Start your own agency and buy your own debt??

[GucciMark]

Has anyone thought of this?

Because collectors are so unreasonable, love to screw people and such a pain in the arss to deal with, especially to get your collections removed from your credit report.....

What is to stop a person from starting a collection agency, then offering to buy certain debts (yours) from the said agencies.

They might be more willing to deal with another slimball- uuhhmm I mean "collector" than with the consumer.

Just a thought.

I know a potential problem with this might be:

you start a collection company and find out that they won't sell the debt to you.- that would suck., but it may be worth a try... no?

[willingtocope]

I'm sure there are CAs that got started just for that purpose...

One problem I see is that OCs and then the JDBs that buy from them...sell in bulk. Your debt might be bundled into a pile of 5,000 other accounts. Pennies on the dollar could still add up to 40-50 grand. You'd almost have to become a scum bag collector to cover your costs...

[divemedic]

Usually, JDB's buy paper in bulk- they buy 200,000 worth of paper at a time.

[GucciMark]

I was thinking more along the lines of offering to buy just your

own accounts at a much higher than

normal price than what they usually get.

I'm sure from a JDB a CA is offered pennies on the dollar,

but if a CA is offered say 80% to 90%

from a 'fellow' collection agent on a specific account.

I'm wondering would they bite?

I'm looking for a loophole in the system, that's all.

[bigjohnstud4200]

I can imagine that licensing and bonding cost to operate legally would defeat the entire purpose, but I am just talking out of the side of my neck.

[telonius]

That is why I think this business is really good. Say even if they fail to collect because debt is SOL and you DVed them.

They can resell the debt to another CA and then that CA can try all over again. There is nothing we can do about it, it is their right. They can access your CR to check and they have a right because they hold your debt.

Now say I originally owed $10K on the debt and say they paid 1 percent for this old SOL debt which comes to $100.00 for my debt. Now after I SOL and DVed them and manage to stop them, if they came to me in a nice way and offered to sell the debt (with legal agreement and all) to me for $200 or $300, I might very well go for it. Once I own this debt, no one will ever again bother me about this debt and it is a small price to pay for "closure". If not we can expect to receive a collecting letter every couple of years which can be embarrasing.

So they can get lucky and con folks to pay them or at the very least they can fold and still make a very good profit.

[GucciMark]

you bring up a good point about being bonded and licensed.

Does it have to be in your originating state? I'm sure there are some butt-nugget red state laws that are much more lax about the bonding amount and licenses then the other more progressive states.

For example I'm sure it's much easier, and a much lower amount to be licensed and bonded in South Dakota or Wyoming then say California....

so

If I started a CA and it operates out of say, South Dakota can I legally buy debt from California? or is it that I would need to be licensed and bonded in California to collect on a Californians debt?

That's the question.

[GucciMark]

I just ordered a book on line about starting your own collection agency.

I will find this info out and let you all know.

If I start an agency --

How many would be interested in having me buy your debt, you pay me and then of course

have the trade line deleted?

[myscoresawful]

*still laughing* I think it's a clever thing to do, but of course there would be obstacles.

1- If the current owner of the debt has a $10K debt in their hands which they purchased for $200 - $300 dollars and within SOL, they probably wouldn't be willing to sell it, especially as a lone item. (of course, if it the SOL has expired, then they probably would, since it would be the only way they could make money off of it.

2- Yes, you could purchase mine, if you sent me a letter first in your own letter head stating that you would REMOVE from my CR after I paid you some really small amount!

3- If you have to buy junk debts in bulk, there is nothing to say they won't send you 99% with expired SOLs that you can no longer do anything with.

but hey, if this would work, it would be so cool!

and like someone said before, if you had to buy in bulk, and there were debts from about 20 states, you would probably have to spend a lot of money to get licensed to collect in all of those states. (Remember the number one rule in validating, make sure the CA is licensed to collect in your state).

Also, one other note, if you are considering the reporting thingy, I believe a CA has to report an average of 500 bad debts on a monthly basis. I don't mean 500 new ones every month, but if you are reporting 501 bad debts, and two of them fall off, you need to come up with another one from somewhere to meet your minimum. (not that you are concerned with doing this, but just thought I would add in case you have to end up buying bulk junkies and need to do something with them. 500 might not be the correct figure, but you get the idea)

[nascar]

I have seen small portfolios sell for as little as $500.00. Not very often, though.

Just a thought, but you might try buying the block of debt common to a certain creditor, like everything from Dr. So and So, or if your last name starts with "S', then everything from creditor "X" beginning with "S". No one is going to sell you a single account. The transaction cost is too high.

Have fun! Let us know it works.

[divemedic]

Someone comes on here every couple of months with this idea, and it is funny because they all think it is original. It would be hard to search for, because I can't think of a proper search term, but it is discussed here ALOT. The way the industry is structured, it won't work. But go ahead and look into it.

[rm2738]

That brings up another question.... How do you go about reporting information to the CRA's? If you were to "Owner Finance" something such as a motorcycle, boat etc.... Why not report positive TL's that you make up?

