They won't take my money!?!
Date: Tue, 10/25/2011 - 22:46
Not sure how common this is but I have a problem. I had an account charged off to Collect America/CACHV/SquareTwo or whatever they are called now back in 2009 and since then, I have been passed to two law firms (one in another part of the country and one local) and now it's with a CA. The first law firm sent a dunning letter but at the time I couldn't pay so I ignored it. No further letters from them. About a year later (now 2010), I get another dunning letter from a local law firm and by this time I have found this site and followed the instructions. I sent a DV letter, and several months later I actually got the paperwork confirming the debt so I sent them an offer/settlement letter. I got no reply and now it has been passed to a CA this year and have received a dunning letter from them. Again, following procedure, I sent a DV letter and that was back in June. I have yet to hear from them. I think how the hierarchy works is that Collect America is the main account holder and they send it off to these law firms and smaller CAs as "sub contractors" so they have to get the verification information routed to the smaller ones from Collect America. That could be why it's taking so long I'm not sure.
Either way, I have made every good faith effort to contact every entity, minus the first one, that has sent me a dunning letter (DV letter sent certified with return receipt) and the cards have come back signed every time so I know someone is at least getting the letters.
The principal started out around $2100 and now its past $4500. I have the money to pay the full amount although I would rather settle for less and these dunning letters often offer to settle for about half of the current balance but you have to pay within 14 days most often and that doesn't leave time to send out a DV and wait for response. I'm not trying to stall them by sending the DV letters, I just want to make sure they do control the account or at least can collect on behalf of whoever owns it, if it is indeed Collect America.
This is really irritating me that they won't respond so we can work something out and all the while the balance is just going up. How can I work around this stalling on their part to get a settlement reached? I am willing to call to work out a deal and wait on the written paperwork confirming the settlement to come though before payment is sent but I am unsure if that's how I should go about this. And how can charged off accounts accrue interest? I thought those accounts are considered 'inactive' and are fixed amounts that are bundled and sold off to CAs from the original creditors?
P.S. I find it odd I'm being basically ignored when all I hear about, especially on these forums, is stories of endless harassment...
You can again send the CA a debt validation letter in writing vi
You can again send the CA a debt validation letter in writing via certified mail with a return receipt request. This time also if they don???t give any reply, then forward them a Cease and Desist letter. After that if they are still trying to contact with you, then you can file a complaint against them to the State Attorney General or FTC.
Collection agencies will not negotiate thru the mail. If you wa
Collection agencies will not negotiate thru the mail. If you want to settle, call, preferable near the end of the month.
SANDRA...if you understood collection laws, or read the post, yo
SANDRA...if you understood collection laws, or read the post, you would know that the CA and law firms are NOT breaking any laws!!! The poster is DVing, the law firm VALIDATED but they are not responding to settlement letters!!!! This is NOT illegal...so complaining is a waste of time!! Please refrain from making up answers if you do not understand the question. Irritating a debtor is not illegal!!!!
Sandra, they already aren't talking to me. I need to get them ta
Sandra, they already aren't talking to me. I need to get them talking, not the other way around. Thanks anyway.
Soaplady, thank you for that advice. I had been told by other sources not to call them ever as they will just use that number that you called on to try to collect/harass and deals made over the phone are shaky at best. I figured if everything is in written, certified correspondence, there is no ambiguity. But it does take longer, which is probably part of the problem.
A few questions for you though (Or anyone else who would care to answer):
1) Since I am now hearing from this current CA, should I assume they hold the debt and not try to work with the second law firm that originally verified my debt?
2) Is this common practice to be continually passed off from one collection entity to another? It makes it much harder to deal with these people if they keep passing the buck.
3) Since you say calling is the best way to settle, should I not wait for the DV response and just deal with them over the phone to settle, wait for the written negotiation and then pay?
