Lawyer? CA?

Since Harold Scherr is a law firm, they must have your account information given by arrow financial services. Does this letter sent to you have the complete details about your debt? Go through the Debt validation in the FTC website for better understanding about this process.

If a CA is hired for collections by the original company, you send payments to them and they transfer it to the original company. If the original company is willing to work with you directly, you won't have to deal with the law office in between.

Chances of HSBC working with you now that it has been turned over to collections is slim to none. Trust me on this. I got sued by them. They weren't posting payments from the consolidation company and they stated in their deposition that they hadn't received one payment and thanks to T&C, Jessica provided proof that they were receiving payments and csahing them. Make the collection agency validate the debt before paying anything. Don't get screwed over like I did and end up paying over $1500.00 when I only still owed through consolidation a little over $500.00.

I've been dealing with Harold Scherr's office since last November. They started out with me with a threatening phone call at my work saying they were going to be filing a lawsuit the next day unless I could pay the full amount (which actually was more than I owed the original creditor). I never received any letter, just a phone call out of nowhere. Because I had never dealt with a CA before, I was scared and didn't know what to do, and as a result agreed to make payments that I couldn't afford, but had no choice because I didn't want to go to court. At the time I didn't know anything about debt validation, etc. Of course, I've defaulted a couple of times, because I had to pay on my other bills (mortgage, utilities, medical, etc.) and had to send payments that were less than agreed, and of course, they would threaten me again with a lawsuit, but would always end up agreeing with a payment arrangement again (I'm on my third one now; have two payments left). What's funny is the original phone call (in November 2005), they told me they were representing the original creditor; nothing said about Arrow Financial services until one of their threatening letters in April of this year referenced they were representing Arrow Financial. However, when I was sending money orders, they were telling me to write them to the original creditor; never to Arrow; but when they drafted from my checking account, I noticed they make the drafts out to their law firm, but deposit them into a Collect America account. I talked to an attorney, and they had told me to not let them 'bully' me, make sure I paid my mortgage, utilities, etc. and not them first, and to not be afraid to let a judge make a decision if it came to that. The attorney also stated to make sure (which I was already doing) to keep copies of all correspondence (I've even stapled all the envelopes each came in to the original letters); keep a phone log with dates, times, who you talked with and what was said; if possible, record all phone calls. I had voice mails left on my cell phone when they got upset that I wasn't following through with an agreement that I recorded onto a small tape recorder. Also, make sure any correspondence that you send, you send it certified mail, return receipt, so you have documentation of who signed and when they received your correspondence. You'll never speak to Harold Scherr himself. I've only spoken to a legal assistant each time. Hopefully, you can work out a deal with them, but please, go through the debt validation route first. I wish I did, because I believe I've ended up paying more than I should, but they refuse to provide it to me now, because I've been paying on the debt. In fact, when I recently got a copy of my credit report and found that the amount listed by Arrow was less than what they were asking for, I asked for that letter, and the legal assistant went ballistic and said she did not have to provide it to me. So again, since this is your first contact, have them send that letter, and make sure they detail the amount owed, including the specific charges, such as finance charges, collection fees, interest, etc. GOOD LUCK!!!