Hi Cristina
It is nice that your husband is concerned about repairing his credit. Since his debt has passed on to the collection agency, they are trying to recover the debt from him.
Now, since he is concerned about repairing his credit, he should not think about filing for bankruptcy in any case. It is considered to be a negative remark and will stay on the file for as long as 10 years. It hurt his file rather than repairing it.
My suggestion to you is that write a letter to the collection agency and ask them to validate the debt giving you the complete details of the account. The fdcpa law forces the collection agencies to give you a proper picture of your past debt before you pay to your debt account. This prevents your money from going into the wrong hands and also, that you are paying the legitimate amount.
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/validation.html
In the process of validating the debt, they need to provide the following details of the account:
- The details of the account.
- All the calculation should be shown of the amount that is owed.
- Any copies of the papers to be furnished that shows the payment agreement.
- Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable
- The original creditor needs to be identified.
- The Statute of Limitation needs to be proven for the collection of the debt.
- The license of the collection agency applicable in the state is to be furnished along with the license numbers and Registered Agent
- Proof of the agreement that the debt collector has purchased the debt or has been hired by the creditor to collect the debt from the debtor as this is the basic contract law.
- Complete payment history showing the details of the creditors, payment history, amount of the debt, break up of fees/interest should be provided in paper.
- A copy of the original signed loan agreement between the debtor and the original creditor establishing the debt between both the parties also has to be produced.
Once the debt has been validated, you can make a payment arrangement with the collection agency. I am pretty sure that they will be willing to work on it as long as you are interested to pay it.
You can also think about using a consolidation program for making the payment process easier. This program will perform the necessary works with your collection agency and along with it, you will be offered some easy repayment options.
All the debt will be combined into one loan amount and the total amount of your debt will be reduced by 40% to 60%. This will eliminate all the financial charges and the late fees from the total debt. Thus, you will be offered an amount that will be much easier for you to pay.
You can take a free consultation in this website so that the consultant is able to discuss with you about it and offer you the best options.
Regards
Roxette
