Collection Agencies
- Thread starter ontheconcord
- Start date
Collection agencies are bollocks. You don't owe them anything. Well now you do because you called them to say said 'ok' when they lured you in, meaning they could use a verbal agreement as the contract. Collection agencies do not have a contract with you, they get you on the phone to form a contract. Never deal with them on the phone. Don't agree to anything, ask them to put everything in writing, and if they persue you by phone, say its a form of harassment (if in uk then take action under section 1 of protection from harrassment act 1997). When they send you letters for debt collection, cover the address area of their envolope with "NO CONTRACT RETURN TO SENDER" and send it back. What happens then is they have to pay the fee for the return of the letter, and no contract is formed.
I would actually look forward to debt being passed over to collection agencies as that debt is as good as gone.
I got rid of my wife's debt by forming a tacit agreement with the original company that there is no debt as they can't supply a copy of the contract. The collection agency had no chance.
But the thing is, I actually owe someone money and the originator of the debt called the collection agency to adjust to the new rate. They could not really harass me as I change my number every 2 months so they been calling a non-existent number for quite a while.
I am going in tomorrow to pay them in cash. Other than a receipt, is there anything else I should request?
once the debt is paid,
send a letter to transunion,equifax and experien,
it should be worded something like this
I'm disputing the collection from PMK on my account, This debt is reporting inaccurately on my credit report I don't owe this company any money. Please remove from my report.
If you have a 0 zero balance, the collection agency has 30 days to answer the complaint before it's removed.
If you send the proof that you paid the collection it will stay on your credit report with a 0 balance next to it. It will still hurt your score.
You know how much that bought that for... 10 cents on the dollar... maybe less. You should have offered 10-15 cents. They are making a huge ROI off you.. oh well. Good thing its only $900.
Make sure you get something stating that they will COMPLETELY remove the account. You do not want "Paid as agreed" "Paid in full" .. etc...
EDIT: Johny and I are talking about the same thing. My advice is get it in writing while you are there. Dealing with resubmitting a dispute is a PITA. Just get it done up front, especially since you are going in person.
Make sure you get something stating that they will COMPLETELY remove the account. You do not want "Paid as agreed" "Paid in full" .. etc...
EDIT: Johny and I are talking about the same thing. My advice is get it in writing while you are there. Dealing with resubmitting a dispute is a PITA. Just get it done up front, especially since you are going in person.
$193, not 900.
So basically go in and have someone put it in writing that the amount was paid in full and the dispute will be removed. Should I also ask for their home address and where their kids go to school so I can make their life miserable?
Dude, the debt has been paid. The collection agency paid it by buying debt off the originator. So you don't owe them anything (until you agreed on the phone). That's why there is a discrepancy between what the originator thinks you should be charged and what the collection agency wants from you. They just plugged it from thin air. So morally you don't need to care.
However since you have agreed on the phone, follow what the other members have been telling you (I have not been to this stage so I am not the best to ask.).
Let me tell you what's fucking annoying is getting collection calls for my husband's ex wife.
"Hi Mrs S, ? "
me: yes?
Obnoxious pushy guy"you owe blah blah"
me:uh what are you talking about?
...10 minutes later I sort out that they mean the previous Mrs S, but they don't believe me for a while until I get ultra pissed and I usually end up going on a rant how about how rude they are in general and to keep harassing by throwing my husbands x wife in my face. That usually ends up shutting them up. But they always call back.
"Hi Mrs S, ? "
me: yes?
Obnoxious pushy guy"you owe blah blah"
me:uh what are you talking about?
...10 minutes later I sort out that they mean the previous Mrs S, but they don't believe me for a while until I get ultra pissed and I usually end up going on a rant how about how rude they are in general and to keep harassing by throwing my husbands x wife in my face. That usually ends up shutting them up. But they always call back.
LOL @ professional debtors giving the OP advice. None of you even know if the agency bought the debt or if they are working it for their client. From the sound of it, this medical bill was assigned by the creditor hence the original creditor's willingness to resubmit to insurance.
Had the agency actually purchased this debt, it would be pretty old, and they wouldn't be able to resubmit to insurance.
Had the agency actually purchased this debt, it would be pretty old, and they wouldn't be able to resubmit to insurance.
This guy is right. The collection agency was working for the medical company and the amount I owe before of 1k does match both the originator and the collection company.
I don't know what the hell seoreborn is talking about but it seems like he is more concerned about telling his own debt story than mine lol.....
Actually, third party purchasers aren't eligible to collect via insurance in any scenario.. only the original provider is able to. But to your point, by the time it is sold it'd almost always be too late for that avenue anyway, so all purchased medical debt is self-pay.
As to your re-aging point.. It doesn't relate to the Statute, it pertains to the reporting period which is 7 years. A large portion of debt is beyond SOL but still reported. The ultimate re-aging strategy was Cap One's reissue program, but seems AG of WV has a big problem with that.
If OP desires to fuck with them, simply break a few promises to pay then let calls go to voicemail. Odds are 95% at least one message will violate FDCPA which can easily be leveraged to have the agency eat the account themselves. Complaint with transcript of message sent to VP of Ops of the agency, state AG and FTC would cure the problem quite quickly..
The bottom line is its all about contracts. Unless you contract with them by phone they cannot get money from you. If you are paying the money back to the original company then that's a different story.
Also i tell my story to prove a point that it does not need to be paid. Take it or leave it. At the end of the day, with this knowledge I have not paid money to collection agencies ever since. You could go into as much detail as you want about the debt, but contracts is all that matters.
Yeah, what I meant. There was a lot going on in the biz about the re-aging of accounts around 5-10 years ago. All the big card issuers were securitizing large packages of bad debt and reselling them to other firms (mostly agencies were buying). It was a free-for-all with accounts changing hands 5, 6 times or more getting re-reported (thus being re-aged) on each turn.
It was jacked up for a lot of people.
Just the other week there was an article in the Dallas Observer about a guy that sues (frequently and successfully) debt collectors when they get out of line. It's an interesting read if you think most debt collectors should be doused in gasoline and torched.
Dallas News - Better Off Deadbeat: Craig Cunningham Has a Simple Solution for Getting Bill Collectors Off His Back. He Sues Them. - page 1
Right, the money I am paying goes back to the original company. The collection agency was just acting as the representative, hence how once I worked it out with the original biller for a lower price, the agency adjusted it's rates.