CC1489

Last post was in '16. Nearing end of journey. I started with health issues after retirement. Surgery, chemo & set backs late in 2012, mounting medical bills (all paid). I was in debt to the tune of $63,000 both secured & unsecured. I had no mortgage, I have one more collection showing on my credit report, I never had to declare bankruptcy, but had consulted a BK lawyer. Their advice was to let sleeping dogs lie as I was basically 'collection proof'. I just wanted to tie up loose ends so I kept prodding along. First I had to get control of my finances so I went on a cash only basis. I slowly paid off all my secured debt including a large personal loan & 2 auto loans. Nothing was ever repo'd although I did look at those options. I settled one large credit card debt for 50% unbeknownst to me was that they were under no obligation to settle it was for more than $5K & being CP I guess they figured a bird in hand was better (paid). I had called all my creditors, most were unresponsive to my plight & refused to discuss settlement. I had a 7k debt with another CC that they settled by setting up a payment plan with zero interest for 36 months (paid). The other 4 cards refused, 1st ($3,600) went to court, got a judgement but it is not listed on any of the 3 Credit reporting sites, I'm sure it still lingers. I missed the bullet on 2nd CC ($1,400), the OC went out of the credit card business, lost or destroyed all the information & when sold the purchasing firm couldn't validate my account. They resold it to a bottom dweller who also couldn't validate. The 3rd ($1,400) couldn't validate either & resold and they sent me a letter stating they would no longer pursue the balance, since they couldn't validate, haven't heard from any other firm on this. The 4th ($1,800) is listed in collections & the SOL is nearing the end. Although I expect to hear from someone on this either before or after that date. It is my only outstanding active debt that is listed. I've kept copies of all my paperwork, releases, satisfactions & releases for the last 6 years. During the last 1 1/2 years I have been trying to rebuild my credit, I finally reached 700 on all three bureaus, tested the water, opened 2 CC total limit ($3,600), one retail account (online) limit ($600) & got pre-qualified for up to a $35,000 auto loan that won't be exercised but good to know I did qualify. I have been refused a 'Discover' card because of the collection but that was ok, expected that. I keep my balances between 5-10% of the 3, paying off the card before due dates then running balance up before reporting dates. they want you to be in debt for a good score. I assume the collection will remain for the 7 1/2 to 8 years even though the SOL will have expired. I learned from you all the process of a DV, C&D then live with the outcome, Thanks.

It has been many, many months since my last login. A lot has happened with the accounts I had listed in default. This all started Oct 2012 (last payment to them), SOL is 6 years here. Major health issues & my age. 1. Wireless account closed, not listed on my CR when I got the Atty Gen & FCC involved. It was a bogus charge. $480 Closed 2. Retail account, Citibank issuer. Judgment was awarded (2015) to them, I had refused to pay after calling for relief & was turned down. Still listed but no attempts to collect. $3,200 still not claimed on taxes because judgment is still pending. Open 3. Chase VISA, received 1099C-G written off, claimed/paid taxes, still listed on CR. $1,800 Closed 4. Target/TD VISA settled for less, 1099C-G claimed/paid taxes, still listed on CR. $5,200 Closed 5. Gas Card, sold to CA, DV - CD rcv'd letter stating they would not attempt collection, still listed haven't heard anything more. Not on CR. $1,400 They can't send a 1099C. (?) 6. DFS, retail after DV - CD to CA never heard anything, not listed on my CR. $1,400 They can't send a 1099C. (?) 7. Gas Card, sold to CA, went into collection, as listed on my CR. $1,300 They can't send a 1099C. (?) 8. MC Citibank issued, sold to CA then resold to CA, recently had another CA send me a settlement offer for 40% ($600). DV'd still waiting. I had called the 1st CA they had no account information listed other than they owned it, the original creditor was Exxon & they got out of the MC business in 2010, closed all their books. Citibank had no records other than who they had sold it to, obviously it was attempted to either get the SOL reset or an attempt to make a few dollars then resell it again. $1,500 They can't send a 1099C. (?) Figuring my dire straits in 2012 & my current situation, I started with $63,000 in debt (no mortgage) two auto loans, 1 personal secured loan, various other smaller debts, AMEX (all my health charges ($7,200 they worked with me) & the 8 listed defaulted accounts. My health issues are in remission & all tests are in good shape, but it's a crap shoot. I had to pay $11,000 out of pocket during 2011-2012 for treatment. I am debt free with the exception of the judgment & the (?) unsecured accounts. Total claimed indebtedness $8,800. SOL expires Oct 2018. I could probably pay all of it off but WHY? - Collection Proof. FICO/FAKO scores 659 TR, 681 EQ, 673 EX - I have one low limit unsecured MC used only for emergencies & carry zero balance since getting it. Thanks for all the information & help. I’m definitely getting proper sleep at nights.

