Credit Agency Issues ... What to do?
I received a phone call earlier this week from a credit agency threatening to take legal action against me if I did not call him back immediately. I called him back, got his voicemail and left him a message asking him to tell me what account this was in reference to and what was the ammount owed. I have yet to hear back from him nearly 3 days later. I have not received anything in the mail from them. Does he have to send me something in writing stating what account he is collecting on and how much is owed? Or can a phone call/voicemail be it? I've heard some horror stories about the things creditors will do over the phone so I'd rather have everything in writing.
Public Comments
- get everything in writing and ask him to stop leaving you harassing phone messages or to not call you at all. he has to respect your request for no phone contact....it's the law. Don't let him pressure you into anything. There whole game is to push, push, push and to try and scare/intimidate you into doing something you don't want to do.
- Credit agencies don't call you, collection agencies do. They will definitely call back if you owe them.
- They do make phone calls, but the important stuff is in writing. For their records and yours, they will send you a letter stating what is owed and what account it is from. And I would just take everything he says with a grain of salt. Its his job to try to scare people into just paying what they owe. When you do talk to him, tell him to send you a letter stating what is owed and when you recieve it you will call him back and discuss payment options. Leave it at that, don't get into a big hoopla with him about it because you won't win.
- Here's the first few things I would do: --> Are you current on all your accounts? If you are, it's likely a scam trying to get your information so they can steal your money / identity. --> Do some digging. What's the phone number he gave you? Did he give you a company name? Search the Better Business Bureau, Google, and phone books to see if they're legit. --> Check your credit report. If you haven't done that yet, you get one free credit report per year. Try www.experian.com. I would check for closed & past due accounts and collection accounts so you have a list of what it could be. --> Don't GIVE any information over the phone, and if they pressure you for a payment, tell them you'll send a cashier's check registered mail to the address they provide. If they sound convincing and you really want to give them information, ask them for a phone number you can call them back at, and what your case or reference number is. --> You can certainly ask for a letter outlining what you owe and what company it was with. If nothing else, tell them you need it to dispute the collection with the company. It's a good idea to have it in writing. --> If you do settle, ask for a letter explaining that upon receipt of the amount agreed upon, it will settle the debt; they should be able to send you something like that, even if you agree upon monthly payments. Once you send them your (last) payment, ask for a letter confirming the debt is paid. Remember, it is much more expensive for them to try and collect on debts than what you actually owe, especially if they've had to go through "legal action." If / once they do get a judgement against you, it costs more money to seize money out of bank accounts or take any other action. Often they will settle for much less than what they say you owe. Also, they are no longer allowed to reset the 7 year date of the debt when they sell the debt to a collection agency. Anything fishy showing on your credit bureau report to this extent should be disputed both through the company and the bureau in writing. I hope that helps, and good luck!
- dont even call them, expecially with someone making threats. This fool probaly is out on vacation or took some PTO but most likly at a nut house. Once he dose call you ask what the company is, there address, what the account is and the amount and hang up the phone, then follow up with a validation/stop contact letter. like this one. send it certified (Your name) (Your address Collection company name Company address (Date) Re: Acct# 00000000 To whom it may concern: This letter is being sent to you in response to a notice sent to me on March 8th, 2050. Please be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested. This is NOT a request for "verification" or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you. Please provide me with the following: 1. What the money you say I owe is for 2. Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe 3. Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe 4. Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable 5. Identify the original creditor 6. Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account 7. Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state 8. Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major credit Bureaus (Equifax, Experion or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent, I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following: 1. Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act-reporting inaccurate information 2. Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act-continuing collection activity on a debt which has not been validated Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit. This includes listing of any information to credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is. REQUEST FOR CEASE AND DESIST OF CONTACT BY YOUR OFFICE: I would also like to request, in writing, no further contact, either in writing or telephone be made by your office to my home or to my place of employment, unless it is to provide validation or release of liability of the debt. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. It would be advisable that you assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action. This is an attempt to correct your records; any information obtained shall be used for that purpose. Thank you, Signature Printed name
- I agree with Brian's post with one big exception. Do NOT sign anything you send to the collection agency. Also do not send them any "Identification requirements". Some are known for asking for drivers licenses or 'magically' making documents appear "with signatures". "It would be advisable that you assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action. This is an attempt to correct your records; any information obtained shall be used for that purpose. Thank you, Printed name" Other than that, definitely record any/all phonecalls you get from them (either if they say "call may be monitored" which they wont, or check your state law as to consent issues). Any recordings/letters will count though. If they leave a voicemail threatening legal action, do NOT delete it. It comes to wording, "legal action" could mean "what we are legally allowed doing". If they say "take you to court" or "garnish wages", and they DONT take you to court: That is a violation. So the following steps are what you should take immediately: 1: Send out the letter CMRRR (Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested) or registered mail (CMRRR is more acceptable) 2: Save all voicemail, correspondence, and attempt to record whatever you can 3: If they still bug you after getting the letter, just keep counting the times. Each offence is worth a grand in small claims court and easily provable if you have recordings.
- First get a copy of your credit report to see if there is anything currently in collections. This will give you more information regarding the collection agency. You can get all 3 CRA's free from this site: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp Second, if they call again, tell them nothing over the phone, simply tell them to send you the collection notice (this gives you more evidence if needed). It is most likely a junk debt collector trying to collect on a time barred debt. Honest collection agencies don't call, they inform you in writing (this gives them evidence). Without knowing more about the debt (what type, how old, etc) it's hard to answer with a correct answer. If you want to know more about your rights in simple to use language, I recommend this site and it's free info http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/index.html
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