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mglendening-d1 · 10-17-2007, 12:33 PM

I just got off the phone with Academy Collections and they were very unfriendly and threatening. The guy was asking for my attorney's name (I don't have one) and because I couldn't pay the amount they were asking was trying to make me out to be a liar and said I was uncooperative and unwilling to work with them. I don't know what to do and am scarred. He wouldn't really tell me what they do next and wouldn't even give me a day or two to try and come up with some money to pay. Help!

Lukeskywalker · 10-17-2007, 02:58 PM

Hi mglendening and welcome to the site. First of all, do not worry. All of those people are full of you know what. First I need you to list what state you are in and how much you have paid on your loan, and if it is a storefront or internet loan. Lets start with that. I hope you have the address to mail them this certified with a return reciept. It may be as simple as sending a debt validation letter to these people. Do not answer the phone, that is the worst you can do. With this validation letter also send a do not call me a work or at home period. Someone will come along soon with more info. on this subject, just do not worry as for as all here have been there done that.

volleyballmom · 10-17-2007, 04:21 PM

Luke..great advice friend!

mg-What kind of debt are they trying to collect on? The whole "give me the name of your attorney" is a tactic to belittle you because they know you dont have one and it puts them in the dominant position. One of these days someone is going to give them the name of their attorney and call their freakin bluff!

Anyhow, have you gotten anything in the mail? You need to get them to validate the debt!!

BTW, they are calling me too but I refuse to answer their calls and i delete their voice mails. I have yet to get anything in writing from them....

debtstinker · 10-17-2007, 04:35 PM

Yeah, collection agencies I swear go to school to learn powerful scare tactics (not all of them do this). that's what they do best, they scare us but as Luke suggested, try not to worry. the main thing is to do the best you can with the debt you owe. Validating debt is a very good thing to do if it hasn't been done yet. there are so many that are here for you mg

FYI · 10-17-2007, 06:02 PM

What did they threaten to do?

10-18-2007, 03:48 PM

I just spoke to another person there and they were much friendlier and much more helpful. BUT, the guy asked me why I didn't call back today. I was like, well yesterday the person I spoke to hung up on me and made it seem like there was no reason to call back.

It seems that Citibank will probably sue me because I owe them a lot of money. I am thinking about going into a debt settlement program but not sure this will help me or not. I feel completely stupid and stuck.

May refinance the mortgage to get at least something they will accept to stop them from pursuing legal recourse. I just don't know what to do.

JCEMT · 10-18-2007, 04:20 PM

What do you allegedly owe? Also you should send them a debt validation letter so you can find out if they are the company you really owe it to.

10-18-2007, 04:34 PM

I owe around 12000. They said they would settle with me for 8000 maybe could get them to go as low as $7700. Said if they had my account in September Citibank would have settled for $5000 or so (.40 on the $). He also said because it was a charge off that I can't deal directly with Citibank anymore and it's worth their time to sue because of the amount I owe.

Can I still send a validation letter even after talking with them on the phone? I feel uncomfortable continuing conversations with them as I feel like they are trying to get personal info. out of me.

I know I'm an idiot to get into this situation and I do want to pay them something but am scarred and don't know what to do. The CA won't accept monthly payments because they say the OC won't accept that but it seems to me that my paying something is better than nothing at all.

What about debt settlement? I'm looking at Care One as they have an attorney working for you. Feel like I may be better off pay $150 retainer to them and have them deal with these people.

JCEMT · 10-18-2007, 04:40 PM

You are well within your rights to request validation, here is a good template for a debt validation letter:
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com...s/sample6.html
Send it USPS certified, return receipt requested. First see if they can validate it. If they can just send in what you can afford to pay, or you can take a look at the debt consolidation services offered on this website. First fire off that DV letter and see what happens.

Kelly from NY · 10-18-2007, 05:09 PM

I agree with above. You need to send the a DV (debt validation) letter. This DV request is your legal right to do so! They must prove to you, in writing, that you owe this debt, and that they can legally collect this debt. Someone gave you a link to a sample DV above.

In your DV letter, make sure to state that they are no longer able to contact you via the telephone. All contact with you must be made in writing. Again, this is your legal right. Once they are informed of this, they must stop calling you.

What this DV letter will do is buy you some time. They have 30 days to respond to you. Once they respond, yo have 30 days to reply back. If they don't reply back within 30 days (it has been my experience that they normally take a while to get back to you!), you'll need to send a second DV letter.

While you are waiting for replies and going back and forth, you should save as much $$ as you can so you have a good size deposit to make payment arrangements.

Some tips:
-Send your letters via the post office using Certified Return Receipt Requested, and keep copies of all receipts!
-NEVER give a CA your bank info over the phone, no matter what they say.
-Always send money orders, not checks, via the mail; don't give a CA your bank info!!![/list]

cajunbulldog · 10-19-2007, 04:39 AM

I would call Citibank to see if they still retain ownership of the account and would like to do a settlement directly with them.

10-19-2007, 07:25 AM

I am sending out the DV letter today at lunch in which I will include a line about not contacting at work or by phone.

So I talked to another person there last night around 7:00. He explained some things to me and said he might be able to get a settlement for $7600. Great, but where do I get the money. Anyway, so I am getting ready to leave for work and I see I missed a call on my cell. It was Academy calling again. They left a message saying I need to call. So what do I do? Just ignore it and not call? I'm sure they will try to call me at work again which leaves me cornered and having to talk with them. I am very upset and was crying driving in to work this morning. I don't know what they think could have changed between 7:00 last night and 8:30 this morning.

My FIL suggested that I just contact a lawyer and have a lawyer deal with this. What do you all think?

10-19-2007, 07:42 AM

What do you think of this letter?

Quote:

This letter is being sent to you in response to a notice sent to me on September 27, 2007. 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 â€œverificationâ€ or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named 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:

What the money you say I owe is for;
Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account
Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state
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 Bureauâ€™s (Equifax, Experian 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:

Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Defamation of Character
If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following Declaration, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.

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 any listing any information to a 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.

If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately.

I would also like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS.

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.

pybasj · 10-19-2007, 07:45 AM

Make sure you send it CRRR

10-19-2007, 10:53 AM

I just got back from the post office and mailed out the verification letter. I pretty much used the one I posted but edited a bit to fit my situation more closely. I guess I will see what happens from here. I did ask not to be called and to only be contacted through the mail.

My FIL suggested I speak with an attorney and I can get a free 30 minute phone consult through my employer's EAP program. I think I will do this so I can get a clearer idea of what I need to do, what my rights are and how I can proceed with this in a manner that is affordable for me and satisfactory to Citibank.