Internet's first get-out-of-debt community - 128,000 members

United Collection Bureau called me and told me they are collecting for Washington Mutual. Can I pay him the 11,160 I owe. According to my credit report I owe 10,000. Or he could negotiate with someone and bring it down to 7,813. if I paid 3 installment payments. He wanted an agreement from now otherwise, they will have to get the lawyers involved, garnish my wages and put a lien on my house. Well I can't come up with those kind of payments but was willing to pay something. He asked if I had any friends that had money or are wealthy. He also told, you're 61 and do you want to pay a heavy price, in regards to lawyers, court costs, etc. Anyways, I never received anything from Washington Mutual that this was going to happen. I saw in my credit report it was "charged off as bad debt".
What should I do?
Mary

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 6:52 pm Subject:

The first thing you need to do is validate the debt.

This will show you exactly where you stand. It seems highly unethical for them to put a lien on your home for a consumer debt of that size. It's entirely possible that they may sue you for a judgement..If and when that happens make sure you go to your court date. You will have an opportunity there to make payment arrangements. You will not be garnished unless you fail to show up or you default on your payment arrangement.

Once you validate the debt you can avoid the whole court process by working out arrangements with the collection agency. If you can't afford the three payment installments, push them for something that you can afford. Just don't ignore the situation, that will end up being more expensive in the long run.

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 8:15 pm Subject:

What state do you live in ? Some states do not allow wage garnishments.

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 11:02 pm Subject:

Here is the link for wage garnishment laws and rules to determine how much money can be garnished from your paycheck in different states.ALL states allow wage garnishment for child support, alimony, taxes and federal student loans.

http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/state-wage-garnishments.html

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 9:05 am Subject: reply

NNC IN DISGUISE,GO AWAY ALREADY.it depends on what state your in.i am in illinois and the most they can take is 25% of my disposable income.that is income after all other deductions were made.also,i think at least in my state your income has to be at a cretain level,like 30,000.00 a year for it to be worthwhile.

Thank you for your responses. This is a great site to be affiliated with.
I'm in MI. That Brian from UCB was quite persistant. Wanted to know if I had a 401K, did I have any friends that had money, could I come up with the huge payments he was wanting. He told me he doesnt't have time to wait for my answer and he was sorry I was not being cooperative. I told him I was cooperative, I just don't have the money. Proceeded to tell me what its' going to cost when lawyers and the courts get involved. I told him, you do what you have to do. Right now I have a judgement against me and I have been faithfuly paying the monthly payment with them. They have been pretty good with me. Then Brian from UCB tone of voice kind of changed when I told him about the judgement that I already have. Don't know what that means. He said then "I wish you good luck" and hung up.
It has been really hard concentrating on my job today. He really got me frazzeled.
Mary

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 11:27 am Subject:

Actually, all states do allow garnishments for fed and non consumer debts.
In Texas, the Carolinas and Pennsylvania consumer debts are not allowed, which is what this is. The maximum for all states for consumer debts is 25%, which is federally mandated.
My job is handling garnishments!! I do this daily! If you do get served and need help, pm me.

*Name:
*Email:
*Phone:
*Zip:
Debt

	* denotes required field

Internet's first get-out-of-debt community - 128,000 members

Can United Collection Bur garnish my wages & put lien on

Members Area

Free Debt Counseling

Ask the community

Community Photos

Featured Discussions

Featured Articles

Question of the Month

Also See

Recent Forum Discussions

Recent Blog Post