Interesting development, I had a retail credit card account with Home Depot, issued by & owned by CitiBank. I had medical/financial problems back in 2012. I had to default on several accounts, I have since resolved 4 out of the 7. CitiBank/HD wasn't resolved, CitiBank turned the collection over to Suttle, Hammer & White a law firm Collection Agency located in Wash. I sent the CMRRR's (DV & CD), later I was served with a summons or legal documentation for 'Answers', I ignored those thinking that I would end up in arbitration (which I would lose anyway living in Oregon), then onto court. The answers was an end run that resulted in a judgement awarded against me by the Circuit Court. It is now on my credit report, BIG WHOO! Age (71), health & attitude make it a non issue since I'm basically 'collection proof' with only SS income. I called the circuit court to get information & was told that yes there is a judgement awarded. I asked about mandatory arbitration, seems since I ignored the served paperwork they won. The silver lining is now I don't have to come up with the fees for my share of the arbitration, which could have been as much as $300. I would have lost anyway & gone onto court. I avoided the answers paperwork, the fees, the hassle to attend either arbitration or court. I don't see a downside to this. I had filed a complaint with CFPB, the response from Citi was that I had called the CA with an offer. I never gave a dollar figure but did tell them I am offering a one time chance for them to offer their best settlement. Their offer was too high ($2,700) for my comfort level, which I refused & never countered. In Citi's response to CFPB they indicated that I had made the $2,700 offer (their figure not mine) & they would settle if I called the CA and set up settlement. This is the same group of businesses that was hacked back in 2013 exposing 50 million accounts, then CitiBank received 475 Billion tarp money, helped with the housing bubble, violated credit accounts with inflated fees and interest charges and now wants my protected Social Security, that will not happen. I have filed a legal disclaimer with my bank that protects or at least flagged my account as my recipient of my SS only. I absolutely have no assets, insurance or future employment, I am sure I have no rich relatives or inheritance, my sister & brother seen to that. I only hope that Suttle, Hammer & White is monitoring this, because I don't want to waste the CMRRR fees to refresh their memory. I guess now I can say I have settled 5 of 7. Thanks for the information I found here, but I want to warn anyone living in Oregon that there are ways to skirt around the system that wasn't in Hueypilot's posts.

Update to the CFPB complaint, I received notice today that they have reviewed the complaint & have forwarded it to the OC & should receive an update or a resolution the OC is offering within 15 days. I have also contacted a highly respected (10.0 rating at AVVO), Consumer (collections) lawyer in my city, we will have a free consultation after I receive the answer from the OC or CFPB.

I filed a complaint with CFPB, thanks.

This Citibank account that was filed for judgement falls in the time frame that this article flags. I had received one JDB assignee communication back in 2013. I DV'd & C&D'd (both CMRRR) them, the next I heard from anyone was in early 2015 from the CA law firm assignee. I wondered how the questionable balance that began at $2,700 in 2013 grew to $3,700 18 months later. Is there a defence I can use to challenge the total debt, asking for documentation? http://consumerist.com/2016/02/23/citibank-caught-screwing-up-credit-card-debt-collections-must-refund-5m/ This account had never been listed on any of my CR's to date. @ccrp626 I went to the CFPB link you suggested, I couldn't find a heading I could use, I'm not sure how I could formulate a complaint based on the information I was using.

