Comments on: Can a Collection Agency Sue for a Debt?

By: Paula: Know the Collection Laws

Paula: Know the Collection Laws — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:03:38 +0000

You offered a good review that provides answers to quite a few questions that many consumers have. I regularly field questions like these and I think that you’ve hit them on the head. Of course, state laws can vary but your rules of thumb are good advice.

By: john

john — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:01:46 +0000

Hi,
My account just got transfer from one collection agency to another one.
I was trying to negotiate a settlement for paying off just part of the debt.
The first offer I got from the first agency is to pay $6000 out of a $20000 debt.
The current agency offer me the same deal and I had offer to pay $4000,
After that the agent told me that he need to submit my offer to the bank,
Two days after that he called me back and told me that the bank is willing to settle the debt for $8400. and that I should make a new offer in between.
How is it possible that this offer from the bank is greater then before?
How can I know if the collection agency work for the bank or own the debt?
How can I know if this agent is lying to me in order to get more money?
When should I expect a law suit if I will not pay it off?

By: ConfusedKay

ConfusedKay — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:32:23 +0000

ok i need advice,
my husband had a contract phone with att, he soon realised that it wasnt a good idea,
he bought out the phone, it was all paid.
2 years later (19th june) we get a letter saying we owe $600 something to a collection agency from att and whatever,
we called up att, the guy told us its paid off and not to worry about it, and that he was going to send us a letter with our account number and balance so we can then forward it to the collection agency, he also said we will receive a call on the 1st july letting us know its all settled. so, happy with that we wait for our letter and phone call… got neither..
until today, we get a letter, a bill, saying we still owe $600 something..
we went back on the phone calling up att, they wouldnt answer our questions to why we did owe then we didnt and now we do… they told us that they have no record of our phone call on 19th june and no notes in our account.
so we called up the collections agency, they tell us that they are still trying to collect info from att from when we called last on the 19th june…

we really do not know what to do,
we’re going to our layers tomorrow.
any of you have any insight/advice?
thanks

By: MyLifeROI

MyLifeROI — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:43:28 +0000

Ray –

I had a very similar experience to the first one. However, the guy didn’t apply my payment but did notate that I admitted to the debt.

And then what did I find out? It wasn’t even my own debt. That took like 5 months to clear all of that up. It was a pain in the @$$!!!

And to tell you the truth, your job experience doesn’t shock me at all. I always figured they were professional unethical factories. That just shows how systematic it was, eh?

To readers: MAKE THEM PROVE THEY OWN YOUR DEBT. Even if you know what they are referencing, make them prove they are the actual owners of the debt.

By: Ray

Ray — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:57:54 +0000

Ok i love this topic so here is more ;) When i graduated from school I worked at a collection agency temporary for BOA collecting in the US and AMEX Canada. And I learned a lot about collection agencies, first of all they are ruthless and goal is to collect in anyway possible. The tactics we were trained to use were awful and just ruthless. A collection agency can NOT tell you to pay the debt or they will sue you UNLESS THEY ACTUALLY INTEND TO DO IT AND HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO IT….but we were trained many ways to imply that a lawsuit was in place and could only be stopped if debt was paid. My supervisor was constantly yelling and saying harsh things on the phone.

We would actually fill out the paperwork to file a lawsuit and than mail out to them to make them believe its an actual lawsuit. I worked only 2 months but I learned a lot about them and what they can and can not do.
Ray´s last blog ..Frugal Summer Fun Ideas: Top 10 Summer Activity Ideas for Families and Couples

By: Ray

Ray — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:51:24 +0000

Dont think many ppl have good experience with collection agencies, but here is my story.

When I was in 2nd year university i started to fall behind on a CC payment and things went bad, i avoided calls and skipped payments etc….one morning i accidentally picked up the phone and explained my situation to the agent. He sounded like an older gentleman and understood my situation he said that it would be stupid to ruin my credit further at a young age on such small amount so he offered to settle it for me at 50% and i could pay it couple months later when i received my student loan. When I think about it now, it could have been the actual creditor….either way…i dnt see collection agencies doing this
Ray´s last blog ..Frugal Summer Fun Ideas: Top 10 Summer Activity Ideas for Families and Couples