This is going to be interesting
Date: Mon, 02/05/2007 - 19:11
Now, if you've read anything I've posted (which I'm sure you all remember by heart), you know that I tracked down my creditors (that sounds funny, but it really was hard to track some of them down) and paid off almost all my debt. I have only one thing up in the air, and I'm suspicious of it. The bill they were calling about was actually the first one I'd paid off - I had reached a settlement amount with one agency and paid it last year.
I'm very good at keeping my cool, so I asked him if he was referring to the same bill, and when he said he was, I told him I'd already paid it off. He acted surprised, but to his credit, did not call me a liar or imply I was not being truthful. He asked me about the specifics, which I didn't really have at my desk. I did tell him that I'd reached a settlement with the other agency, but didn't have the name of them. He said that if that were the case the other agency had not notified the company and I needed to get it straightened out. He told me that if I could provide a zero-balance letter it would be straightened out easily.
I was very annoyed at being called at work (since I've made no secret of my home number to any creditor), so I asked him why he called me at work instead of home. He claimed that they had tried multiple times and I'd not called them back, which is a flat-out lie. I decided I'd had about enough of this and decided to turn the tables on him. I asked him where he'd gotten my work number. He replied that it was in the file. I asked him how a number that I'd never given out (and is not published anywhere) had gotten in their file. He said they'd received an employment file from the original creditor based on the information I'd put down on the credit application about 4 years ago. This was clearly a lie, as I did not have this job 4 years ago. I asked him to be specific, where did they get the number? He got a little flustered and would only answer that they had an employment file.
He tried to take control again by asking me how I was going to get this resolved. I told him that I thought he ought to go back to the company I'd had the account with and figure it out - I'd already paid, and I had proof.
In tracking down the amount I owed I had called the original company and they had given me the name and phone number of the collection agency to call, so I know I had already dealt with the correct one.
I told him I was going to call them and figure out what was going on.
So today I called them. I had looked in my file and found that they had not sent me a zero-balance letter yet so I wanted to get that in any case. The woman I spoke to looked it up and said it would go out today. I asked if they had informed the original company that I'd paid it off, and she said yes. I told her that the reason I was asking was that another collection agency had called me claiming that they were collecting on the bill. The woman's response was immediate: "They're lying."
So now I have one CA trying to collect on a debt I already paid claiming that the one I paid did not tell the original company. The other is telling me that the new CA is lying because they told the company, and they're sending me a zero-balance letter.
So I guess my questions are:
1. What are the chances that the second CA is trying to scam me?
2. Is there any harm in providing the zero-balance letter to the second CA (lots of nice identity info there, and I don't know who they are really)
3. Should I contact the original company to see if they've been informed of my paying off the debt?
4. Are there any violations of the collection laws here?
I'll post more as I get it.
Well I had a similar situation happen today. In 2004 we reached
Well I had a similar situation happen today. In 2004 we reached a settlement with one credit agency for a $661.00 debt. We paid that settlement in full with a one time payment. Last month we received a letter from another agency for that same bill!! I called the original people we owed money to, the ones who sent it to collections, and they have no record of the account. Her explination is that their records were probably purged. She suggested I call the collection agency who sent the letter. First I went through files and found the settlement letter from the first collection agency with the cancelled check stapled to it. I called the new company. After explaining the situation, the man on the phone told me that while he understands we reached a settlement with another agency and paid, the original company must have rejected it and therefor we still owed. Then he wanted to discuss payment because we owed them money since they bought the account from Cingular Wireless. I told him no. The letter from the first collection agency stated Cingular agreed to the settlement so we were not paying one cent more. He then said we had to have the cancelled check and a receipt before they would consider anything. We have no receipt and I will NOT send them a cancelled check with our account information on it to him. I told him I would get a letter from the other collection agency. He says that is not enough and I needed to arrange payment. Nope. I told him to put it on my credit report then. Called the other agency who says the account is paid in full. They are sending me a letter stating that it has been paid since
September of 2004 and Cingular agreed to the settlement. I figure I will send and resend that letter to anyone who wants to tell us we owe them money, including the credit reporting agencies who want to call this account adverse on our credit reports. Gotta love those money hungry collectors who care not for the consumer, but only for lining their pockets. Good Luck to you!
Hi Glenn. I would say the second CA company is definitely tryin
Hi Glenn. I would say the second CA company is definitely trying to scam you. I would call the original creditor and ask if they were notified that the debt had been paid and, if so, by whom? I would also ask if they had at any time sent the debt to the second CA? If not, then you don't owe the second CA any explanation. I definitely would not give them a copy of your zero-balance letter. If the second company is trying to collect on a debt that is not legally theirs, then yes, there are plenty of violations of collection laws.
Let us know what happens. I'd be interested to find out. Good luck.
These two posts remind me of scams reported by other consumers.
These two posts remind me of scams reported by other consumers. It is relatively easy to access someone's credit report with the right setup. A scammer can easily look for old accounts you have settled. Then they can call claiming to be collecting on a settled account. They can be totally criminal, trying to commit theft by obtaining your account information. In other circumstances, companies have been known to create or recreate delinquent accounts so they can sell them to collection agencies. In these situations, the seller is the one committing a criminal act.
