Hi all,

I have been having an ongoing issue with this agency. It started with my AmEx account being misused. Someone somehow used my account in PA while I was here in Texas. If I'd know of this earlier I am sure it could have been settled. But because this was a card I used only twice (at most), I'd forgotten it existed. Also, the statements were going to my old residence, another reason I had no idea. When I moved back to my home city, I was given a ton of old mail and noticed the charge. By this time, the account had been sent to collections. After trying to prove that I hadn't used the card in PA, I finally gave in and paid the money because I didn't want a bad mark on my credit, which up until now had been clean. I paid by the date on the letter sent to me, in full.

Now they claim I owe another $6 because despite having a 0 balance at the due date, they are saying interest accrued before the payment, or some bull. My real concern here is that during this whole ordeal, CollectCorp has been rude even when I was just trying to figure out what this charge was and how it got there. They rarely ever have working phone numbers, and don't answer the phone if you call more than once. When I asked them to send a receipt of my payment by phone they sent me a letter for a payment plan instead - after I'd paid the entire thing. And now they are sneaking charges in on me. I don't know what to do. I don't want the deliquency on my record in the first place because I never made the charge(and I have proof that I couldn't have made the purchase because I bought groceries in TX that very same day with my bank card) so I sure as heck don't want to be their endless supply of pocket change.

So I guess my questions are:

1. Is there anyway I can't get this removed from my report although I paid it? I have proof that I didn't make the purchase. If I can't how will the delinquency affect me? The last person I spoke to said that 30 days after I paid it off and they reported it to the bureaus it will clear. Is that true?

2. How can I ensure that what I pay them will actually end all of this since they keep bring up new charges and excuses everytime I think I am paid off? What's the best action to take?

3. Is there anyone or any place I can report them for their horrible treatment? It almost as if they don't want me to pay them the way they send me from person to person, and hang up on me for asking a simple question!

I apologize for making this so long, but thank you for hearing me out as well as for any help you can give.

Thanks,

Adra

[roxette]

Hi Adra

Welcome to the forums. The first thing that you should do is to contact Amex and close the said account. Otherwise, possibilities are there that it might keep rolling with some other charges which you will have to pay in order to maintain your financial identity. Get it in writing that the account has been successfully closed.

Regarding the present transaction, request CollectCorp to send the complete information of the debt in order to prove that they are legally responsible to collect it.

Once the payment is made, the account information will be updated with the credit bureaus and you will have a clean report. Otherwise, the negative marking of unpaid debt will keep hurting you at regular intervals.

You can lodge your consumer complaints about any agency practicing illegal collections at the FTC, BBB and the consumer protection office in your state. Many of the consumers have filed their complaints about specific companies and necessary actions have been taken against them.

Do let us know if you have any of your queries unsolved.

Regards
Roxette

Thanks for you advice and quick response! I plan to put this into action immediately.

[LCW]

Interest? Amex?? Huh?? Unless you have a Amex Blue card, amex doesen't charge interest, just hefty late fees assessedbased on balance in lump sums.

look aned print out the Fair Debt Collection act

do away with the middleman...deal directly with the

creditor....period

Collectcorp is just rude in general. I called tonight and the lady laughed at me over the phone. I wrote an E-mail to the president!

[FYI]

collection agencies don't have to be polite. It would be wonderful if all collection agents were but it isn't going to happen because they don't have to care about customer service or loseing their jobs for being a jerk.

I tend to take the Golden Rule to heart when I deal with people but I know many who don't.

I was reading your commnts on Collectcorp and other agencies. I see where you guys are coming from, but look at it in their shoes. On a daily basis, they get people calling in and telling them off, just for doing there job!
Now I'm not saying that they are innocent, that's for sure, but in a job like that, they have to be a little hard. There are millions upon millions of people out there who are in collections, and there is only a small percentage of those people who, like Adra, never intended to accumulate a debt; things happened where there was miscommunication or had not recived notice what so ever.
BUT....
There is a bigger percentage of people who KNOW they are in collections and instead of dealing with there matter, the simple take it out on other people...like the collectors.
I was a collector once, and I went into that job, nice as can be, using my "Please" and "Thank you's"; and my "Ma'am" and "Sir". I even had a handful of people that said "You're one of the nicest collectors i ever talked to,". But there were also tons and tons of people who simple hung up the phone on me as soon as they knew my intention of calling, or told me where to go and how to get there. It's these "classic debtors" that make collectors the way they are sometimes...

