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It's still a form of credit which could have been avoided.
It isn't a credit default situation. It's a contract default.
OP: I'd tell 'em stick it, to be honest. And no, i've never had a collection agency calling me. Gym's are notorious for being high-pressure/predatory to get people to sign a contract, so i don't feel any empathy here. Just my .02.
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)
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.
I have never been in collections before but I have always wanted to know, what is calling you 6 or 7 times a day going to do? Does that make people pay or do they just change their number or dont answer when they see an unfamiliar number? Even if they block their number their are sites that if you punch in the phone number it will tell you if its collections or not. So I dont understand calling so many times. My sister when she has collections chasing after her she just lets it go to the answering machine or tell them some long story. By the time she finishes the debtors are trying to get off the phone with her cause she is talking them to death.
You can notify them in writing to quit calling, they will write you a lot. But the easiest thing to make this go away is pay it off. It will show up on your credit either way. As past due more than 90 days.
You can make the offer to pay $5 a month, if they call during your current payments they can be at fault.
Make sure you write them to cancel your membership, I am sure they wrote in a clause to go month to month after the years end.
I ended one early years ago, had to show them proof I had moved out of the area.
I have been receiving harassing calls from debt collectors, and from what I found online this could be considered illegal.
I get calls as early as 7:15am, from what I read online they cannot call this early?
Most of the time I ignore the call, but on the times I do answer, I tell them that they are harassing me by calling before 8am, but they call right back within minutes.
I understand I owe money, and I am making payment arrangements, but until then can they really call me 4-5 times a day?
The FDCPA (Federal Debt Collection Practices Act) is for third party collections only. If your calls are coming from first party sources (the people that you actually owe the money to - not a collection agency - they do not have to abide by these rules.
If this is a third party agency, they are required to abide by the rules. It would do you well to google the FDCPA and learn it so that when these guys call you then you can quote them chapter and verse on what they are violating.
Or better yet, pay your debts and you won't have to worry about it at all.
The FDCPA (Federal Debt Collection Practices Act) is for third party collections only. If your calls are coming from first party sources (the people that you actually owe the money to - not a collection agency - they do not have to abide by these rules.
This is true, but I don't know of any gyms that have in house collections. Also, some states have their own version of the FDCPA that DOES include the original creditor. I believe Arizona is one of these states.
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Or better yet, pay your debts and you won't have to worry about it at all.
A person needs to have a phone that shows the callers phone number. Today while on the computer the phone rang and showed a strange area code and number. The answer machine took over and there was some distant music in the background and they then hung up while not calling back.
I know the difference between "unknown caller" or "out of area" phone call in my area.
I do have very few callers as my phone is basically for my personal use and emergency needs.
Or better yet, pay your debts and you won't have to worry about it at all.
20yrsinBranson
I wish that was true. But I know from experience that it isn't...
About six months ago, we started getting collection calls from various agencies for some guy name Ernesto something. Seems when he started filling out stuff he used our phone number. We started calling them Ernesto calls.
First of all, it was hard to get them to spill any info. And then, for some strange reason, these agencies wouldn't believe that Ernesto didn't live here.
Finally, I started telling the collection agencies our full names and address and told them to check their records to compare with Ernesto. A simple online check with Zillow could confirm when our house was last sold.
I had to go through this with 3-4 companies, but it seemed to get through... however, I know in a year or so it will start again. They'll sell the loans off and another agency will start calling.
Thankfully, it was just a phone number lie -- our credit was fine and identity not taken.
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? Does that make people pay or do they just change their number or dont answer when they see an unfamiliar number? Even if they block their number their are sites that if you punch in the phone number it will tell you if its collections or not. So I dont understand calling so many times. My sister when she has collections chasing after her she just lets it go to the answering machine or tell them some long story. By the time she finishes the debtors are trying to get off the phone with her cause she is talking them to death.