The account is still owned by Citibank, the filing I'm sure was done by the CA law firm that had contacted me & I dealt with for the last 8 months. I had originally called Citi for relief when my problems started 4 years ago. I asked for a reasonable interest rate or a reduction of principal to a manageable level. Completely blown off, as I said before discounting the fact that I'm 'collection proof' was I had called the CA for a settlement & in my estimation it turned nasty. At this point I'm going to let this play out. I'm sure I qualify for a waiver of fees for Oregon's 'mandatory' arbitration. I have no intention of paying anything on this debt - EVER! I want to see how far Citi is willing to push it. There will be no windfall coming from me upon my death, I have crippling health care debt with more on the horizon if I survive. I've cleared up all the others either with settle for less or lack of interest. I have paid off the only unsecured debtor who worked with me, even after they canceled my account. I figure that based upon the original final debt of $2,900 forgiven with a 1099C I will save $400 in state/fed taxes. I thank you for your responses but I think I will continue along my chosen path.

Thanks, I found the agreement & after reviewing it I come to the following conclusion: I have three choices for arbitration, #1 either American Arbitration Association (Website: www.adr.org) or #2 JAMS (Website: www.jamsadr.com) or #3 Oregon's mandatory arbitration (under $10,000). If I choose either #1 or #2 I will have to pay the fees upfront. If I choose #3 I will be responsible for either half the fees & if I lose, which is a given then I will be billed for the other half. Either choice I make will result in another debt for me. I realize at my age, health conditions, protected income (SS) & needs that I probably will not outlive the judgment. I'm unemployable, no assets, no estate & only income is protected - I'm a turnip. I will petition the court for a waiver of my portion of the fees. Disagree with the decision of the mandatory arbitrator & wait for my day in court. I appreciate the response, unless things change drastically (such as a windfall, or death of an unknown rich relative) I will sit tight, attend the mandatory meeting -> then the court appearance &/or any follow up discoveries. Thanks again.

I am a long time lurker, I have followed the advice here faithfully concerning my debts. Starting with 6 unsecured I have successfully settled 2 for less, & received 2 1099C's during the last 3 years. I claimed the full amount minus interest on both the corresponding years of the 1099C issue, never claiming insolvency. I think I have missed the bullet on 1 other account because of creative accounting mistakes & 3 mergers or buyouts of the OC, only time will tell. For those above mentioned accounts I thank the members for all the helpful information. That brings me to today's notification from a 'free' credit reporting web site. I had been dealing with my only remaining insolvent account, (a major bank's issued retail credit card). The ending balance at the time of my economic crises was $2,900, it was turned over to a debt collection law firm early in 2015. I DV'd (CMRRR) them on first notification in a timely manner. I then sent a CD (CMRRR) after they validated the debt. Late 2015 I was notified of a filing with my county circuit court with a 30 day window to answer the summons. I called the CA law firm after a consultation with a BK lawyer, offering to settle for 50% of the original balance but was countered with 70% of the full amount, which I turned down. I meet all the requirements for 'collection proof' I have filed a form with my bank concerning my SS, I also meet all the requirements for homesteading my auto & home. Health problems abound and added to my poor control of my pre-retirement income resulted in my decision to default. 90 days has elapsed since my phone conversation with the CA law firm. Spending all my remaining disposable income on health care needs, hospital bills, Doctor/Oncologist/Cardiologist/Ophthalmologist bills, expensive medication & medical accessories. I have a very limited amount to pay for my utilities & living expenses. I pretty much depleted my savings & resources in 2010 staging my home for sale (resulting a very small settlement check), downsizing my transportation & clearing up all other 'secured' debts & unpaid taxes. I was able to keep up the other payments until my health failed. I live in Oregon (SOL 6 years, age of the final payment on this account - 4 years) & understand that I will have 'mandatory arbitration'. I understand that my circuit court will notify me of the arbitration (that I will surely lose) & my 3 arbitrator choices that will result in an unfavorable decision for me. I will then 'reject' he/she's decision & it will move to court & probably result in a judgment. I do plan to attend to see how this plays out if my health allows it. I also understand that I could/will be subjected to 'discovery' calls in the future, that once again because of my uncluttered & hopefully healthy condition lifestyle allows it. The result of my 'free' consultation with the law firm was a determination that I was indeed 'collection proof' & a BK would be an unneeded expense. They did offer to deal with the CA law firm but I chose to go it myself & save the fee. The reason I'm posting this, I know one of the members here is an acknowledged 'expert' on debt collections in Oregon, I believe his user name is 'hueypilot', I haven't seen recent posts of his but would like to get his input or someone who is familiar with the process here. Anyone is welcome to respond though.