Ask me about dealing with/suing/being sued by debt collectors!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Ask me about dealing with/suing/being sued by debt collectors!

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

How old is she and what types of credit do you see her needing in the future?

# ¿ Jan 8, 2010 15:38

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:31

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

jassi007 posted:

Thats pretty much what I figured. My brother and my brother-in-law are both going "she can't do that she'll have bad credit/a bad reputation!" I'm telling them and her to just face reality, she's in the hole.

Just plan ahead for when she needs a car and make sure that she makes the payments on housing.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2010 20:53

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

With his permission, I pulled my brother's credit report today and he has 2 collections from the city of Madison, WI for $75 each (parking tickets?) and 2 from San Diego (speeding tickets?). They are marked paid, but don't drop off for at least 3 more years. Are these things that can be removed with "pay for delete" or is he stuck with them?

# ¿ Feb 3, 2010 08:04

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

CubsWoo posted:

So the way around this is: Show up to the court hearing, prove you can't pay. I guess I can understand people getting jailed for failure to appear (but on a civil matter, that's borderline) so just follow the whole 'ALWAYS SHOW UP FOR COURT' guidelines and you'll be ok.

The article doesn't really delve into this, but some debts can be considered a criminal matter, like bouncing a check, for example. Show up for court and this won't be a problem.

# ¿ Jun 10, 2010 22:31

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

LorneReams posted:

Bouncing a check is fraud, it has nothing to do with debt. When you write a check you are saying you have funds in the bank to cover it...if you don't it's fraud...it's a TOTALLY different situation (kiting).

I understand, but some of those go to collectors instead of to prosecutors. I'm saying that someone who bounced a check, got sent to collections, got sued by the collector and didn't go to court might get an arrest warrant written for "a debt."

# ¿ Jun 10, 2010 23:32

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

cocteau posted:

Are you saying she's being held liable for both the grant and the tuition?

And a question of my own. If you need to stop paying the full balance on a CC, with the hopes of working something out with the company after 90 days, does it matter in the long run if you make partial payments (say, 10-20% of minimum payment), or will they treat partial payments the same as none at all?

Are you sure that they will even accept partial payments?

# ¿ Jun 21, 2010 22:46

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

cocteau posted:

Well I assume if I sent them money, they'd accept it. Just not sure if it's worth bothering or not.

That would defeat the purpose of a minimum payment, wouldn't it? Seriously though, I doubt that a credit card company would accept a payment below the minimum for a variety of legal reasons. They would probably send your check back.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2010 23:09

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

tensai posted:

Ok, not sure if Cubswoo is still with us, I'll ask a question about one sticking point I have. I have a negative mark on my experian report that's not on my transunion. I am trying to type up a PFD letter, but the experian report doesn't show the whole account number. How can I find this out?

What is it and how old is it?

# ¿ Jul 25, 2010 17:28

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

wooden pants posted:

I'm helping my fiance resolve some debt she incurred quite a few years ago. She has managed to sock away enough money to cover the entire amount that the collections agency is demanding, though if we choose to go down that route we'll certainly try to negotiate up from 10%.

My question is this... as far as I can tell the last due date on her credit card was 2004, so the 7 year limit for appearing on her credit report is approaching. With this in mind, should she pay at all? We are in CA, so she is already beyond the SOL for being sued by the collections agency.
Ideally, we would get a PFD, negotiate some amount, pay it and be done.
However, if she pays and does not get PFD, will this mark remain on her credit report for an additional 7 years?

If you pay now, it can show up for another 7 years as a paid collection. You're better off waiting.

# ¿ Jul 29, 2010 06:04

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

wooden pants posted:

Is it worth it trying to negotiate PFD then wait if we can't get PFD?

A 6 year old debt is pretty meaningless on a credit report. Unless your fiancee is trying to buy a house or something, I would just wait.

# ¿ Jul 29, 2010 07:02

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

Yip Yips posted:

I remember reading this topic soon after it was created and now I'd appreciate some advice. Back in August 2000 (when I was 17) I sold some Diablo 2 stuff on Ebay and was paid through Paypal. The buyer issued a chargeback and Paypal asked me to provide a purchase receipt, which I obviously could not do. I explained to them why I could not and from then on never heard anything from Paypal again. My balance was listed as $0.00 where earlier it had been -$xxx.xx. I took all of this to mean that I was ok.

A couple weeks ago I got a letter from a collection agency for the sum. I replied with a DV letter and they replied with what I can only assume is proof of the debt (having no idea what specifically that entails). The charge-off date is March 29, 2002.

I checked my credit on one of the 3 agencies and it wasn't listed on the report. Is that unusual? Could it show on the other(s)? Does being 17 at the time have any effect? The actual transaction date was over 10 years ago at this point but the charge-off date was almost 2 years later. If I was going to wait it out at this point which date would it be based off of?