[divemedic]

Positive TL's must be reported in batches of 100 each.

[IHateCAs]

Someone comes on here every couple of months with this idea, and it is funny because they all think it is original. It would be hard to search for, because I can't think of a proper search term, but it is discussed here ALOT. The way the industry is structured, it won't work. But go ahead and look into it.

Yeah.

Now if a group of CIC investors wanted to come up with a couple hundred thousand to purchase blocks of debt that included themselves, I'm sure it would work... but if you had a couple hundred thousand dollars, why would you go through all that trouble to take care of your debts?

[the aussie]

That brings up another question.... How do you go about reporting information to the CRA's? If you were to "Owner Finance" something such as a motorcycle, boat etc.... Why not report positive TL's that you make up?

Why are we trying to reinvent the wheel? The process of debt repair is a sometimes long and tedious road. We did not get into debt overnight and getting out takes a responsible plan. Wanting it done NOW is what got some of us into trouble in the first place.

Take your time...play by the rules already set in place and your credit will improve over time...I know mine is

[sizax]

guccimark

let me know if you go through with this. id be interested in sending you a pfd

[qtptute]

be just like the other JDB and be abusive and harrass everyone? Not follow ANY part of the FDCPA or FCRA? Be a named defendant in all of the lawsuits?

If you don't want to file BK for your dets, think about the amount of debt you'll be in once someone files suit against you for abusing them under FDCPA or FCRA.

Which would be worse?

[telonius]

Personally, even for SOL debts, I would pay you $200 for a $10K SOL just to keep future CA from trying to collect on it. CA can continue to try and collect and you can DV them and one can place this cat and mouse game till Kingdom come.

I would be willing to pay a couple hundred dollars if it meant that I now own the debt and that no one will hassle me any more.

I agree that this is not an easy business to get into because no one will sell you just your debt. It is a business of volume.

But for someone like NCO it makes sense to send all SOL debts that have been DVed (debtor knows how to shield themselves) to a special dept that ask for settlement and I think many will settle by paying because the $200 gives them a clear conscience.

Perhaps to the person that is trying to start a CA business should look to buy SOL and very very old SOLs that have been picked many times. Business approach should be want to buy your own old debt to prevent anyone else from trying to collect from you?

I am sure that such old debts might cost 0.1 penny to a dollar or less.

Anyone know how to buy very very very old SOL debts

[GucciMark]

The plan wasn't to get out of the debt so much as it was to delete the damn thing from your credit report.

A few people are talking about paying them $200 for a 10,000 loan and that's not what I am talking about at all.

My idea ( acting as a CA ) was to offer them like 80% of the value of the debt,

That's why I'm thinking they may bite at selling a single account.

If it's cheap enough to open a CA, I may try it. I will let ya'll know if I do, don't worry.

I'm sure there is a huge market for a goodguys CA.

[qtptute]

I'm sure there is a huge market for a goodguys CA.

No such entity. Nor will there ever be, even if you start one. JDB's are the root of all evil.

[smalpree]

A friend of mine has a simliar problem for debts he co-signed on. We had the idea to buy the debt from the collector and started googling. I ended up here.

This is a very interesting idea indeed. So I asked my wife, the attorney, what she thought.

What kind of debt are we talking here? It depends on whether the debt is for a good or a service. (different laws govern each of these).

Assuming this is a good, it is governed by the uniform commercial code, chapter 2. Under the UCC, you can generally modify a contract w/o further consideration. However, there might be a provision in the contract that requires modifications to be in writing. You can look at Texas Business and Commerce Code Section 2.209 for more info. I don’t know about the credit reporting issue. I’ll try to look when I get some spare time. I know that generally, the credit companies can screw you royally.

Essentially it would appear to be plausible. You just have to be very very careful. These companies are slimy in their very nature.

So the Question I have for people - myscoresawful brings a good point:

If a company were to offer a service where it would buy your debt on your behalf and for a small fee, say 10%, offer to clear up the deleterious item on your credit report and put it into good standing.

Would that be a service people would really be interested in?

AS I see it, said company, would not need to be a collection agency. Instead it could be a Pro-Active Credit Resolution service.

I could see having a company that the debtor, would pay the pre-agreed amount in advance plus the 10% fee to the service provider, who then buy the debt for the settlement price. Then, being the owner of that debt, would modify the credit report regarding the tranasction by making "corrections" to the report.

What do people think?

[divemedic]

There are many problems there.

1 You cannot delete the TL that belongs to the other furnishers. For example, an account that you had from NCO, that they bought from Citi. Each of them has a negative TL on your report. You buy the account. Great, you now own an account. The TL's are both still there.

2 You would legally be a debt collector, and subject to all of the applicable laws. Registration, the FDCPA, etc.

3 That assumes that the account holders will even do business with you.

[CleverCynic]

hmmmm.....

*remembers back to the time he started his own record label for his band and how well THAT worked out*

[MadinKS]

You guys are killin' me. A CA is a CA and there's no such thing as a good guy CA. Sorry to piss in the punch bowl but I'm not feelin' it. I would rather stab myself in the eye than be a CA.