zwicker wants payment before anything is in writing

If you contacted them chances are it is legitimate. But you should still get everything in writing before you send any money. Get a payment plan and record everything.

I would not trust them as far as I could throw them. NEVER agree to pay any debt collector without getting it in writing. The one and only thing that Zwicker cares about is getting money from you--because they get paid when they collect money. Often times, they do not even speak with the owner of the debt--even if they tell you they are authorized to make such an arrangement. The one and only thing they are trying to do is start collecting money. From there, a lot of things happen....for example, if the debt has passed the statute of limitations, when you make a payment on it, you could restart that time period.

Tell them to put the exact terms in writing, and make sure that the terms are affordable to you.....or else, no deal. If they refuse to put it in writing, then I would not pay. If the terms are not affordable, then I would not pay them.

Zwicker if my memory serves me right works discover 3rd party. Discover does agressively sue on non paying accounts so I would be checking about the letter with them.

thanks for the responses.
I agree that i should get something in writing before i start making payments.
I am going to submit a letter with terms and hope they accept it.
however, in the event they do not accept or refuse to have terms in writing and they sue, how should it be handled?

I wouldnt bother with a letter...it wont be responded to.

You really cannot set the terms...you need to come to a mutal agreement on the phone. There is no legal requirement for them to send a letter. Choosing not to pay if they wont send one would be a moot point in court. Per your card holder agreement, they are within their rights to demand payment in full on demand. Failure to pay will probably result in you being sued.

so i come to a mutual agreement through the phone? what if they start changing terms?

they said that the only way they will come to an agreement if i send them money FIRST through check by phone, using my checking account.

is this advisable?

Sure, a debt collector has the right to set terms of payment in full, but that is not what is occuring here. They are negotiating terms different than that, and yet asking that it be conducted solely as an oral contract until a later time, at which they will reduce it to writing.

If they are willing to agree, yet not reduce it to a written contract, something smells. There is no legitimate reason for them not to commit their agreement to writing.

If you pay first, then be willing to go into court and rely upon an oral contract if they dont live up to its terms.

update:
i am to send zwicker a payment of $50 by next week in exchange for a payment schedule AND a stipulation for judgement/agreement for judgement (AFJ as they called it).
what am i getting into here?

firstly, it sounds as though you have already been sued. im not sure if i missed that in previous posts.
secondly, the agreement/stipulation is something you need to sign? it sounds like you are agreeing to allow the courts enter a judgment against you, which means if you default on the arrangement (being even a day late is technically defaulting) then they can execute the judgment in whatever ways your state courts allow - wage garnishment, bank and asset levies....

what state do you live in?

I agree--a stipulation of judgment is something that involves a lawsuit. You need to check your court clerk's office to see if they have sued you. If they have and you were not served a summons, you can take action on that point.

as far as i can tell, i checked the county court online, and i am NOT being sued by zwicker.

However, the rep did mention that my account was in litigation and me sending them a $50 payment will result in payment agreement along with an agreement for judgement/stipulation that i need to sign. are they using scare tactics?

I am NOT trying to get out of paying this debt. I have no problems paying it, i just was unable to pay it for the last couple of months.

At the same time tho, i do not want have a judgement or anything of that nature on my credit report. I realize my credit is screwed with the charge-off from the OC and i'm just looking for it to say paid in full.

I am in texas and aware that i can send a DV prior to any court date.
I have not sent them a DV. should that be my next step?

Keep in mind, i responded to the second collection letter they sent me.

Well, seeing that you are in Texas, I would record the phone calls. In Texas, it is legal for you to record the calls without the other party knowing, as long as one party to the call consents. That one consenting party is you.

I would record the call and talk to them about the litigation claim. Do not challenge their claim--you want to get them on tape telling you that your account is in litigation. I would say something like this:

"I spoke with your company this past week and was told that my account is in litigation already. I was offered a payment agreement by your company but I was told that I had to make a payment before I could get a copy of it in writing. What I want to know is how far along is the litigation on my case? How much time do I have to consider your payment offer, and what happens if I cannot accept your payment plan?"

you want them talking about the threats of further action. If you can get them on tape doing that, you will have a sure-fire lawsuit. They are breaking the law right now--I highly doubt that they actually did sue you somewhere, but if they did, they are only allowed to sue you where you live. So you already checked your county court and you said that you are not being sued---you may want to double check the court clerks office again just to make sure that you have no pending lawsuits from any plaintiff. I know you said that Zwicker isnt suing you but someone else probably owns the debt, so Zwicker couldnt sue you anyways unless they owned it. If you check and find that no one has sued you, then I would make that phone call and record it. I use a microcassette recorder that plugs directly into the phone lines for this. If they have sued you in the wrong county, they are in violation for that. If they have not sued you at all--the more likely case--that is a violation too.

I can understand why they are being aggressive in trying to collect a debt, however, i do have problems with them requiring me to send them a check in exchange for an agreement for judgement.

they won't seem to budge on that issue.
so i guess my next step is to DV and go from there.

Thanks for all the info guys, it has been very helpful.

Hang on there--

Why would you ask for advice and then ignore it? If you send a DV letter two things will happen--

1--they will most likely ignore it and not respond
2--you still will not get to the bottom of this "litigation" claim, and you really need to.

Do a search for "telephone cassette recorder" in google. I just did, and pulled up one that will cost you about $40 if your local Sears store has it in stock, and still less than $60 if you need to order online and have it shipped. We are giving you good advice, why not take it? If you send them a DV letter you will be waiting when you need to be acting. If they have sued you elsewhere, you need to know ASAP so that you can handle it. Sending them a DV letter will do nothing--it will not cause them to stop litigation if they have already started it, and if they actually represent the original creditor, they will have access to everything a DV letter would ask for anyways. You need to address their litigation claim because if they sued you somewhere else, they will simply file a motion for summary judgment if you send a DV letter. It is easier to get an erroneous lawsuit dismissed than it is to get an erroneous judgment vacated. Do this the RIGHT way. you will only be hurting yourself if you do not!

thanks alot for the advice, and i am not choosing to ignore it.
i guess i'm just confused on how to handle this. my cell does have a record function so i am going to be using that from now on.

if they claim that they have a lawsuit against me and there is not then you suggest that i should sue?

if they claim that they have a lawsuit against me and it does exist in another county then what should i do?

all i want to do is get into a damn payment plan with them, but i don't want to sign any sort of agreement for judgement with them. is this agreement customary for collection agencies? is there no way around this?