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Hello thread. I have what I am sure is a very basic and simple question, but I'm honestly too tired and frustrated right now to read a bunch of previous pages and was hoping someone would be kind enough to answer what I am sure is a repetitive question. I moved out of an apartment and apparently they wanted me to pay <$300 in incidental costs. I'm fortunate enough not to have to sweat that. Problem is, I was never made aware of it until it went to collections. I got a phone call randomly one day and was expecting another call, so I answered. It felt like a scam. I asked for proof of the debt and that I'd be happy to pay it, but that I hadn't heard about it until now. Dude was a real rear end in a top hat and insistent that I could only pay it on the phone immediately, which of course I wasn't going to do. Fast forward to today and it's a significant ding on my otherwise fine credit. I'd like to get it removed and I don't even mind paying it. I just don't feel like dealing with it. I'd prefer to just pay an attorney to do the payment or get it written off, and get it deleted from my credit. Is that a thing? Or should I just suck it up and try to deal with the debt collection agency? Thanks goons.
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Jan 24, 2022 02:47
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Internet Explorer posted:Hello thread. I have what I am sure is a very basic and simple question, but I'm honestly too tired and frustrated right now to read a bunch of previous pages and was hoping someone would be kind enough to answer what I am sure is a repetitive question. how long ago was it (depends on your state and ethics but you can dodge these things) ? Mail them what's called a dunning letter (there's templets online) sent via certified mail with return receipt. They should then mail you your proof of debt and until they get that to you don't have to do poo poo. I don't think they can report to cred agencies either until they prove the debt is owned by them (could be wrong on that last part). This effort combined with the small value of the debt may be enough for the company to just give up if they see your serious and will make them do work, this would be the best outcome. Hope that helps a little.
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Jan 24, 2022 03:19
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Thanks for the reply! It was less than a year ago, so quite recent. I will look at sending a dunning letter. Hope that helps. Such a frustratingly dumb thing, surprising absolutely nobody in the tread. Thanks again! [edit: According to the OP, I think you mean debt verification letter. But I will do that!] Internet Explorer fucked around with this message at 05:39 on Jan 26, 2022 |
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Jan 26, 2022 05:35
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Referred here by the legal help thread. I ran two red lights in Tampa last year, one of them over a year ago, the other last April. I'm just learning about it today, because a collections law firm finally found my parents address to send them a notice for the first one. The second one hasn't gone to collections yet but I assume it will soon.The clerk of courts had been (I assume) sending notices to the address they have on file, which is an apartment I moved out of a year and a half ago. I found out about the second violation by looking up the first on the clerk of courts website. I'd have paid them months ago, but again, I didn't know about any of it because they sent the notices to an old address. All told, I owe almost $700: $400 for the first one (including collections fee), $300 (so far) for the second. Here's the kicker - I moved out of state a few months ago to Seattle. I have a WA driver's license now, which is good because my FL one would be suspended if I didn't. The small amount of advice I've gotten so far has been to get a traffic lawyer in FL. What else? Should I try to deal with the collections agency? What about the second citation that hasn't gone to collections yet? I'm tempted to pay it asap before it goes to collections. I don't want to pay any of this poo poo obviously, but I'm definitely erring on the side of "make it go away". Ramrod Hotshot fucked around with this message at 09:27 on Feb 7, 2022 |
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Feb 7, 2022 09:24
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:Referred here by the legal help thread.
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Feb 7, 2022 11:55
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It would probably cost more to hire a lawyer to fight it than to just pay it off
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Feb 8, 2022 04:10
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early last year, i was sued for a little over 3 grand in credit card debt by cavalry. i put up a little bit of a fight, but they were dead set on either getting paid or taking me in to court. i eventually just paid it all out. now, i'm about to sit down & do my taxes. i'm wondering what kind of tax implications that had, if any, since i paid in full. i'm assuming i can't claim it as a tax deduction, right?
