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Location: 23.7 million to 162 million miles North of Venus
23,596 posts, read 12,543,921 times
Reputation: 10478
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OP, if you are planning to pay then you should protect your rights. You should send a validation request to them to make sure that they have the right to collect on the debt and that the amount they are trying to collect is the actual amount. Collectors have been known to try to collect on debts they have no right to collect on, and, many times amounts have been illegally inflated.
If you request validation within 30 days from their first contact then they have to provide the validation or they must cease collections.
First contact could be by phone, if they fully explained the debt and your rights in that call. If they hadn't then, by law, they must send a dun letter that fully explains it and it must be sent within 5 days of the first call, in which they had spoken to you about the debt.
Once you are sure that they have the right to collect and that the amount is the correct amount, you should send them a letter and have them in writing that they will not continue to try to collect or to sell the debt once you pay (collectors have been known to do both after they had received full payment) If they are reporting on your credit reports you should also request that they remove their reporting once they are paid.
Order hard copies of your credit reports from each CRA. Look them over to see if the collector is reporting, and if so, that they are reporting correctly.
OT
Quote:
Originally Posted by IonRedline08
^^^
Actually, I worked for General Electric. Yes, the lightbulb/aircraft engine/tv network company.
Original creditor in-house collections are a different animal than regular collection agencies.
Quote:
I'm not sure how picking apart someone's post and making condascending, or smartass comments is helpful to the poster, but, ok.
I was not trying to be condescending or a smart ass. Ok .. maybe in the very last statement some of that had slipped through. But, when I said "good for them" in the first statement, I meant it.
If they are harrassing you, when they phone do not answer any questions. You take over, who are you ? Where are you calling from? No, sorry I will not answer your questions. Tell me how I may contact the original lender thank you.
Now you have the lenders information, send them a cease and desist letter. Tell them you are aware of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and indicate the times you have been receiving the calls (be accurate on what you state).
Again, do not answer their questions, do not make conversation. If they will not answer yours, hang up!
I used to work in Collections, for debt that my company owned (Credit cards).
If we made contact with you, we would not call you again the same day. Depending on what you stated, we would set a follow up call for later (4 days for a No Promise, 7 days on a Payment Sent, Etc...)
If we didn't contact you, we would call many more times that day. I know that sometimes on a Saturday, we would call people 7-8 times, which, is perfectly legal, as this was working for one of the largest companies in the world, not some fly by night outfit.
What kind of "payment arrangements" are you making? I ask because, if you tell them something like "in a month" or "checks in the mail", they will keep calling you. Usually, if you tell them you plan on mailing a check Friday, or set up a check over the phone, etc, they will give you breathing room.
A lot of people think that because a collector is calling them, that is harrassment, and, it's not.
Avoiding calls, hanging up on people, being beligerant, etc, will get you nowhere, and, depending on the balance, what it's for, etc.. is a sure fire way to get yourself sued, have a lien put on your home, have your wages garnished, etc. Also, a lot of times, credit agreements are under arbitration agreements, so, trying to "sue" them will get you nowhere fast. The best thing to do, usually, is to just be honest, and let them know what your intentions are. I know that, when people where honest, I was way more willing to do what I could on my end to resolve their problem for them.
If they are calling before 8am, that is an issue though. Is your number a Phoenix number, or is it a cell with a different area code?
""have a lien put on your home, have your wages garnished""
You were a debt collector and live in Texas...Then you should know that a debt collector can not do either of those two things in Texas...
""have a lien put on your home, have your wages garnished""
You were a debt collector and live in Texas...Then you should know that a debt collector can not do either of those two things in Texas...
I'm not sure what that has to with this thread, but...
A. I do know that. They can sue you. I don't know if there is a minimum, I know our guideline for Texas was $1500, and this was back in the early part of the decade. I doubt they would come after the OP for the 190 or whatever. I know our center had a legal department that, once we forwarded an account for "potential legal" that they would review it, do an asset search, etc.
I don't blame people for the problems they are having concerning debt collectors. No one can ever expect to loose their job. What I hope people have learned is that nothing is certain, most of all one's financial security. The best thing to do is not get involved in too much credit accounts. When some thing does happen which affects ones finances, one is covered from the nuisance of creditors. In other words pay with cash.
I don't blame people for the problems they are having concerning debt collectors. No one can ever expect to loose their job. What I hope people have learned is that nothing is certain, most of all one's financial security. The best thing to do is not get involved in too much credit accounts. When some thing does happen which affects ones finances, one is covered from the nuisance of creditors. In other words pay with cash.
Location: 23.7 million to 162 million miles North of Venus
23,596 posts, read 12,543,921 times
Reputation: 10478
Quote:
Originally Posted by KarmaPhx
I assume paying the debt will help my credit, right? So if I am wanting to pay if, can I settle for less than the actual amount, such as 50%?
If you defauted in March then it may not be old enough for them to agree to 50% off. You can always try, if they refuse that offer they make a counter offer. Or, they may refuse and stick with the full amount.
If they are reporting to your credit reports then paying without requesting deletion upon payment won't help your credit. A paid negative is still a negative. It will ding your credit for 7 1/2 years from the date you defaulted with the gym.
If they aren't reporting then you should include in your payment agreement that they will not report, along with the other things I'd previously mentioned.
You can do a Google search for "pay for delete sample letter templates" and you will probably run across far more than you need. Just be sure to read over a few to make sure you won't be missing info, from any one sample, that you should be including.
You can mix up the searches, for even more hits, by dropping "sample" and "templates"
Since you should send a validation request first, you should also do a search for "debt validation sample letter templates". There are many different templates out there and quite a few have a whole laundry list of demands for info .. I wouldn't mess with most of those demands. But, you can include requests for proof of the amount, proof of the assignment or sale of the account and proof of their bonding and licensing to do business in AZ (they must be bonded and licensed in AZ to collect, if they are not then they cannot collect in that state)
Here is a link to the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions where you can read about bonding & licensing in your state, and, to find if that particular collector is following those laws: Arizona Department of Financial Institutions
Here is a link to the AZ State Legislature that discusses many things that may interest you, from sales/assignment of debts from an original creditor to a collector, to reporting on your credit reports ... and many laws for other things: Arizona Revised Statutes
Here is a link to the AZ State Legislature for debt collection laws, among other laws: Arizona Revised Statutes
And of course, there is the FTC version of the FDCPA and FCRA that should not be overlooked.
The main reason that I've included the links to your states laws and referred to the FTC's versions is that if they are violating, which it appears that they are, and if they have committed further violations, then you can use those violations against them. Either by making them work with you or by suing them (Federal amounts for violations, FCRA & FDCPA, is up to $1000 per violation, state amounts are generally higher)
Quote:
Originally Posted by IonRedline08
A. I do know that. They can sue you. I don't know if there is a minimum
If the OP is sued it would have to be in small claims. Small claims amount in AZ is .. "You may file for any amount not to exceed $2,500." Lawyers can be used in AZ to draw up motions, etc. but lawyers cannot be in the small claims courtroom.
Just because it's a small amount does not mean a suit won't be filed. Collectors have been known to file on even smaller amounts. Once a suit is filed than that small amount grows with the costs of filing suit, ie, lawyer fees, court costs, expenses, etc., etc.
One more thing for the OP to keep in mind, if validation is requested then whatever the collector sends must come from the files of the original creditor. A letter, statement, affidavit, bill, etc., that is on the collectors own letterhead is not valid.
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