[JCEMT]

Doesn't matter, there are still certain things they are not allowed to do, using abusive language is one of them as all it takes is one little F-bomb for the FCC to levy a $1 million penalty. Also being rude to a person because they have a question about their account is uncalled for. Sure they don't have to be nice but what about common professionalism, or does that not apply in an industry where people claim to be professionals?

Does anyone have a fax number and/or email address for management at Collectcorp? I recently settled a debt with them which was withdrawn 1 week earlier than I had asked and am now being assessed with over $300 in bank fees that in my opinion Collectcorp should be responsible for.

After receiving calls for a same named person, I started answering the phone and telling the debt collectors that "she committed suicide because of the debt collectors harassing her to death" ... then I hung up ... it worked as my calls have been cut in half

is a creditor like these a**es allowed to call you work and ask for your boss an human resources number after you have told them not to call you there more than 6 times?

[Clay Bowden]

I used to manage for Collect Corp in Phoenix.
They lost their contract with the Department of Ed, they lost a truckload of collectors in Phoenix due to really bad executives making terrible decisions. Right after I left, and my friend and co-manager left, their Amex Portfolio went to hell in a hand basket. Most of their 3rd party collectors (the good ones) left. They lost market share on their in house portfolio and no doubt by now they have lost market share on their 3rd party portfolio.
Here is what I would do.
1. I would call Amex and file a formal complaint. Make sure that you put your request in writing (fax it or mail it to them).
2. Pay Amex directly, don't pay Collect Corp. Collect Corp. doesn't assign interest, Amex reports it to them. If you pay Collect Corp, you may be stuck in the same situation next month. if you call Amex and explain the situation to them, and tell them you want to pay it to a zero balance right now and you want a letter in writing, they will give you that.
3. Amex is VERY VERY VERY complaint sensitive, Intellirisk lost their contract with Amex due to a recorded call with a collector threatning legal action. So any problems with any of Amex's collection agencies, 1 call could do it all.
4. Don't even bother going through Collect Corp. they are a joke. They have a formal complaint process, to fine or fire managers and collectors for complaints. But they really don't do much and if you call them all you are going to get is pacification. If you're going to take action hit them where it hurts, go right to their client!
5. If you believe that they or any collection agency has voilated your rights, I would file a complaint with your State Attorney General, The FTC and the BBB.

File a complaint with the Office
Of the Inspector General (FTC):

By Mail:
Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Ave N.W.
Washington DC 20580

By Web:
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

By Phone:
General complaints: 1-877-382-4357
Identity Theft: 1-877-438-4338
kNOw Fraud: 1-877-987-3728
Spanish (en Espanol): 1-877-382-4357

6. You can also go to the RipOffReport (http://www.ripoffreport.com) and post your complaints there also.

If you have any other questions, PM me, I will elaborate more.

I used to be in the bsuiness. I bought tens of millions of dollars of debt and collected on a small fraction of it. Its a very togh business. Now that I am not in the business, I will tell you this. Once your credit card, or any debt for that matter as gone to collections, DONT PAY IT - EVER. Once you have a "Charge Off" on your credit report, the only thing tat will make it go away is time. There is ZERO difference between a "PAID CHARGOFF" and a "CHARGEOFF". Once the creditor has charged it off, your credit score will suffer until time heals the bad mark. So, despite what the Collection agency tells you, it will remain on your report and be reflected in your FICO score. Negotiate DIRECLY with the Company that you owe the debt too. Have them send you a notorized letter stipulating that if you pay off he debt, that they will remove all negative information from all THREE credit reporting bureaus, and that they will not post any additional information concerning te specific debt. This is the ONLY way to repair your credit. Period.

MN Dept. of Commerce is currently investigating Collectcorps Minneapolis office and it maybe shut down.

I have been calls from Collect Corp on an old student loan that was defaulted by the US Government not paying it under my military contract. I have disputed this for years. I have told collect corp several times and they do nothing about the dispute. they only say "I see that dispute but when are you going to pay?" I told them they are calling the wrong guy. Now the loan went from $7k to $22k and up $2k from just two days ago. Today I aked for the fax number and got put on hold forever. They also say everytime that they have a wage garnishment on their desk to process. I tell them go ahead and that I would like to see that trick since I am a self employed private detective.