Collection Agency Help please

In a proper validation letter, the collection agencies are also required to provide you with the copy of your agreement with your original creditor, proof that they really hold your accounts and the payment history. This implies that they have not properly validated your debt. You can send a Cease and Desist letter to the collection agency and request them to stop contacting you.

If the other collection agencies can prove that you owe money to them, then you have to take steps to repay the debts. Since you can't afford to make lump sum payment, you can go for debt consolidation program. This program will help you consolidate all your unsecured debts into a single monthly payment.

You can also explain your financial situation to the collection agencies and request for an alternative repayment plan.

Thank you, in the debt validation letter that was returned the Collection Agency stated that they would not be contacting me via my request in my original letter. Should I send another letter specifically asking for agreement with original creditor as well as proof they hold the account. Also, is the best way to reach out to the CA's by phone or in writing for my records. Thank you again for your help

I would communicate with the collection agencies only via mail or e-mail so you have a paper trail. I dealt with them by phone when they were ready to offer me a settlement.

Have all your credit cards been turned over to a collection agency? Have they been charged off yet? You can negotiate a settlement in installments, over 3 to 4 months with some of the creditors.

I doubt you can get a consolidation loan if you've defaulted. Get your mortgage back on track first. That should be your priority. Then you can negotiate with your other creditors.

Aubrey,
Thank you for your reply. How will I know if they have been charged off. All are in collections, some are using internal collection departments. I am working on my mortgage, but can the credit card companies or CA take my house. I need to keep my house (as I have 2 young daughters), and I am making progress with the mortgage company on a loan modification. I have a started working a second job, and have some cash expected at the end of the year. Again, I don't want to lose my house, and I definately don't want to go to prison....Thank you, Joe

If you are working with internal collections, they will let you know when it is close to chargeoff. They use that as a prod to bring your account up to date or settle. You can call all your creditors to find out how far from chargeoff you are. You can also pull your free credit report to check status.

Your creditors would need to take you to court first and obtain a judgement. Before that happens they usually try to negotiate something. I'd watch out for Capital One - they're pretty tough.

Ok thank you aubrey. I think my best bet is to start by pulling my credit report. Then it looks as though, I should send letters explaining my situation and asking for payment options? Does this sound like the best way to go about it. If they were to gain a judgement against me, what would the consequences be. Is a force sale of my house or jail realistic options. What do you mean by capital one being pretty tough,. The only good thing is I owe them the least. Thank you for your continued help, I am very anxious....Joe

I would call them directly so they know you are not ignoring your debts. Should you not be able to settle and they do go for a judgment, they could either put a lien on your property to be paid when sold, or most likely get a garnishment of wages or your checking account. You can delay that by keeping in touch with them and trying to negotiate settlement.

Capital One very rarely settles. They play hardball. They set up a payment plan for me 3 payments to bring account up to date and then pay the minimum due. Luckily I don't owe them that much. Cap One was my last settlement and I just caved in because of their inclination to sue.

Once again, thank you aubrey. I will begin to contact the cc companies directly, and not the CAs. I will keep you posted. How long do I usually have before they sue for judgement. I know there is not a definate answer, but just curious how long.

It varies, and I don't really know what criteria they use. Some charge off after 120 days; some 180. I never got to the point where my cards were turned over to an attorney; I always settled either with the creditor or the collection agency. Citibank and Capital One are very aggressive. Bank of America was pretty easy and Chase. Discover was a little difficult.

By keeping in touch with them and trying to settle, you might delay any legal proceedings for a while.

You can also do a search on this site and read what others have experienced with the same creditors you have. Will give you some ammo to deal with them.