Bad Credit Agency

Can you give me advice on dealing with a credit collection agency?

I recently had a message from an agent of a credit collections agency. I returned the call and got her voicemail, which I left a message and asked her to return my call. A few days later she called and told me that I have an account with them for $1000. She advised me that they had already reported it to the credit bureau's as a delinquent account (even though I had no prior knowledge of it). I told her that I was willing to pay the account, in full, right now, if they would agree to delete it off my credit report since I didn't know about it. She declined. The conversation became quite hostile and I asked her to please show me some respect, this was a meere oversight on my part, not a deliberate attempt to avoid a debt. Her reply, "you're in collection, you don't deserve respect". I immediately asked for her supervisor and she refused. I advised her that I would not be speaking with her any longer, only to someone else. She said "I'll refer this to litigation" and she hung up. My question is this.... Is there a way for me to dispute this since I had no prior knowledge of it, if I pay it in full right away? Do credit agencies ever agree to delete something off a credit report like this (the account is 2 months old). lastly... What are my rights? Thanks for the good info. However, I DO know that they have FOR SURE they have posted it on my credit report. I subscribe to a credit monitoring service and about three weeks ago I got a notice from Equifax saying that a collection account was placed on my credit report.

Public Comments

1. You first made a couple of big mistakes. 1. You talked to a collection agency over the phone. You should NEVER talk to them over the phone only through certified mail. This is so you have a paper trail. 2. You agreed to pay a debt that you had no knowledge of. If you had no knowledge how could you be sure it was legitimate. So here is what you do. Send them a debt validation request by certified mail. If they do not provide you with validation they can pursue no further action, this includes putting it on your credit report. Now, if it is a valid debt and you still want to pay it send them an offer through certified mail. In the offer put the total amount you are going to pay, if you need payments then the amount of each payment and the date. You also need to include that they will delete the collection account from your report. DO NOT sign this letter just type your name. Then do not send them any money until you have a letter from them in writing that says they agree to do this You said it was 2 months old. Is this how long they had it, or how old the original debt is. If the debt is actually a couple of years delinquent you need to also start to look at the Statute of Limitations. This is the period of time a creditor has to sue you in court. The time starts from the date of your last delinquency. Then by state and debt it can be anywhere from about 2 to 15 years. Once you are outside of this they can no longer legally force you to pay by filing a suit.
2. Well first off the matter is going to be specific to your state. You will have to look for your attorney general's office website which usually has the specific laws to your state posted. Most states require the collection agency to send you written statements stating that you owe a debt before you can have the item submitted to the collection agency. (there are a number of agencys that violate these laws) Second, NEVER pay a collection agency directly. that is the fastest way to end up with problems(there are a lot of scam ones out there). In the event of a mistake where you PURELY made a mistake and a company sent you to collections I would strongly suggest you NEVER do business with them again. When you do pay pay the company that you owe money to only after getting a bill in writing from them. I have recently found out that PECO has a new policy that effectively sends you to collections as soon as you cancel an account. So basically everyone who moved from one apartment to another will find themselves in collections. I have a strong feeling that this will get them in trouble soon but we have to wait and see. Lastly I would suggest that you send a complaint to the Attorney General's office. Even if you find that the whole thing was within the law. This causes the office to be made aware of what is going on in their state. You have a right to your credit but you do have to pay your bills. Most credit reporting agencies will not "destroy" your credit from one late bill so relax. Also most collection agencies will threaten this but have not done so already.
3. It is hard the believe that you had no prior knowlege of a deliquent debt because they usually only go to colections after 60 ot 90 days late. It is already hurting your credit and paying it will actually lower your score more because as time pass, deliquent accounts hurt you score less and less. When you pay an older account, it crings it current and hurts your score all over agin just as if it is new. Showing paid in full doen't mean much as far as a score. Of course if you are trying to get a mortgage loan, they usually want all collection less than 2 years old paid. Depending on what state you live in, there is a statute of limitations. Here in California, for example, it is 4 years. After 4 years the debt legally can no longer be collected. Unfortuanately, most people do not know about the statutes in their state. I have seen someone being harrassed by a collectin company for something that was 17 years old. The only way you can stop the calls is to get the name of the company, who the debt was for, the amount, the account numbers for both the collection company and the company they are collecting for and a physical address. Then you can send a "cease and disit" order to only contact you be mail. You need the physical address to do this and it needs to be sent certified mail. Rembere that each time you make an offer to pay,, that starts the clock all over again for the statutes. It is against the law for them to harrass and next tiem they call immediately say " Oh, can you hold on a second, I have to turn on my phone recorder, my attorney said that I need to record all phone conversations with collection agencys. Trust me they will hang up. Works like a charm. When enouhg time passes, usually 6 months, you can settle the account for usually 50%. Then once it is paid in full, despute the enitre account with "not mine" and 90% of the time it comes off as if it never existed. I work with a Credit attorney and this is what we do for a living. Any questions email me.
4. 1. Demand they prove the debt is yours. If they can't prove it is yours then insist they never call you again.If it isn't your debt then demand they remove it from your credit report otherwise you will be reporting them to any government agency that will listen. 2. Once they prove the debt is yours then try to negotiate a lower payment. Try for installment payments. DO NOT give them post dated checks. DO NOT give them electronic access to your bank account. DO NOT send them any money until you have an agreement in writing. 3. She'll refer this to litigation is a joke unless this debt is yours and is years past due. Remember you can tell a collections agent is lieing because their lips are moving. Do not allow their harassment or threats make you do something stupid like pay them money intended for food, shelter, or any necessity. It might actually be better for you if she does turn over to a lawyer. At least the lawyer will have a brain unlike the person you talked to. Even so, it'll be a while before they get around to suing you. 4. Read about or read the actual fair debt collections practices act. Wiki has a page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Debt_Collection_Practices_Act the act is here http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm Know your rights.
5. I'm sorry, but you're getting some bad advice. The collector should not have spoken with you in that manner, but unfortunately, that's the nature of the beast. Send a certified letter requesting verification of the debt (reference your name and the account number). When you are satisfied with the proof (or if you are now), offer to pay 50% for a settlement (it will show up better on your credit score to pay it in full, but you might as well save yourself a little money, since you're already in collections). Depending on when this account was charged off, it might take them awhile to accept this offer. Whenever they call, tell them nicely, "I'll be happy to settle this for 50%." When they finally agree (which they will), first, get the offer in writing. Then, set up the payment (you can give them a check over the phone, or a credit card payment, most people don't have trouble when they do this). When the payment clears, keep a copy of the cancelled check/bank statement. Give them 30 days to process the settlement, then call them daily to ask for a "Settled/Paid in full letter" until you get it. Keep records of everyone you talk to, when, and what they say. Keep all written correspondence. They will likely not remove this from your credit report, but it won't hurt it for too long. The most important thing is to get it taken care of. Also, don't worry about the litigation. They need a judgement to litigate against you, and no judge would issue a judgement if you're offering a fair settlement. Also, they cannot garnish your wages (for a credit card debt) without a judgement, so if they mention that, tell them you know better. It's a different ballgame if this is a student loan or other government debt.