Assigned to Collections / Dentist willing to work with me

Since the CA violated the FDCPA by threatening action they cannot take (the garnishment), the dentist office can take the account back without paying the CA. Or you can sue the CA and make $1000 and then pay the dentist.

what state do you live in? It would be VERY helpful if you could get this stuff on tape...let me know your state and we can tell you the law about recording phone calls there.

Especially when they are telling you to shut up, etc etc etc...that is completely ridiculous behavior and is not allowed. Plus, if it were me, I would definitely try to get them on tape saying they were gonna place a garnishment against me. You might even live in a state that doesnt allow garnishments over consumer debts!

It is usually common for CA's to keep 1/3 of the monies the collect, which is why they want you to pay them instead of him directly.

Because he had already placed the account with them, and depending on his agreement with the CA, they may be able to hold him responsible for any payments that come in (after all, their collection efforts seemed to work, given the fact you are now trying to pay it....).

But the OC (dentist in this case) can always report direct payments to the CA, and then the CA will send him a bill for their 1/3.

In California, you can only record calls with the permission of both parties, so I don't think that would be an option.
Correct me if if I'm wrong, but the collector would be working for the dentist, yes? So imho, the dentist should be able to stop any actions, but depending on whether a contract was signed between the two parties, perhaps he would have to make some sort of payment to them, depending on what they agreed to.

I'm running out of time on the 60 days before they file with the CRA's.

I'm contacting the dentist tomorrow to let him know that I've borrowed $500 to finish off this debt and ask him what he would like me to do. I'm going to ask for the contract that he signed with them, so I know. If in fact they cannot report to CRA's because his agreement does not allow it, I'll file a C&D and see if it gets sent back to his office.

Honestly, I would rather pay him than the debt collector. And he'd be more flexible with the payments. But if it comes down to it, I'll just have to pay the debt collector.

However, there is now about $50 worth of interest tacted on from the initial claim.

Is that legal? Since it was never in any agreement with the dentist to include interest, it's solely on the debt collector.

Any final ideas? I intend to settle the debt within the next few days. As of yet, there are no negative credit collections on my credit report. I want to keep it that way.

Thanks everyone.

You have no legal right to a copy of the contract that the dentist signed with a CA. And again as I said above, the dentist has every right to pull back the account due to the FDCPA violations.

Most medical offices have you sign a financial release form. Collections of the debt are included in that including interest charges for past due accounts. The CA cannot just add them.

Send a C&D to the CA informing them of their FDCPA violations and in lieu of suing them, you will work with the dentist directly. The CA cannot do anything further...they cannot sue since they do not have the legal power or the authorization.

Past due invoice balances in Calif. usually have 1 1/2% interest per month added to them (18% APR). After they send it to collections, however I don't believe the CA can add anything to it.

I totally agree with Soaplady, send the CA a C&D and work with the dentist. He can send the CA their fee if that's what his contract states. Just let him know that the CA is not only acting in a boorish manner, but also violating Federal Law (the FDCPA).

Don't reward them for acting like cretins, punish them. Also file a complaint against them with the FTC, the FCC and the Calif. Attorney General's Office.

Also, if they *don't* report it to the CRA, you will be *very* lucky indeed.

In California, we also have the Rosenthal act, which regulates collection activities--and my guess is if this collector is located out of state and is calling California, they might not be familiar with it. Just one more area to hit them...

So, all is done, and I am posting a good update just for anyone who is in search of hope, or has followed the thread. I want to say thank you to you all.

I sent in my PFD at four days ago and did not receive a response yet, which is understandable as it has only been four days. But I knew my time was running out, so I scheduled an appointment to come into the Collection Agency to discuss my settlement for the account in full.

The manager assigned to my account was not there and to start, I was greeted pretty aggressively, I figure most people who come into their office who are not there to request services are considered debtors who are as low as dirt, when usually, it's just people who are struggling financially in these hard times.

Instead of the manager who was supposed to be assisting me this morning, I instead met with the CEO of their company.

I spoke with a smile, laid out all my points regarding the matter, stating I did attempt to make payment, I did contact the the original creditor to work sometime out, the agency did deny my payment proposal, I was harassed by the collection agent, deemed illegal by the Federal Trade Commission and the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, and I may pursue legal action on their agency. I requested a goodwill consideration for a deletion of the tradeline in exchange for a full payment, right then right there.

The CEO did not budge. He was quite friendly and explained to me that he has a contractual obligation with the Credit Reporting Agencies to file truthful information regarding the account and he can only delete if there is some sort of evidence of a true dispute regarding an error. He agreed to adjust as paid in full. And he agreed and advised me that if I had any problems with their agency, I should report a complaint.

At that point, I just as much gave up. Which some people on this forum may have advised against. But I decided to show some humility and own up to my debt and deal with the consequence. As I was writing the check though, he went through my file, and did notice I did attempt to make payments, through the dentists office, and that my collections was reported just 3 days ago to the CRA's.

He asked me what I felt and I told him that this tradeline will have a hard effect on my life. I was sad that if I had only paid three days earlier, this all could have been avoided. I told him that I had intent to find an apartment for school in the next month. He agreed that this would make it difficult for me.

He then did something unexpected. He said "Well, you know, we generally aren't allowed to do this, and I can't sign the contract you brought in, as it goes against my contract with the agencies, but I will have this deleted off your credit report, you have my word in lieu to your contract."

I was in awe. I thanked him graciously as I had already finished writing the check by the time he told me this. At that point, he had no need to make me a promise like that, but under some sort of will, he decided to give me his goodwill. He walked me up to the front desk and told his staff to accept my payment and delete the tradeline on my account. Although he did not give it to me in writing, his staff did on my report stating that it will be deleted, on behalf of their CEO.

I ended up joking with his staff about work for a few minutes before I left.

So it all ends well. They are submitting the documents today and the tradeline will be deleted as soon as the credit reporting agencies respond.

Thank you everyone for your help.

You got suckered.....could have deleted the tradeline anytime he wanted. Plus you should have gotten it in writing.

I did get it in writing, from his staff, on behalf of the CEO. I know that he could have deleted the tradeline, as he did, but I do know that CA generally do have rules against reporting false information to CRA's. It makes sense.

I did read in his notes on his computer screen that they intended to return my PFD unsigned without agreement, even with my payment in full. His front desk girls told me that they rarely ever do deletions, but they have done it a handful of times in the past, only when he allows it.

Considering that their agency intended to return the PFD without a signature, even with my agreement to pay the total amount, including interest, I think they were pretty serious.

Don't think I got suckered, and I sure hope not. I know how collection agencies are, but I really think I pulled through on this one.