4) If it is true that CAs will not settle through the mail, are there tips or tricks I can use when negotiating a deal over the phone? I simply preferred written correspondence so there is a record of what is said and other sources have told me that it can be done through the mail but I'm willing to call if it will expedite the end to this mess.
5) Would an e-mail confirmation of negotiation (Printed out and kept in my debt file) be legally sufficient to hold up if the deal is challenged later in court if they don't want to send a letter or is only signed, written correspondence valid?
6) How can charged off accounts accrue interest? I thought those accounts are considered 'inactive' and are fixed amounts that are bundled and sold off to CAs from the original creditors?
Quote:1) Since I am now hearing from this current CA, should I
Quote:
1) Since I am now hearing from this current CA, should I assume they hold the debt and not try to work with the second law firm that originally verified my debt? |
If it is a JDB collector, I would DV. If this is an assigned debt, I would call the original creditor.
Quote:
2) Is this common practice to be continually passed off from one collection entity to another? It makes it much harder to deal with these people if they keep passing the buck. |
YUP
Quote:
3) Since you say calling is the best way to settle, should I not wait for the DV response and just deal with them over the phone to settle, wait for the written negotiation and then pay? |
If you do the DV route, wait. They will not negotiate thru the mail...it is too time consuming and no collector wants there inventory filled up with accounts that are mail only. They dump these accounts.
Quote:
4) If it is true that CAs will not settle through the mail, are there tips or tricks I can use when negotiating a deal over the phone? I simply preferred written correspondence so there is a record of what is said and other sources have told me that it can be done through the mail but I'm willing to call if it will expedite the end to this mess. |
What you prefer and what the reality of debt collections is just doesnt jive. Often it is the clients themselves that do not permit this type of collection activiity.
Quote:
5) Would an e-mail confirmation of negotiation (Printed out and kept in my debt file) be legally sufficient to hold up if the deal is challenged later in court if they don't want to send a letter or is only signed, written correspondence valid? |
No...you want a settlement letter fax on their letterhead.
Quote:
6) How can charged off accounts accrue interest? I thought those accounts are considered 'inactive' and are fixed amounts that are bundled and sold off to CAs from the original creditors? |
The new owner has the legal right to charge interest it is included in your original agreement.
[URL="http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/forums/infraction.php?do=report&p=892481"]
[/URL]When it comes to mail, unless your offer exceeds the minimum gui
When it comes to mail, unless your offer exceeds the minimum guidelines, they wont accept it. You have to call.
Tips? You make under $2000 a month, you have 5 kids, a disease, reduced hours, cant make house payments, and your family is loaning you the money. You are already dealing with 10 other creditors, and they have judgments against you and liens against you home. The collector doesnt care if its true, they only care about getting it approved so they can make their quota. Tell them what they want to hear to get your settlement offer approved.
If you can tell me the current owner of the debt, I may be able to give you a good idea what they will take. If its with a lawfirm, its not them, its whoever is hiring them.
In most cases, unless you have a judgment against you, expect to pay around 30-40%. They may come back with a counter offer, so keep that in mind.
Enhanced Recovery Company, LLC The law firm that had it previou
Enhanced Recovery Company, LLC
The law firm that had it previous was local to where I live. Probably would have worked with me if I had called but unfortunately, I didn't know better. That's probably why they sold it off to ERC, didn't want to deal with mailing me. None of the CAs or law firms have any contact numbers for me, only a mailing address and that's the way I wanted to keep it but if I have to call I guess I will. CAs probably won't take restricted (*67) calls either will they? Specifically ERC?
Call via skype. Dollar Tree has half decent headsets for $1.00
Call via skype. Dollar Tree has half decent headsets for $1.00 Or magic jack.
Phone Idea
Skype is a good idea and so is using Google Voice. When I was trying to avoid the credit card calls, I set up a Google Voice account (it is free). It allows you to give out a junk number to receive calls as well as place calls using that number as the Caller ID. It's pretty handy and doesn't require an investment to get up and running.