New user needs help

Who is FBCS????

Once you made a payment, it is too late in my opinion. Unless it was something you truly did not owe and have proof you did not owe it, that is the only way to get your money back.

i agree, if it is 100% you did not owe them, there may be ways you can try to go after them (perhaps reporting them to several agencies, etc) but other than that, i am not sure if there is anything that can be done :(

Okay, but should I just stop paying them now? the debt was a very old one, about 10 years ago, that my ex-wife and I ran up. It was an old credit card, in my name. It slipped through the cracks until now. I have come to a decision that i have paid them enough money, almost $2K total. I'll just go from there, and see what happens next.

i am not an expert but i have some concerns about this. first since you paid, does that mean you have reset the statue of limatations? also does that mean you have admitted to the debt, therefore verified it? I really do not know these answers but those are the questions i would have and perhaps someone here will be nice enough to help further :)

Thanks for this information, but what can I do next?

i am not sure :/ i would not be in a hurry to give them money right now, i was kind of hoping someone with more experience could answer some of the points i mentioned (perhaps us bumping this up will get more answers!)

Hey I appreciate your help. I hope I have not screwed myself by paying them some money already.

I am thinking about hiring a financial consultant (through my employment association) and possibly a lawyer if I have to. I am hoping it will not go that far.

Maybe I will register, and start a new thread. Maybe people would be willing to help more that way.

Don't take the lack of response as being ignoreed because you are not a member, people work and vacation and are sometimes busy that they cannot get on the board. Everybody here are volunteers.

You are in a situation that a lawyer may be your best answer, it is also possible that nobody had anything good to say.

The simple fact is that unfortunately, by paying something on it you have brought the account back into SOL. You may still have some options though, but you will have to fight for them.

First, how did they contact you about the debt? Did they ever threaten you with legal action, or pressure you?

Just because you paid them does not necessarily mean that your hands are tied. Send them a certified letter, in this letter explain to them that you made the payment while feeling under pressure, and before you pay anything more, you would like to be sure they are in fact the correct company to be paying and that they are in fact collecting upon a legitimate debt. If this debt is legitimate then they should have no problem providing you the appropriate information.

If they respond with threats or demands then you have reason for being even more suspicious. If that is the case then send them another letter informing them that there will be no further payments until such a time they provide you with the required information.

Now you likely won't get your money back....unless you are prepared to take it all the way to court..which you could do, especially if they refuse to validate...you could sue for the amount you paid plus whatever violations they have made and explain to the judge that you grew increasingly more suspicious when they refused to provide you any information and only piled on the threats.

Whether or not you re-set SOL varies from state to state. What state do you live in?

Thanks for all the information. i live in Arizona.

I have been around the internet looking for more information. I really appreciate the help everyone here has been giving.

AZ is one of the 17 states where in order to reset SOL,, the consumer must make a written acknowledgement of the debt and a written promise to pay.

Interesting. So just by me on the phone saying i will pay this certain amount, is not going to reset the SOL?

Nope

Is this the company:

http://www.budhibbs.com/collectorpages/fbcs_federal_bond_collection.htm

That is exactly who the company is......

A bunch of ex-mob enforcers probably.....

Now the latest....

I have asked these guys for what we agreed to in writing. There was $2600 left on my balance, and I paid them half last month, and told them I would pay the rest this month. But I wanted it in writing. Now I get some letter from them, that is not on their "normal" letterhead, saying "as per our agreement, you will pay $2000 by March 18". thing is, our agreement was for $1300. Now they are saying I owe them more than what we agreed upon. Is this mail fraud? Should I write a letter to the BBC and make a formal complaint?

i got that from a website. i cannot post the link, but I will provide if needed.

Now I want to write a cease and desist letter. What are some good key words and phrases I can use?

Thank you everyone for your help. I wrote the cease and desist letter. The company sent me a letter back saying they have no record of my debt, and that all future inquiries be sent to some other company.

No I want to go on the offensive, and try to get my money back. I read that a collection agency like this, by law, cannot get more money from you than what they bought the debt for. So I am going to find a lawyer that may be willing to do this.

thanks again to everyone.....

That is not true at all. When a debt is bought, they are buying the balanced owed, regardless of what they actually paid for it. It is perfectly legal for them to buy a debt for pennies on the dollar and to charge the full amount owed, or even to charge extra fees and/or interest if they have the signed contract that allows for that. Even if the contract does not state any specific interest, many states allow a certain interest to be charged on an account, like Texas has a basic 6% interest rate for anything that doesn't mention a specific interest rate in the paperwork.