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Feb 18, 2022 06:09
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My old landlord has sent a debt collector after me for money that I already paid them. I contacted the debt collector in Jan and sent them proof that I had paid the money before it was due and they stopped contacting me. Now they've reported to the ratings agencies that I have a debt in collections, even though I already paid. What are my options here to 1) get this off my credit report and 2) is there any way I can sue them for wasting my time with this poo poo? Edit: Also, when the debt collector initially contacted me they were calling my parents - I was under the impression that's not allowed, am I correct? Xyven fucked around with this message at 21:08 on Mar 18, 2022 |
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Mar 18, 2022 20:55
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Reporting a debt inaccurately (e.g. one that is known to be paid in full) is a clear violation of FDCPA and if after you notify the CRAs about the paid debt and they continue to report then they will be in violation of the FACTA. This is primarily why if you notify the CRAs with any semblance of evidence, they will quickly remove whatever you tell them is not right. This is also why the CRAs are going to stop reporting medical debts going forward because they will 100% not accept the liability. I would start setting up some proof (recorded calls if you can, or documented disclosures to the agencies, both the collector and the CRAs reporting it) and moving forward from there. If your credit is a concern, you can solve that fairly quickly and probably have it removed within a week or two.
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Mar 18, 2022 22:26
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My wife just got a call from a collection agency on behalf of an overdue dentist bill of about $60. The dentist was sending the notifications to an old address. We were able to verify with the dentist office that the bill is outstanding since July 2021 and sent for collections in January 2022. The dentist office will not take payment for this bill anymore. We can pay now and would have paid the dentist had we known there was an outstanding bill. How should this be handled in general? What steps do we need to take to ensure this doesn't affect her credit? How can we make sure this won't go on her report after the debt is paid? There are no current derogatory marks on her credit at the moment. What is the proper way to handle the payment so that we have proof the debt is settled? I'm assuming we should not pay over the phone as they were asking her to do.
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Apr 6, 2022 18:28
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I’ve had this happen with medical bills all the time, usually because the insurance takes a while and some of the have a hair trigger and shoot it if to collections immediately. In every case what I do is attempt to pay the original office after I receive the EOB and if they refuse ( like only happens 10% of the time) I ask for a note saying they refused payment, and I use that tell the agency to piss off. If it goes to credit, it’s like easy to dispute and easier to prove it’s invalid which results in possible (depending on how far you want to go, I sue them for everything) extra money to you.
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Apr 6, 2022 21:51
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I dumped charter in November and had the final bill paid via autopay. Never got anything else from them. Got a letter about a debt for a collection, asked for verification, they apparently did a post-account charge of 59$. I never got a bill in the mail for that, nor email, and autopay was still enabled on my account. It's 60 bucks. I noticed my credit went from 845 to 835 not too long ago. Is the damage already done and I should just ignore this?
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Jun 22, 2022 19:10
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Submarine Sandpaper posted:I dumped charter in November and had the final bill paid via autopay. Never got anything else from them. Something similar happened to me except in my case my credit dropped 100. That blip may be unrelated to what’s coming.
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Jun 25, 2022 15:58
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Internet Explorer posted:Hello thread. I have what I am sure is a very basic and simple question, but I'm honestly too tired and frustrated right now to read a bunch of previous pages and was hoping someone would be kind enough to answer what I am sure is a repetitive question. I had almost the exact same thing happen to me. They also provided a lot of information over the phone that didn't match my records / lease. I told them not to call me back, sent a debt verification letter, and haven't heard anything in the few months since. However, I did get a ding on my credit so I guess it's time to fight that. This wouldn't happen to be a company in the PNW would it?
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Jul 11, 2022 23:19
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So here's the situation. About every year/two I get a letter from a collection agency saying I owe $149 for something. From what I can tell this may be related to a charge from the Ohio BMV, but nobody can tell what specifically it is for. I have done the deal sending a letter to validate the debt and nobody can. It then gets sold to a different collection agency and the process starts anew. This has been going on for at least 6 years. I should also note that I have had criminal background checks done for employment very recently and there isn't anything there from any level that I'm aware of in case this is a long-forgotten parking ticket or something. I just got a letter and this time it is showing that the pay-online option is directly on the Ohio attorney general website. This has me a tad concerned. I should note that I have not lived in Ohio or had anything to do with their BMV since around 2003. I truly have no idea what this is about and nobody will tell me. It is not showing as delinquent on a credit report. Now, I used to have really bad credit and there is an excellent chance I made some mistake and truly owe this money. What's the play here? If I relent and pay this amount, am I validating the debt, and will it show on my credit report (which is currently spotless)? How can I make this go away? givepatajob fucked around with this message at 14:17 on Jul 23, 2022 |
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Jul 23, 2022 12:46
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Hello, I'm getting sued! I had two dental bills years ago and thought that I was settling the entire amount a while back but apparently that was just one of the bills. Got served with papers the other day for the other one. Is there any point in fighting this? Is it too late to contact the collection agency (not the original creditor) and seek to pay a settlement? I'm in Texas, btw.
