Why wouldn't a creditor talk to me an account that was charged off?
Date: Sat, 02/23/2013 - 13:12
We obtained a second mortgage on our house to refinish our basement in 2007. In 2008 my husband lost his job. In 2009 he finally found a job, but in a different state and we were forced into a short sale on our house. At the time of the short sale, we were current on our payments for both 1st and 2nd lenders.
Our 1st lender paid our 2nd lender to release the lien. We were told that the 2nd lender would re-negotiate the 2nd mortgage at a later date.
We called, wrote letters and provided proof of hardship, etc. to the 2nd lender trying to negotiate to no avail. We discussed filing bankruptcy, but decided against it.
The 2nd lender reported the loan as a charge-off in June 2009 and a few months later we heard from a collection agency. We wrote a letter asking for validation of the debt via certified mail. We heard no response and about 6 months later, would hear from a different collection agency. This happened a few times with 3 or 4 different collection agencies. This fall the loan was changed from 'charge off' to 'transferred to collections'.
Our circumstances have changed and I called our 2nd lender directly to try to again negotiate a lump sum settlement. I was told that the 2nd lender could not and would not discuss the loan with me and I had to talk to the collection agency. I tried to talk to a manager and was denied. I repeated my efforts and although I received a different agent, I got the same results.
About 3 or 4 weeks after I contacted the 2nd lender. They sent a letter demanding payment in 10 days. We against requested debt validation and also payment history, including a record of fees and interests -- because we believe they have been inflated. We received our original papers from 2007 and no payment history. The letter that accompanied it was a 'payoff notice' and oddly not on company letterhead (just plain paper), in different font than all other letters and included no contact information. We did not feel this validated the debt nor payment history, our attorney agreed.
We always ask for 30 days to review their response. They have sent 2 additional letters in the past 2 weeks demanding payment, i.e. not giving us 30 days to review/dispute.
Does anyone have any insight to what is going on?
Why would they change the status from charge-off to transferred to collections? Can they do that? What is the difference?
Why did they refuse to speak to me regarding the loan only to demand payment less than a month later?
Any information is appreciated.
Our 1st lender paid our 2nd lender to release the lien. We were told that the 2nd lender would re-negotiate the 2nd mortgage at a later date.
We called, wrote letters and provided proof of hardship, etc. to the 2nd lender trying to negotiate to no avail. We discussed filing bankruptcy, but decided against it.
The 2nd lender reported the loan as a charge-off in June 2009 and a few months later we heard from a collection agency. We wrote a letter asking for validation of the debt via certified mail. We heard no response and about 6 months later, would hear from a different collection agency. This happened a few times with 3 or 4 different collection agencies. This fall the loan was changed from 'charge off' to 'transferred to collections'.
Our circumstances have changed and I called our 2nd lender directly to try to again negotiate a lump sum settlement. I was told that the 2nd lender could not and would not discuss the loan with me and I had to talk to the collection agency. I tried to talk to a manager and was denied. I repeated my efforts and although I received a different agent, I got the same results.
About 3 or 4 weeks after I contacted the 2nd lender. They sent a letter demanding payment in 10 days. We against requested debt validation and also payment history, including a record of fees and interests -- because we believe they have been inflated. We received our original papers from 2007 and no payment history. The letter that accompanied it was a 'payoff notice' and oddly not on company letterhead (just plain paper), in different font than all other letters and included no contact information. We did not feel this validated the debt nor payment history, our attorney agreed.
We always ask for 30 days to review their response. They have sent 2 additional letters in the past 2 weeks demanding payment, i.e. not giving us 30 days to review/dispute.
Does anyone have any insight to what is going on?
Why would they change the status from charge-off to transferred to collections? Can they do that? What is the difference?
Why did they refuse to speak to me regarding the loan only to demand payment less than a month later?
Any information is appreciated.
Which state did you reside in
Which state did you reside in when you took out the second mortgage?
The account was possibly assigned to collection agencies and that is probably why the status was changed from "Charged off" to "transferred to collections" which is not uncommon at all. In such a case, the collector would be dealing directly with you instead of the original creditor. Since you are already consulting an attorney, you should follow his advice in this matter.
