CA still asking for more payment

[sharinganuser]

Hi,

I received a collection letter and called the collection agency. They said the total owed after interest and fees was 9K (from 5098.05). I told the collector that I am willing to pay but I cannot afford the amount. After some discussion, he agreed to settle to 6 payments of 1K. I said yes, I can borrow from my relatives the money and settle with them later.

As agreed, I paid 6 payments of 1K. After the last payment, I called them and they said I still have another payment of 1K (7K total).

What should I do? I don't have any money left and I still have to pay my relatives. All are phone agreements and no written agreements. I know I am stupid by trusting them.

Collection Agency: Neuheisel Law Firm.

I lived in CA.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[stefdr]

I don't know if there is much you can do now since the previous agreement that you made was not in writing, that is what you should have done to begin with. Before sending them anything else, get it in writing that if you make another payment, that will settle it in full, and the remaining balance they are claiming will not be sold off to another CA to try and collect from you. They are all notorious for that. Ask them to put into writing now what the extra 1k payment is for, and try to make them mention in the same letter the 6k you already paid. Without the original agreement on paper the troll you spoke with originally will deny any agreement you made originally over the phone.

For future reference, do not talk to these vultures on the phone. That is how they got you to agree to the original plan in the first place. Read through all the threads here about debt validation, Pay for deletes, and all the other information the veteran posters have put up.

If a situation like this arises again, tell the CA you do not discuss these types of matters on the phone, and then hang up and immediately send them a debt validation letter. Insist that it be a pay for deletion from your credit reports. They will say they can't delete, THEY ARE LYING. CA's will say anything over the phone to get money from you. Anything not in writing can be denied later. In the debt validation letter, mention that all calls from CA's are recorded, and record the calls.

[VeVe]

If you are going to pay the rest, I would still try to get a deletion. You might as well get something for the money you've paid.

[Robert Nashville/Savannah]

It’s been said a million times but apparently it bears repeating – if it isn’t in writing it didn’t happen.

You have no evidence of anything you may have agreed to and in fact, the evidence that does exist would tend to show a court (should it ever come to that) that you agree you owe the debt (including the probably inflated amount they requested) and that you believe this collector has the right to collect it from you.

In spite of the above, I would go ahead and start the debt validation process and at least make this collector prove that you really owe what they claim you owe and that THEY have the legal right to collect it. Absolutely stay off the phone with these people.

In the meantime, now that you’ve created this debt to your relatives you need to pay them back ASAP unless you want family dinners to become something to dread. Many people like to ignore it but borrowing money from a friend or relative fundamentally changes the relationship – correcting that is far more important than paying a credit card debt.

Don’t pay this collector another dime until you have a decent agreement in writing AND you have the money to pay without borrowing it from someone else.

Stay off the phone! Stay off the phone!! Stay off the phone!!!

I hope I wasn’t unclear.

[kevin3344]

I would get copies of your checks and write the CA a letter, certified. Tell them what they got is all they are going to get, period. You've paid them $6k on a $5k debt they paid pennies on the dollar for. That should be enough.

It's too late now to go back and fix what happened, but learn from your mistakes. In the future don't pay anyone anything unless you get something in writing first. And of course never talk to a CA on the phone, that never solves anything and usually results in more problems.