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Oct 14, 2022 14:19
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Always go to court even if you think you will lose. You can try to settle, and the judge will probably push you two into something like that, but the takeaway should always be to show up for court no matter what. I used to watch the same lawyer working for like 10 different creditors just getting default judgment after default judgment, and that allowed them to easily get garnishments, liens, etc. The people that showed up NEVER had any of that (usually the judge will push a very easy payment plan and the lawyers knew better then to fight it) and they were usually treated much better to the point that you knew the lawyers just hoped they wouldn't show.
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Oct 14, 2022 19:43
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It's also illegal in most places to sell your medical information, so best case if you go to court and say "I don't owe this money, I don't know who these people are, I have never owed them money in my life" then it may just get dismissed because they cannot legally purchase the information necessary to actually own the debt. Worst-case you still have to pay. In all likelihood, you will be one of a few (if not the only person) to actually show up to the hearing and the judge will be happy to stick it to some sleazy debt-lawyer and just dismiss your case. 
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Oct 16, 2022 02:21
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Don’t lie in court to the judge. It will not go well.
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Oct 16, 2022 20:13
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yeah what the gently caress advice is "oh you owe some people some money, what you should actually do is perjure yourself to get out of it"
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Oct 17, 2022 15:34
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It sounds like the debt went to collections, and they are the ones suing you? You have no prior dealings with the collections company? The burden is on them that you owe money, you don’t need to lie just claim ignorance. Have you sent them a dunning letter yet?
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Oct 17, 2022 15:49
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Yeah, don't lie in court, but if you honestly don't know the company and they haven't proven that they own your debt in court: make them do that first because, in all likelihood, they cannot. He said he thought they were settled, if that is the truth it is what I would tell the courts: I paid these debts off, I have never had any dealings with this company, I do not believe that I owe this debt collector any money because I believe the original credit to be discharged and I want them to prove that they both legally own the debt and a record of all payments made on the debt.
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Oct 17, 2022 16:58
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Toxic Fart Syndrome posted:It's also illegal in most places to sell your medical information, so best case if you go to court and say "I don't owe this money, I don't know who these people are, I have never owed them money in my life" then it may just get dismissed because they cannot legally purchase the information necessary to actually own the debt. As someone with experience going to court for medical debt- this is super not good advice. Selling medical information is separate from selling a debt. The charge won't be sent to you from the collection company as "surgery march 18th, 2022," it will be "amount owed," meaning no illegal sale of medical information has occurred. What you should do when you show up in court is ask the debt collector to prove that the debt is actually yours and that you owe the full amount. Regardless of whether you are personally aware of the debt or otherwise, the burden is on the collection company to provide proof that you owe the total amount listed in their records. It's a safeguard put into place to protect people from actual illegitimate debts, and, like other due process safeguards, it's relevant regardless of your personal knowledge of the debt. As a side note, the assumption that your judge will "want to stick it to some sleazy debt lawyer and just dismiss your case" is pretty insane. You should anticipate that the judge hearing your debt cares at least as much about people making good on what they owe as they care about sticking it to lawyers or whatever. It's an incredibly conservative field populated by people who themselves are fairly conservative and who frequently interact with lawyers in relevant case areas. no non-Better-call-saul judge will walk into a hearing with the desire to give a debt-collection lawyer an L just because they want the little guy to win.
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Oct 19, 2022 05:26
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I suppose I was just incredibly lucky. The lawyer against me was particularly sleazy and the judge was obviously fed up with him by the time they got to my case (after the judge had handed out dozens of summary judgements due to no contest). When my case was called the lawyer was visibly shocked that I was there and the judge (famous locally for being The Judge You Don't Want) looked him in the eyes and said "this one's here: what do you want now?" The debt-lawyer asked for an extension and the judge just said "no, he showed up. Case dismissed." I hope you all have similar fortune. 
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Oct 19, 2022 14:43
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GordonComstock posted:Something similar happened to me except in my case my credit dropped 100. That blip may be unrelated to what’s coming. Ty I got it discharged from the ISP
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Oct 21, 2022 19:50
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Hey all, posting in here also to get advice!  I received a letter today about a ~$2k debt I owed that the bank is bringing me to small claims court. I believe its my fault, I just totally forgot about this bill (although there's nothing on it to say what it is other than the name of the bank) after having a period of no income until today. I am instructed to go onto a website where I can: Request for a Court Hearing Claim Not Disputed / Payment of Claim Request for a Jury Trial in a Superior Court Now I may owe this and I have 0 evidence against it, so I'm wondering which of the three is my best option. Should I just claim the not disputed and get it over with or ask for a court hearing just to see if they show? Or even a jury? Thanks all!!
