Forms of Payment to Collection Agencies

Yes you can send a money order . CA's prefer you didnt and as a consumer these are time consuming to trace.

Tell them you are sending the money order and it is up to them if they want to cash it or frame it. If they threaten to sue you, tell them you will simply show the judge the money order receipt and you can't imagine why they have not cashed it.

Unfortunately a money order receipt is not considered proof of payment or that the payment was ever sent.

I thought about that just now. Perhaps if you make a photocopy of the money order, then type up a letter stating here is your payment blah blah and include the certified number on the letter itself (send the letter certified mail return receipt). Soaplady, do you think that would work?

That is about the only way it might work....because the certified mailing indicates you at least made it to the post office.

We had debtors who swore up and down they sent their money orders....sent us photocopies etc. Fortuantely we had an employee at my agency that had a family member working for one of the processing centers....think Travellers Express. Several times and serveral debtors tried pulling this and we were able to confirm that the borrower had cashed them in.

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The thing that gets me upset about this is when i originally set up a payment shedule with the CA, they took my checking account information and asked what Check numbers i wanted to use. I get paid once a month on the last day by check (no direct deposit), and i told them they cannot take the money that day by ACH because my money will not be available til the next day after the deposit as long as I get there before 2:00 in the afternoon. They assured me it would take 1 or 2 days to process after the date I made payment. Well guess what???? They set the second payment up for November 30th (a sunday) with supposedly a check number and they said it wouldn't get to my account until the 2nd or 3rd. Guess What??? On November 30th the transaction was already processing and I was charged an overdraft fee. They said we have to receive your payments the last day of the month --- we can't change for 2 more days out. You will have to send us a money gram on the 31st. Sorry --- but #1 I can't afford the extra overdraft fees or the moneygram fees! They will have to settle with a money order.

It just really makes me mad ---- I have fallen on hard times and I am trying my hardest to get them paid off. I have 2 more payments and if they are late --- I don't know what to tell them because I can't afford the extra fees involved.

Better yet ------ I have asked for a bill and have yet to receive anything from them by mail. !!!

See if your bank offers online bill pay for free. Many of them do now. It's a lot less expensive than money orders, teller checks, or Money Grams.

When you process a payment through the online bill pay, if it is sent out as a check, the check does not have your actual accout number on it. So you don't have to worry about the CA getting your actual account number and wreaking havok on you! It also provids an easy way, once the check has cleared, to print out a copy of it from the bank's website so you can keep a hard copy of the payment for your records.

You can test it out by sending a $1.00 payment to yourself and compare the account number on the check to your actual account number.

I hate to say it; however, I would never trust a CA to take out a payment from your account as you agreed to with them. I have read story-after-story on this website of CA's totally screwing up someone's checking account, and the CA telling them "too bad, too sad!" I would never, ever be forced, by a CA, into providing any payment information over the phone because they demand it.

Also, never, ever agree to any payment plans with CA's verbally; always get it in writing! Once the CA gets that first payment from you, even though the collector promised on his/her mother's granve to send you an agreement in writing, you will more-than-likely never see it!

Sometimes I feel like mailing Monopoly??????? money to these debt collectors who constantly harass me. I am not having fun with cancer so I should have fun with something.

LOL!

Monopoly Money!

Ask GoldenBast about her "Barbie Dream House" repo! That should cheer you up! There is even a story about using a drawing of a spider for currency that should make you laugh out loud. I forget what heading that thread is under; Maybe someone that knows can dig it up for us.

Sorry you're going through such a hard time, Guest. Please feel free to ask any questions you need help with.

LOL I read that one about the Barbie house, that was great!!!

Well the collection agency I am dealing with doesn't want to set my payment out 3 days past the day they want payment. I wouldn't have a problem doing a check by phone if it was 3 days past the day that they want payment. Due soley to the fact I receive a paper check, I take it to the bank and monies are not available untilt he next business day. I don't need the additional headache or fees involved with a bounced transaction nor do I feel that I should pay a $8.95 fee for the check by phone fee or a moneygram fee.

Also ---- I know that I owe this money that was actually for a storefront PDL. It went to a collection agency and of course they have only contacted me by phone and they have not ever sent me any form of letter in the mail. I called them and they said they don't do that and they are so busy right now that they aren't mailing them. Then how am I supposed to receive one?

Should I send them a debt validation letter of some sort? Would this get me my 3 days that I need to make the last 2 payments?

Send them a debt validation letter. Too bad they are busy, by law they have to provide one. You do not have to pay this, or make any kind of arrangements until they provide the proper documentation.

Even if they do provide it, if you need to send the payment in a couple days late just do it. Perhaps send a letter with it explaining the hardship and that you will be needing to change the date of the agreement by 3 days to insure the funds are available. If this CA was dumb enough to sue over that, I think the judge wouldn't appreciate it very much since it is a reasonable request.

But whatever you do, get that DV out asap...tell them no DV, no payment.

OH also point out in your DV that they have already violated once by not sending you the required letter after initial contact. :)

I will put together a debt validation letter today. I have already made 2 payments, 1 for $30 and 1 for $244. Both made in the same month in November. I verbally made arrangements of course for the next 2 payments for $244 in December and January. But I was lied to with the 2nd payment that they were putting the payments through as checks and even had the balls to give me check numbers and hence the November $244 payment was paid by my bank and I received a $37.50 Charge for it being paid before my monies were available. I have it all written down and who I talked to. Now --- they are telling me that I have to have the payments posted by December 31 and january 31st. Which is unrealistic that the funds will be available on those days with my financial institution.

We aren't talking that I am being uncooperative and it's not like I owe $10,000.00.

So legally I don't have to make any more payments until they send me something in writing correct? Because they only contacted me by phone and never ----- sent me anything by mail. So now I have to call and get their mailing address. They said they could send me a bill by fax only --- well i don't have access to a fax except at work and that isn't for personal use. What NERVE!!!

They came at me with this account has to be cleared up in 90 days. Then when I called to **** about the monies coming out of my account by ACH and they said it would be a check and i told them i didn't want them to take any more out that way because of the NSF Charge --- they said I would then have to do a money gram for that day and they canceled my pay by phone payments for Dec & Jan. Funny thing is they said you have to make a payment every month. Would it be safe to say if I sent them a small payment before the 31st and then the balance of the payment I said i would pay 3 days after the 31st it would help?

Obviously I am not trying to be uncooperative ---- but you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip. Plus I cannot commit to something that is unrealistic in my financial situation. I really don't want to file bankruptcy but --- but all the CAs and Credit Card companies are pushing me to head that direction.

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