretty bad so you don't need to worry on that front. In addition, you could eliminate other debts you may have which you are unable to pay. Above all, find an attorney that works in this practice area, most will give free consultations and he/she will likely outline the above in specific terms for your situation and state.
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Apr 10, 2012 19:10
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On the phone now, doing a "line of credit," but I'm getting something from them signed, stated that they are going to fully remove this debt from my account afterwards. They're going to email it, but we'll see what happens.
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Apr 10, 2012 19:44
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So, I checked my credit report and I have two 'Failure to Pay' notices on there, both from a few years ago, in the hands of debt collection agencies.. both amounts are small enough that I'm 100% fine with simply paying the debt to get them off my credit report. Is http://credit.about.com/od/debtcollection/a/payfordelete.htm a good template for a Pay for Delete letter?
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Apr 11, 2012 19:47
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Gothmog1065 posted:On the phone now, doing a "line of credit," but I'm getting something from them signed, stated that they are going to fully remove this debt from my account afterwards. They're going to email it, but we'll see what happens. Do not pay anything until you have that in writing and please for god's sake don't make a payment over the phone. GobiasIndustries posted:So, I checked my credit report and I have two 'Failure to Pay' notices on there, both from a few years ago, in the hands of debt collection agencies.. both amounts are small enough that I'm 100% fine with simply paying the debt to get them off my credit report. Is http://credit.about.com/od/debtcollection/a/payfordelete.htm a good template for a Pay for Delete letter? That template is one that I used. I reworded some stuff but it's a good start. And it worked for me. YMMV
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Apr 11, 2012 22:09
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