Van Ru Collections agency.?
I have debt in collections. I am entering a consumer credit counseling program and they need statements from all creditors with the amount owed. Van Ru (the collection agency for Macys) refuses to mail me a statement. Macys refused to discuss anything, since they charged off my debt to Van Ru. What can I do?
Public Comments
- Tell the collections agency that they are REQUIRED BY LAW to send you a 'complete statement' of what you owe if they haven't done that yet. If they did send one already and you accidentally threw it out, write that down on the 'form' that should accompany the 'counseling programs' requirements, and give YOUR name as used to get that credit, and the name and address of the company and the 'person' you called, and you should be 'just fine.' And you are 'correct' about Macy's not discussing this debt with you, since they 'sold it' to the Van Ru Collections and you now own that company and not Macys ... but if you 'paid Macys' they would have to 'accept the payment' and then pay the money back to Van Ru.
- I hate Van Ru. I dealt with them about 6 years ago with my Macy's card charge off debt. They are totally unreasonable and I found them to be more vicious and determined to harass me than any other collection agency I have had the misfortune of coming into contact with. I hope someone has a solution for you to get them to comply with the credit counseling program that you have signed up for. I believe that it is against the law to refuse to provide you with a written statement of debt, but I am not sure. Check out this website: http://www.creditinfocenter.com/ to see if there is any information you can use. Good luck!
- before you thru a credit counselor read thru www.creditinfocenter.com If the collection agency won't validate then they can't collect, and you can sue them back
- scam
- Van Ru collections agency is located about 10 miles from my home in Largo, FL They are hard nosed, as I used to work down the hall in the office building they are in. Ask for a supervisor, search the internet for a phone number. The one you have is obviously routed to an internal phone system that goes to the collection reps that work there. Simply call another number, ask for a supervisor, and then start explaining what your situation is. Don't mention what is going on, since the person on the phone won't listen and will be mean. They just want you to pay. If you send them a certified letter requesting them to validate the debt, you can get them legally entitled to provide you that information. Debt validation is a true way to ensure you are going to pay the correct amount back that was charged off. I know that they charge 30+%, and the rep on the phone gets at least 5% of the total amount you pay as a commission. They fire phone reps for not collecting a certain amount. I recommend you talking to a supervisor, since they are nice, and down to earth. Don't talk to a lead, or an assistant supervisor, call during the day, and talk to a shift supervisor. If that doesn't work, get the mailing address, and send that letter requesting them to validate the debt and explain to you what you owe, what it is for, and what the terms of repayment are. In this process they are required to give you legal proof they bought the debt from Macy's, and half the time a collection agency can't. Dave, Dale, Howard, or Brian would be supervisors you could talk to that will treat you with respect.
- What I would do........ 1) Fire the credit counselor you have...they should be dealing with Van Ru, it's part of their service. At the very least they should be advising you what to do. 2) Read Kris L's answer. 3) Follow the FCRA and FDCA laws (look them up on yahoo) and follow the validation procedure. 4) If the fail to send you this info in 30 days, sue them in small claims court for $1000. They are acting this way because you don't know the law, and don't know your rights. Once you make it clear to them that you do, watch them react.
* Some answers may have been provided by Yahoo! Answers.