Third Pary collection want's to deal---Do I or Don't I???

[chewba1]

Hi sorry I am still learning as much as I can from this site. I have a charge off (listed on cr as charge off , transferred to another). In one week I have been contacted by Two different ca's for this acct. OC won't work with me said to contact 1st ca. Second CA is a third party ca and wants to offer me a lower payoff. Question::: Should I go with third party will it help, hurt, or do nothing at all to improve charge off on my cr??? Will it still be considered a paid charge off??? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Exhausted sticky's trying to get the right answer but brain is fogged.

[willingtocope]

You need to be absolutely clear you know who the players are:

The OC's tradeline on your reports should read "sold to another lender" and their balance should be set to $0. If it says anything else, then the OC has just "assigned" a collector to hassle you.

If the balance is $0, then they have indeed taken a "charge off against income for tax purposes" on their P&L statement, and have sold the right to hassle you to a junk debt buyer. A JDB is different than just another collection agency. A JDB may contract with (or be affiliated with) a CA...who could be the one hassling you now.

However, I would never willing pay a JDB (or a CA working for them) anything. FIrst, it will not change the OC's TL on your reports. Second, they paid pennies on the dollar for this debt. The probably bought it in bulk, and have little or no documentation to prove they have the right person. If you do decide to pay somebody over this, DO NOT send any money until you have proof in writing that they have the right person, the right account, the right amount, and the right to collect in your state. Also stipulate that they will not sell the balance of the debt...

[chewba1]

Thanks for the input. I was getting soooo confused. The OC said that they gave it to Recovery and they call two days later Redline calls me asking for the money. Now the girl at Redline says she is a third party collection and after her it goes back to OC for further action. I am trying to avoid a judgment on this thing and to work out something with someone. So you say don't pay anybody till I get the proof via DV??? and then pay only OC or first CA??? I'm sorry I am lousey with finance and just want to clear things up. thanks

[willingtocope]

Based on "after her, it goes back to the OC", I'm guessing the OC still owns it. I'd suggest you call them...work you way up the food chain until you get to someone who can make a decesion...and tell them you want to pay and see what can be worked out.

(Incidently, you said "Recovery". Most CC's have a "Recovery Department" that when you miss a couple of payments, it gets turned over to. They still work for the OC).

[chewba1]

Thanks Again. When I called OC they wouldn't deal with me and told me to call a 1800# and it was actually called Associates Recovery(I think). They were the first ones to leave a message until I got the call from Redline. I will try what you said though and go back to OC and maybe they will work with me this time, if not I will ask AR to send me all that pertinent info from dv and go from there. Does that sound right???

[lavs412]

Willing.....

What if it reads:

Original Creditor

Acct# xxxxxx

Condition: derogatory

Balance: 1,113.00

Type: Credit Card

Pay Status: Colletion/Chargeoff

Payment history has CO listed

Now, I have never heard from a CA regarding this account......does this mean either the OC could still contact me and/or its possibly been assigned and not sold to a CA?..........If they have taken the chargeoff on their books, shouldnt the balance be zero, too, even though legally they still can collect from me? Or is just being listed inaccurately on the CR?

Thanks

[willingtocope]

lavs412: All the big time lenders and CCs work on the "accrual" basis for accounting. That means they take income when its earned, as opposed to when its received. Once they think you may not pay them their interest, then in order to account for the fact that they may not actually receive income from what you owe, they "charge off" that accrued income.

Its really just them moving amounts around on their profit and loss statements. Has nothing to do with you...has nothing to do with the actual balance on your account.

Another intentionally confusing word they use is "assigned". There's the "assigned" in the sense of "contracted with to hassle you" and then there's the "assigned" in the legal sense of "all right and privaledges associated with this account have been transferred to another lender".

Its possible that the OC on your reports doesn't use CAs, or doesn't think its worth trying to collect from you, or just hasn't gotten around to you yet. You really can't draw any conclusions from the fact that you havent been contacted yet.

AND...OCs don't sell to CAs...they sell to JDBs...both OCs and JDBs can assign CAs to hassle you.

[willingtocope]

When I called OC they wouldn't deal with me and told me to call a 1800# and it was actually called Associates Recovery(I think). They were the first ones to leave a message until I got the call from Redline. I will try what you said though and go back to OC and maybe they will work with me this time, if not I will ask AR to send me all that pertinent info from dv and go from there. Does that sound right???

Yep, I think you're on the right track.

(If you've got money to work with, you might try the OC once more. Tell them that you don't deal with CAs, and if they want their money, they'll have to talk to you directly. Ask for a supervisor).

[lavs412]

Thanks Willing: I know that word "Assign" can be misleading when used by CAs and JDBs. The creditor I mentioned in my last post is First Premier. They and their CA's seem to be a pain in the neck with others on the board, somehow I went under their radar.....this account has been CO since 2003 without any correspondence from them, but I need to PFD with them so I want to make sure I am properly prepared.

I'm sorry for being such a pain in ?&), but can you clarify one more thing......I think I read it somewhere, but my memory is shot right now... how can you tell if a CA is a JDB or if its a CA collecting for an OC or a JDB? Is there some way of knowing or does it show somewhere? I hope this is making sense, lol, it is making sense in my head!

Thanks again...........

[willingtocope]

You have two ways of finding out who you're dealing with...

1. Ask the OC if they've sold the account...

2. If, on your CRs, the TL says "sold to another lender", and the balance is $0, its been sold.

And, assume anybody calling you who is NOT the OC, is a CA.

[astiman]

You could write a lettre to the CEO of the OC, and explain your situation, and see what he or she will do for you...that worked for me on two separate occasions...it may work, may not, but it's worth a try.

Send it CMRRR

[chewba1]

Thanks Willing, I contacted OC again and worked my way up, finally got someone to listen. They agreed to a 50% settlement over the next three months and to alert cr that debt has been satisfied. Thanks for all the help, now I am off to work on the next 10 credit cards.