Bad checks, collection agency, court costs?

Oops, I apologize for the double post.. I'm not sure how that happened. :?
Jen

I'm bumping this back up in hopes someone might know the answer.

What I'm trying to find out in short, is can a collection agency charge me for court costs and legal fees when we have not gone to court?

Thanks!!
Jen :)

I wouldn't agree to pay the court costs and they can't enforce them unless you go to court and they get a judgment for the amount due plus costs. If they are going to try to charge you the full court cost then you might as well go and see if the judge tacks them on. I would not pay them a penny without the agreement in writing either. It would probably be very beneficial to you if you recorded a call with them and got them to admit there was an agreement and that they never sent it. Personally I don't think they ever intended on sending it. I think it will be hard to get them to admit they did not send it but you might be able to get on tape what the origianal agreement was. Honestly, I am pretty surprised that they would even sue for this. I bet they are just threatening but it will never happen. I think your best bet though is to dig up $100 or so and offer it as settlment in full. Again don't pay anything until you have a signed agreement that has the date, company name, original creditor name, amount of debt, amount settled for, says paid in full and has a signature.

Thanks! I certainly want to pay what I owe on these checks. It bothers me a lot. But I will definatly demand they send me something in writing that they have agreed to payment arrangements and tell them I'm disputing a portion of the debt... i.e. the court costs and legal fees. I received papers from the clerk's office stating I was to appear on September 24th, so I think they were serious. The woman was not helpful at all when I called yesterday and of course I was in a panic due to not wanting to have to go to court. The checks, afterall, did not clear.
Thanks for you help! I'll keep you posted as to what happens. Any thoughts as to how to go about disputing the legal fees? :oops:
Thanks again!!!
Jen

It is deffintely true that a bad check can be more problematic than just an unpaid credit card debt or the like. If they have already filed then it might be more difficult to talk them out of the court cost portion. I did not realize they had officially filed. You should verify that with the court that the filed with as well. I would at least try to talk them out of a portion of the court costs because they have not been incurred yet since they have not gone to court. Whatever the agreement is make sure it is in writing though or else you will pay whatever they say you owe and then they might try to get more out of you. If they won't put it in writing then you may have no choice but to go to court. I would make all requests via phone and certified mail so you have proof that you have requested the agreement in writing and you have proof that you are attempting to pay but they just aren't working with you. I would also mention in that later that they already agreed to $120 over 6 months but they failed to send it in writing.

Jen, if you don't have an agreement in writing before the court date, be sure that you show up in court. Many of these collection agencies drag their feet on sending anything in writing, while telling you that you don't have to go to court, then they show up in court and get a default judgment for the full amount.

Yup, good advice. They might just be trying to set you up so you skip out and then they tag you for 3x-5x your original debt.

Thanks guys! It's helpful to step back, calm down and ask for help. I was quite panicked when I got the letter yesterday. I will call them Tuesday over my lunch and ask to speak with a manager. I'll start out very calm and explain to them my situation and that I can't afford to pay the court costs and try to get them to negotiate a settlement without the costs. I will then tell them I need something in writing.

Thanks again!!!
Jen

dont pay it

I wrote 3,000 dollars worth of bad checks on an closed account and almost all are in collections now i learned my lesson but if i pay 10 dollars a month and owe like 600 that would take forever to pay off can they wait that long