Demand to work with the original debtor?

I am not sure. I think it's up to the original creditor. My wife had an account with a dept store card. It's been turned over to Alliance One. While I was speaking with the original creditor trying to pay them, they said that they couldn't because they have a contractual agreement with Alliance One. Incidentally, I called them to inquire about the debt. Alliance One didn't call me... yet. I am just being proactive and trying to settle debts before they get to far. So to answer your question, I guess it's up to the creditor. Now if I go back to them and try to speak with someone higher up, I might get a different answer. I'm just not sure what standard policy is for companies when it comes to this sort of thing. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Here is what I would do: Find out who truly owns account. If it was sold to collector,it will be hard for Oc to recall it. If it is assigned to collector,call Oc and complain to them that collector is not following federal guidelines for collecting and you would prefer to work with them. This may or may not work depending on individual circumstances.

I had the same thing happen with Providian. I tried to pay them directly and they said they couldn't, I had to pay the creditor.

If the debt has already been sold, you have to work with the CA who has it. If is hasn't, you can work with the original creditor. I has a Sears account that was sold to a CA. Sears couldn't talk to me because they didn't have my info anymore. It is alwasy better to talk with the original creditor, they will,sometimes try to work with you. Good Luck..Karen :D

Good points above when it comes to the debt being "sold" or "assigned". If the debt is "assigned" to the collection agency, then you technically do not owe them any money. Now keep in mind that a lot of contracts have a loophole in wording that says "debtor agrees to be responsible for payment of this debt to creditor OR ITS ASSIGNS". This is the contract between you, the creditor and the debt collector. But the saving grace could be that they need to provide you a copy of that contract statement WITH your signature. If they do, then you might be stuck witht the debt and will need to negotiate.

In my experience, if the original creditor still had the info, they will always work with you; the only reason would be if they didn't. They're going to take their money anyway they can get it, right?
I would always try to work with the original creditor first and the collector if you can't.