Bad Credit Agency

In credit counseling...cards sold to collection agencies...?

i am in a certified credit counseling program...and i have five cards i am paying on through them....three of the companies are accepting payments but two of the cards have been sold to a collection agency....i am unsure of what i supposed to do, because, on my account summary it is showing that the payments are going to the collection agencies, but i checked my credit yesterday and it shows that the cards have been sold to another agency, that arent even listed on my account for the credit counseling so i dont know if they are getting their money or not...my debt isnt that big...about a little over$1000 for all five cards, but i am not working and my husband is paying the cc, i just screwed up in college and i didnt pay...i regret that, and to make matters even worse i had a baby about a year ago and i live overseas now, and it is hard contacting whoever....i dont know if i should contact the collection agencies or what...my cards went into default around march 2006...what should i do

Public Comments

1. Can your certified credit counseling program help you? Was the counseling a '1-time' meeting, and now you're on your own, or do you have someone to contact thru that program?? It is VERY common for credit card companies to sell their unpaid accounts for pennies on the dollar to collection agencies, especially if it's a small amount like yours, because it would never really be worth it to pursue it--by law, after 6 months of delinquency, the company has to 'write-off' the debt, and many times those written-off accounts are sold shortly thereafter----if you don't know who your payments are going to, that is a BIG problem---- I would start with a copy of your credit report/list of debts, and contact every agency/credit card company on that list----if you're 'overseas,' dealing with non-local companies, u could just pick up a cheap international calling card and start calling-or contact customer service online, or send a certified debt validtion letter---you could be paying BOTH companies at the same time, and nobody notices because each company has their own system----a simple, VERY helpful tip would be to request a simple 'debt validation' letter from any agency on your credit report that doesn't look right to you---just 'Google' 'Debt Validation Letter,' and you'll get many straightforward, easy to follow samples-it works wonders, and helps straighten out what's owed and to whom I'm not familiar 100% w/credit counseling, but it would seem to me that once the payment arrangements are made with the credit counselors, the credit card companies would be bound by the payment terms they agreed to, unless u default or miss a payment----DEFINITELY contact the collection agencies, calling or writing (google 'debt validation letter')-the debt collectors have to PROVE u owe them---u can't be required to pay the original credit card company AND the collection agency at the same time--it's one or the other----if you're able to view your credit report online, u can also contest anything that doesn't match your records-just click 'dispute item,' and things should start clearing up from there-----the credit bureaus will do the work for you by requesting a response from the agencies on your credit report, and if they can't validate the debt within 30 days, it goes 'bye-bye'...