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I am just wondering do CA have to send you a monthly letter or something like a statement to show how much you have left to pay off? Cause I had to start to deal with this CA that also say they are a law firm, they sent me a letter that they have taken over my old Capital One Debit (which is a story in itself). Then they send me a letter saying that they had tried to get ahold of me for payments but were able to.
The last one I got was from 3 months ago after I had made arrangements for the first of 3 months of payments. The last of which I just set up cause they had called wanting a 2nd payment in the same month and the person I talked with said I should call them each month to make the payments so they don't have to call me? If they would send me a letter once and a while I would have an address to send a payment and as it is right now I don't even really know the company name, address or even how much I still owe on it. When they got it I had owed around $700 I have made $100 in payment so far and just setup for next week a $75 payment but after that I am not sure what do do if they don't start sending me letters with my amount due still and stuff. Seems like almost all the CA I have delt with so far have at least sent me a monthly letter saying how much I have left to pay on.

Sorry forgot to login first.

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 9:54 am Subject:

Hi allogagan

There is no law that requires collection agencies to send the balance statement each month. But if you request them for it, some might be willing to help you.

It is my take that you must review the debt when the CA has made the first collection contact. Keep a record of all the payments done in the past. You will be able to tally it conveniently. When you do a payment, ensure that the company sends the money towards your account. Get a receipt of your payment done and document it in a file.

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 11:29 am Subject:

ok, thats understandable , but how they expect you to send in the payments by check (which most of mine perfer it seems) if they don't send you something with the address? send you someone once and expect you to hold on to that letter for the rest of the time you are paying it off and just use a normal envelop?
CA can be so confusing at times. But I guess thats how they make their money.

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:51 pm Subject:

I also get surprised by the collection tactics. Most of them prefer to get paid by a check. This discloses your personal and bank to them. They want to take money as soon as you have your paycheck. If you are running short of money, they will take the amount so that you don't use it towards other bills.

Send your money through money gram, western union? Have you tried it out?

GUEST · Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 11:08 pm Subject: WESTERN UNION

What is so special about western union? CA's love western union. Western Union even sends out a magazine to collectors to encourage recommendation of their services. (But at least with Money Gram or Western Union, no one could pretend they didn't get your money) No collector likes checks, they bounce. Thought I'd give y'all some inside info. Good Luck with the scammers, but seriously, if you truly owe it, why not pay?

Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 7:20 am Subject:

Don't do western union or money grams. Your are just spending even more money to pay them and now a third party is getting richer. Send payments by money order cashiers check (I think Money gram also sells money orders through Wal-Mart, currency exchanges, etc. But your paying about fifty cents for the money order (still less than the $9.00+ charge to "wire" them the money. Money orders are also available at the post office for about seventy five cents or a dollar.

Go to the first letter you received, and get their phone number and address from that. Call or write them a letter or call them demanding the address to send payment to. If they will not give you an address, then inform them you have tried to address the matter, and that they are being uncooperative and as a result any arrangement is now void. If you do this with a phone call, then back it up with a letter cent CMRR , so you have documentation if they try to take a legal action against you.

Never give a Collection Agency or Attorney any Bank or credit card account numbers. If you send them a check or check by phone they can take the information off the check and debit your account later. By sending a money order or cashiers check, they cannot obtain any personal account information, keeping your information private. Money Orders or Cashiers checks are cheaper that using western union or money gram to write Money , and don't require you to reveal account information. A nominal charge I feel is more like a security fee than anything else.

Guest · Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 8:19 am Subject:

About Western Union or Money Gram. I would suggest doing those only under two circumstances. One, if it is a precharge off credit card. You want your payment to hit before you are charged another late/intrest fee. And the second would be if it is the last day on a settlement offer.

Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 8:34 am Subject:

How can I make sure that the money that I am paying to the CA is being credited to my account? Should I call the original creditor and ask? I was told that it is too much paperwork, by several CA, to send monthly statements. Also, should I call the original creditors and close all of my accounts (I think they are anyway). By doing this it would avoid anymore late fees and interest, right?

Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 11:35 am Subject:

jcrab1

You must get a 'paid in full' letter by the CA after the account is paid off. Moreover, you can call the agency and keep a follow up. Some CAs do send monthly statements if you put a request.

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:22 am Subject:

The reason collectors want checks is to "secure" the balance. They now will have a promise from you on file for a certain date for an agreed upon amount of money.

If you get a nice collector they can propably send you a letter with the remaining balance on it after your payments. I do it for some of my people.

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:05 am Subject:

Never send a collector a post dated check. It can lead to more problems. Only send them a money order or cashiers check. Like FYI stated, if you get a good collector, they will send you a monthly statement showing balance remaining.

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 7:56 am Subject:

If they don't want to send you a statement, call and harass the heck out of them. I call one collector about once per week..Up to 3 times a week if I'm feeling feisty. I have him tell me the balance every time, and how much I'm scheduled to pay next. I verify EVERY question I have over and over again. He refuses to send me a statement, so I'll make my own. Smile

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 8:20 am Subject:

I have an account with ASG and they've actually been very good to me. I have post-dated checks set up with them and they have never deposited them before they are supposed to and they also send me a statement every month with my balance listed. I guess I've been lucky with this one!!

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 8:23 am Subject:

In my experience, for some credit cards I have paid off through CA's, they first sent me validation letters which included these little "Paystubs" on each letter, which I would detach and send in with my payments (always by money order) and when they were paid off, they would send me notice that they were paid off. I kept track by noting how many of the "paystubs" I had sent. Two that I have paid this way offered me 3 payments of equal amounts.

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:54 am Subject:

I haven't been lucky enough to get the good collection agencies. All I get is the junk debt buyers that break the laws. I guess there is a sign that says all junk debt buyers harass and do whatever you have to in order to collect from these people.

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