strugglingKS Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 I am new to this forum, so I tried to read through and not ask the same questions that have been asked...right now I have an account with Citibank that has gone to collections. The collection agency has been very difficult, demanding that I pay a thousand dollars up front. (which I DO NOT HAVE). I am a college student, getting ready to graduate & I just can't afford to pay what they are asking. I am considering credit counseling and consolidating 2 other cards with this one, so I can avoid being "taken to court" like the collection agency is threatening. I am in KS and I don't know the laws about this...One debt management company I've talked to says they get the creditors to "reage" the accounts if I work with their company...What is this? They say they can legally do this...Is it legal? Someone Please Help!!! I don't know what to do. Thanks,Struggling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Sorry it took so long for someone to respond...didn't see you sitting there.First of all...avoid all debt management / debt consolidation / credit counseling companies. They're almost all scams...that are either in league with a particular credit card company or completely dishonest that will take your money and run. Even the few honest ones don't do anything you can't do yourself...cheaper.Second..."re-age" the account is actually a bad thing. While it may wipe out the delinquencies on your credit report it, in effect, resets the clock on the statue of limitations as far as the debt is concerned. Credit Card (CC) companies use this as a trick to make you liable for the debt for a longer period of time.How long has it been since you've made a payment on any of these accounts? How much do you owe? The answers will help us make suggestions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strugglingKS Posted October 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Actually, this citi account has just gone to collections...I have had a recent series of events that caused me to fall behind on payments...I hadn't paid in 3-4 months. According to NFS (the collection agency) I owe 2129.00. They want me to pay a thousand dollars right now. Today I talked to a girl from the company and she said if I send them a hundred dollars that will stop intrest from accruing. (which is totally different from what the other people at this same agency have told me.) She said just send it right away and citibank won't take me to court. This is the first time I have ever had to deal with something like this. I don't know what to do. I tried calling Citi and they said I have to deal with the collection agency. Any suggestions on what I can do to avoid legal action? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Right...Citi won't talk to you right now, because they've either contracted with NFS or sold the debt to them. If the former, then once you show NFS that you're not going to roll over, they may send it back to Citi. If the latter, then you might get to talk with Citi later.Now, for $2000, legal action is probably many months away. The CA (NFS is particulary dishonest) will try to scare you into doing things you don't need to do. For example, the "send us $100 right now" is intended to see if they can shake your money tree...if you do it, they'll demand more next time...which might be next week...its NOT intended to help you.Remember NFS will lie and mislead you on the phone. DO NOT TALK WITH THEM. Immediately, send them a DV, limited C&D letter, stating that all future correspondance must be in writing and they must validate that they have the right person and they have the right to collect.You'll find good info on how to do all of this in other posts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recovering Attorney Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Send teh collection company a C&D/DV letter. Have statements from Citi? I assume they jacked your rate, charged extra fees, etc. Write them and dispute the balance, the finance charges, etc under the FCBA. Charge that they changed the terms of yoru agreement without prior notice, as required by law. They should then report to the CRAs that you dispute the account. Copy that letter and send it to the CRAs that Citi has reported to. This may give you some relief. And as Willing says, maybe the account will be shipped back to Citi. In the meantime, think of a plan for paying this back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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