Internet's first get-out-of-debt community - 168,000 members

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:12 am Subject:

Ranger--

First off, I always recommend that you take care of your immediate needs first. I know that collectors dont give a hoot about whether or not you eat or have a place to live, but I do. Take care of what is NECESSARY first, even if it means stopping their payments until you can afford them again. Here's the thing though--you will want to make sure that they cannot keep taking the money. You will need to go to your bank and get their help on this--often you need a new account, because many banks will continue to allow the debits for some reason, even after you have informed them that the debits are not authorized anymore. They are not supposed to, and if they do, you can usually get the money put back in your account, but it can be a hassle and take some time.

I would also recommend sending a letter, of course certified mail RRR, to the CA. Inform them in writing that while you do wish to keep paying on this debt, you are simply unable to continue the payments at this time due to financial hardship. This is a courtesy more than anything else, and if you ever did end up in court, you would have this to support your claim that you have always wanted to work with them. Every once in a while, you might even get lucky and deal with a collector that is polite and willing to be considerate of your situation. Since you have been making payments to them for some time now, it is obvious that you are willing to work with them--but many collectors wont look at it that way because they only care about $$$.

Now, they cannot have you arrested for fraud(or anything else). They cannot garnish your wages without a court order, which means they would have to sue you first, and that takes time. I do not know the size of the debt, or any of the details, but if you cannot survive yourself, then you cannot pay them anyways, right?

Take care of yourself, please, and then come back to your debts when you are in a better position financially. And please consider joining this forum, we are all here to help when you have any other questions!

Jon

Carly · Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:40 pm Subject:

I have been receiving calls from them non stop too. At least 5 in the last hour. Maybe I can block their number?? This has been very educational, I'm glad I found this post.

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 2:35 pm Subject:

hi carly--

blocking the number will not usually work, especially since many of these companies use predictive dialer systems. The number showing up on your caller ID is not always even a real number. hell, I once had a CA call me up and my own name and number would show up on the caller ID as the incoming call!

Plus, they can have more than one number, so blocking one will not stop the calls. The only way to do this is to send off the letters as mentioned above. At least then, if they still call, you can sue them, and the penalty per fdcpa violation is $1000, payable to you from them....

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 8:48 am Subject:

So collector are you a registered FA with FINRA, formerly NASD?

Guest · Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 8:47 pm Subject:

I dunno bout all that, but he sure is a certified PITA...

caps lock · Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 12:43 am Subject:

how would you guys know what the matter is about if you dont answer the call or even bother calling back the number on the caller id? jeez.

caps lock · Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 12:47 am Subject:

but if you cannot survive yourself, then you cannot pay them anyways, right? - words wisely said from a guy who claims to be the MAN.

so it shows you just wanna avoid the debt.?

now what if this guy owes like $1000 in credit card debt and cant pay the amount due usually $150 for this type of balance. then we enroll 'em in a payment arrangement for a period of time usually 2 - 6 mos to make the account current for the lowest amount possible. BUT we particularly need a debtor's cooperation for this to work. now if you continue diverting the calls then nothing good will come off it. your debt will just increase coz of late fees and finance charges.

Guest · Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 8:33 am Subject:

ranger89 · Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 5:29 am Subject: encore

I am changing my account. I have paid down my discover account with encore from 3391 to 1166. i will send them money when I have it.

thanks guys Very Happy

caps lock · Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 2:22 am Subject:

How would ranger be able to work with ERMI, and even send them payments, if the phone was never answered or the call returned, Mr. Wizard? And how would jfg know that they were calling about a Dell account? ERMI doesnt leave voicemail messages that tell you what account they are trying to collect, now do they? You really need to go back to grade school and get that reading problem fixed. Reading just owned you....

- now in a perfect world this would be fine and dandy, me leaving messages on the phone sayng this is a dell account? now aint that stupid? leaving account information on the phone risking third party contact.? i thought you know the fdcpa law?
not understanding the fdcpa owned you.