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Nov 13, 2022 01:01
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Is the letter from the court and the website the court website or is the letter and website from the debt collector?
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Nov 13, 2022 03:36
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From the court
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Nov 13, 2022 04:20
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I'd go to the hearing and say you don't know what it is and make them prove you owe it. A lot of the times they aren't prepared to prove it because most people don't show up. I am not a lawyer and perhaps you should talk to one.
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Nov 16, 2022 03:26
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Geez thread. Stop telling people to lie to judges. The only person who has a shot of guessing what the judge will do is a practicing attorney who routinely is in front of that judge. I have no idea if it’d be cheaper to call and offer to settle ahead of the hearing, take the mediated settlement amount at the hearing, go to the hearing and ask for a continuance to hire an attorney, or to hire an attorney and let them respond and negotiate for you. Dik Hz fucked around with this message at 11:31 on Nov 16, 2022 |
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Nov 16, 2022 11:22
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E: You know what, nvm. Sorry.
titties fucked around with this message at 07:41 on Dec 13, 2022 |
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Dec 13, 2022 02:56
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Nevermind.
oliveoil fucked around with this message at 22:48 on Dec 15, 2022 |
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Dec 15, 2022 19:58
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So this might be a bit off-topic since it hasn't actually gone to collections yet, but rather trying to proactively prevent that. Please let me know if this would be better asked in the legal questions thread. Several years ago, I signed up with Dork Gym. Dork Gym partners with ScumbagFitness who actually processes their payments. I finally got tired of paying for a membership I wasn't using, so in September I went in person to Dork Gym, signed the form for cancellation, and was told (which matches language on the form) that I might be charged for one more 30-day billing cycle before they processed the cancellation. Fine. Late October, ScumbagFitness debits my account. And again in November. And again in December, at which point I filed a chargeback with my CC provider because gently caress these shady motherfuckers. Of course they start calling wanting another payment method. I reach out to the club owner who I had met with when I filled out the cancellation paperwork, and he tells me "Whoops, must have gotten lost, I found it and I'll send it in and petition them to refund you for the last month." I asked him to email me a picture of the completed/dated form (which is signed by both myself and the club owner), which he did. I then forwarded this to ScumbagFitness as proof that I had in fact cancelled months prior. Problem solved, right? Until a week later when they call again. I explained everything to them, they confirmed that they had received the document from me, but their argument is that the cancellation is only valid if they receive the same loving form from the club owner. So, I've reached out to the club owner ever-so-loving-politely asking him to do the needful and send them the paperwork. What I'm trying to ask is whether they have a leg to stand on if they send this to collections, and for advice on how to approach this moving forward. (Beyond not ever signing up for a gym membership again because apparently this game is a core part of the business model).
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Jan 10, 2023 00:07
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Vorenus posted:So this might be a bit off-topic since it hasn't actually gone to collections yet, but rather trying to proactively prevent that. Please let me know if this would be better asked in the legal questions thread. Not sure about the legal aspect; I’m just sharing my experience.
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Jan 10, 2023 02:23
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e: thanks
JainDoh fucked around with this message at 15:25 on Feb 8, 2023 |
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Jan 28, 2023 20:12
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SSDI cannot be garnished for defaulted credit cards
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Jan 28, 2023 22:56
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Default on the credit cards. They are unsecured debt. If you really want to make it (and any medical debt) go away, get a bankruptcy lawyer.
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Jan 29, 2023 01:37
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Okay, thanks. I was under the assumption that there were some cases in which it could be. That was the plan, just trying to make sure without incurring lawyer fees.
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Jan 29, 2023 09:01
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JainDoh posted:Okay, thanks. I was under the assumption that there were some cases in which it could be. That was the plan, just trying to make sure without incurring lawyer fees. When you already owe well into 5 figures of debt (I couldn't tell if you meant 25k per card, or total, but regardless), not wanting to pay a bankruptcy lawyer even $100-200 for a quick consult to make sure you're considering all the important factors and are going to approach the problem the right way for your personal situation in your specific state seems like a poor financial decision to me. Also, they typically charge just 10x that to handle the entire process for you. They need to be paid up front, though, for obvious reasons.
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Jan 30, 2023 05:41
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I know a guy who got a payday loan to pay for his bankruptcy lawyer, but this may be illegal so, maybe don't listen to me or look it up.
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Feb 3, 2023 22:25
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