I've mostly resigned myself to going for the pay-for-delete route but I like money so if anyone has any better ideas I'd love to hear them. Should I end up negotiating for a pay-for-delete should I do it through mail as well?

Thanks

The original debt is 10 years old and the collections are 8 years old. IF this ever made it to a credit report, it probably dropped off at least a year ago. If you go after it now, you may end up with it back on your credit report. Just forget about it.

# ¿ Sep 20, 2010 04:25

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

The Experiment posted:

This is a great thread.

The backstory is that in late August, I got rear ended twice by a semi while at work. My employer sent me to the hospital to have tests, x-rays, etc. done. My employer was going to cover the costs.

Everything was fine until I got a letter a week ago from a collection agency stating that I was in default of $35. It appears to be a dunning letter. After some Googling, this default was related to the hospital visit. I've never received a bill from them before. I sent a copy to the letter to my employer who states they will pay for the bill. I was reading this thread a couple days later and realized I should have told them to request a pay for delete and to get it in writing. I sent an e-mail to them right away. I didn't receive a response. I will call/e-mail again tomorrow.

I also checked my credit reports and I saw nothing about this. This was a couple of days ago so nothing has been reported.

My questions are this:

1) Will this get reported on my credit report?

2) If my employer ends up settling in full, what are my options? Can I dispute this if it pops up on my credit report and see what might happen?

3) Should I send a DV letter although my employer has already talked to the collection agency?

4) Is it possible to delete the report after my employer has paid the bill?

5) Was this even legal? My employer clearly did not pay the bill so they are going after the patient.

I'm anticipating the worst case scenario where no communication has taken place about PFD and it will end up as a "settled in full."

Any answers are appreciated. Thank you

I think you are overthinking this one. The hospital had a counter from the day you were treated and when the they hadn't been paid after day 45 or day 60 or whatever day they use, it went to their collection agency. What you probably don't understand is that the hospital sends everyone to collections at that mark and it isn't necessarily a negative thing, it's just how the hospital does business.

At this point, it hasn't hit your credit and it probably won't for awhile. At least, it won't unless you ignore it. Also, it's $35. Even if it had hit your credit, how much do you think it would cost to pay for deletion?

I would call them tomorrow and pay it and then try to collect from your employer.

# ¿ Dec 12, 2010 23:42

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

2508084 posted:

5k worth of medical debt disappeared off my credit report without me disputing it. The original hospital and the collection agency who obtained it are completely gone from all three reports. Its been a couple days so I don't know if its been overlooked.

I just want to know why? I didn't send anyone a DV about it and I didn't get a chance to dispute it through the CRA's websites, it just disappeared.

How old was it?

# ¿ Dec 15, 2010 23:53

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

lazer_chicken posted:

I'd love to get some input from you guys. First off, this has to do with an apartment complex, and I don't know if they technically count as a "creditor." Anywhere, here's what happened:

We had to move because of a new job. The lease at our old apartment ran from last July until this coming July. We met with a leasing agent in October and asked what our options were. They said that we could file an intent to vacate, and we would be responsible for 4 months of rent from that point. We specifically asked them if we would be responsible for any fees in addition to the 4 months of rent, and they said no. We filled out the form, and continued paying rent up until February, as agreed. Recently I received an email saying we owe them $2,000 for "early termination fees."

I sent them an email back requesting a copy of the intent to vacate form and explaining that none of the forms we filled out or conversations we had ever indicated extra fees.

What do I do now? If they insist we owe them money, I plan on asking them to validate the debt and explain precisely where these charges are coming from. But since they aren't really a "creditor" can I still insist on a debt validation? Surely there must be some way I can make them provide documentation showing where we became responsible for these charges. Do I need to talk to a lawyer who specializes in housing law?

You can't verbally alter a written contract. A valid written contract (a lease is an example of a written contract) can't be changed because of something someone said. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parol_evidence_rule

# ¿ Mar 10, 2011 05:18

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

Baruch Obamawitz posted:

That's not the parol evidence rule.

The parol evidence rule is that a verbal agreement prior to the execution of the contract can't serve to modify terms in the contract.

You can always enter into new contracts that supersede the previous one.

You can, but the written one will always take precedence.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2011 19:39

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

lapse posted:

Can you paint the whole picture in one post?

Cards, balances, limits, minimum payments & dates, and then income, savings & expenses

Some people here are trying to help if it's possible to do so, but need the entire story all together.

He should make a new thread.

# ¿ Apr 10, 2011 22:09

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

In my experience with rentals, carpet is usually a capital expense with a 60 month depreciation. After eight years, that should not be your responsibility.

# ¿ Jul 16, 2017 22:19

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:31

Rusty Shackelford: Feb 7, 2005

Just ignore it. Nothing is going to happen.

# ¿ Jan 12, 2024 19:52

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Ask me about dealing with/suing/being sued by debt collectors!