In either case, your best course of action is to wait until they send you the required written information on your account. If they refuse, then they are probably trying to get your banking information to drain your bank account. If they do send the required information, then send your cease and desist letter.
One last word of advice: check with your local authorities to see if they have any fraud/scam alerts regarding this type of situation.
I haven't a clue where you came from texaslawyer, but I'm very d
I haven't a clue where you came from texaslawyer, but I'm very damn glad you did! Welcome aboard!
*tip of my hat*
I read it all pretty fast, so forgive this question is you answe
I read it all pretty fast, so forgive this question is you answered it:
Has this company that just called you mailed you any debt verification? Since they have made contact, in 5 days you are required to receive specifics of the debt in the mail.
My thought....if you don't get it, it's fishy. I would keep on them to validate the debt, and them dispute it with your zero dollar statement, withsome pertinent info blacked out, like part of the account number (if it doesn't match the one you receive on your validation letter), ss# - stuff like that.
It gets better
I received another letter from the second collection agency last week offering to settle the debt. Since I've already settled and paid I'm not going to be taking them up on this offer.
On receiving this I realized that I still had not received a letter stating that I had paid from the first agency, so I gave them a call. I also wanted to know why they still hadn't reported my payment to the original creditor.
The first person I spoke to told me the letter had been sent. I told them I hadn't received it and they asked me to hold on. They stalled, and I finally got sick of waiting. I asked why the original creditor hadn't been notified of my payment and was told that they had been. I corrected them, saying that they original creditor had no record of me paying them. Instead of answering me, they hung up on me.
I made a second call and it was a different person, but almost exactly the same, including being hung up on. I called a third time and asked to speak to a manager, who thought he had put me on hold as he discussed why a letter had not been sent to me. The person he was talking to claimed that they weren't allowed to send me a letter (?) but the manager kept arguing that they could. Finally he came back to me and said he would have somebody call me to arrange for the letter being sent. I asked him about why the creditor had not been informed of my payments and he stated that they had. I once again stated that the creditor had told me that they had no record of this and he tried to get back to the letter. I told him to forget it and that I'd be filing a complaint with the FTC - he told me "Good luck with that" and hung up on me.
Almost immediately my phone rang. It was somebody else at the agency who told me that she'd been trying for weeks to get me my letter, but somebody at the Home Office had, for unknown reasons, failed to send it. She promised I'd have it by Friday. Well, it's Monday, and no letter. She also told me that I should tell (yes tell, not write) the second collection agency to cease and desist and they'd be unable to collect on the bill. This is certainly untrue.
It's becoming clear that for some reason this company has not told the original creditor about the settlement or my payment, and they won't provide me with a letter stating that I'm free and clear of this debt.
So who can tell me how to file a complaint about this company's failure to inform the original creditor or provide me with my letter.
Also, will a cease and desist be appropriate for the second CA?
I gave them one more day, and no letter
I'm going to call tomorrow and tell them that unless they can give me a tracking number for the letter I'm immediately filing a complaint. I'm also going to ask an attorney I know about what they think.
I'm curious as to what the possible outcomes are.
I'll keep the updates coming.
I win! I think.
So this entire week the Collection Agency avoided my calls. How's that for something different? I called several times and left messages for the woman who claimed she had been trying to get me a letter. She did not answer her phone, nor did she call me back.
Today, however, I received a letter from them. It's dated three days ago and it states the account, the Original Balance and the Write off balance. Interestingly, the Write off balance is zero. I would have thought that they would have an amount there because we settled.
It states:
Quote:
Upon clearance of funds, this account is settled in full. We have marked our records accordingly, and have forwarded this information to our client. This letter serves as an attempt to collect a debt, and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. This communication is from a debt collector. Thank you for your cooperation in resolving this matter. |
It is signed by the woman I've been calling all week.
I have to admit that after all this company has put me through I'm suspicious. The "Upon clearance of funds" part makes me wonder - the funds cleared months ago.
I think it's clear enough to be proof that I've paid this debt - any comments?
Do you have the payment receipt? This will be needed to prove yo
Do you have the payment receipt? This will be needed to prove your part.
I win! I think.
No receipts, but I've got the credit card statements that show the two payments I made to them. The settlement amount was half of the original balance. Does it matter that that information is not in the letter?
Doesn't matter! You should have something to prove that the acco
Doesn't matter! You should have something to prove that the account is already paid. Statements will do.
I win! I think.
I guess what I really mean is does it matter that I can only show the amount that I paid (the settlement amount) rather than the entire amount that is shown on this letter? Nowhere do I have anything stating that this is a settlement.
Thank you for answering, by the way.
The letter does not appear to help you a whole lot unless it sta
The letter does not appear to help you a whole lot unless it states the agreed settlement amount. I would demand a letter correctly stating the terms of the agreement.
Additionally, if the new CA is trying to collect on the entire amount without offsets for payments to the first, that is a fdcpa violation.