FIA Do not ignore their letters, take them to arbitration with a decent lawyer!!

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][/FONT]I had a run in with B of A. They got me to open an account with an unbelievably low interest rate. In the fine print is where they put the rape clause that if a payment POSTS late to the account the rate went to almost 15%. The beginning rate was 2.5%. It went on to say if it happened a second time in a year, it would rise to 29.5% or more. They posted 2 different payments late. One by 1 day and one by 2 days. The red flag for me was that I mailed both of these payments earlier than any other payments I had ever sent them. When I called them about it, their response was that the postmark on the envelope didn't matter, the only thing that mattered was the day that THEY posted it to the account. I told them that they were practicing despicable techniques and if they did not lower my rate back to where it should be, I would stop paying the account. They didn't lower it, I didn't pay it, and 3 collection agencies later, some lawyer was threatening to sue. I made them take it to binding arbitration. They had 1 piece of paper with my name on it, and everything else they had in the folder was from someone else's account. I won a judgment in which they got $0.00 and paid my lawyer. Always take collection agencies to court. Most importantly, if the debt is more than a few years old, KNOW THE STATUTES OF LIMITATION for when they can no longer take you to court. If time has run out, you still owe the debt, but you can not be sued, garnished, or face anything harsher than having it show on your credit report until it comes off. The time is critical on SoLs. It usually starts when you made your last payment to them. That is why collection agencies try their hardest to get you to send them a "Good Faith" payment. Sending them even $0.01 starts the clock at zero on the SoL. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. Not knowing them can cost you a bundle.