Compucredit? who are they really?

[puck]

I am being held hostage by emerge or emergecard who is owned by Compucredit.

Emerge states that they bought the debt from Providian. Emerge claims to be a credit card. The website www.emergecard.com is nothing but a payment portal.

If Providian was the origional creditor and emerge states they bought the debt from Providian does that make them the third party? Therefore must adhere to collection agency policy under the FTC? My location is IL.

Thanks

Puck

[swirlgirl]

Providian sold off all of their accounts to different companies. Emerge/Compucredit was one of them. That would make them the new OC. My Providian account was sold to WaMu.

What's your situation and what have you done so far? Also, many cc companies have a secured homepage like Emerge's. It doesn't mean the company is shady.

[Flyingifr]

Trust me - Compucredit is shady.

[willingtocope]

If your account was in default when it was sold...that probably makes emerge a junk debt buyer. Treat them as such.

[ManWithANewPlan]

I also used to have a Providian card which I think was sold to Emerge. The more I learn about the collection process, the more Emerge appears to be a CA masquerading as a credit card company. They certainly act like a CA.

When I started my own credit repair process, like others I think, I thought the path to take was to contact the folks sending me letters and make arrangements for payment. I did this with emerge and have been paying on this account for a few months. The more I learn about the company and the process, the more I think this was a mistake.

I'm debating, however, how to go forward from here. I'm wondering if I should stop payment on this account and send them a debt validation instead? I'm also concerned that paying on the debt is tantamount to admission and I'm screwed in any case. Any thoughts on how to proceed?

[puck]

I sent emerge a dv and 5 months later they sent me a form letter with copies of recent statements. When I don't pay them they messed up my credit reports bad. My score went way down. Per the responce from Swing gal, I never heard of "new original creditor".

Please explain.

[willingtocope]

If two credit card companies merge, or one buys the complete assets of another, then the new owner becomes in effect the "new" original creditor.

If, however, the account list is divided into chunks, and different chunks are sold to different companies (particularly if the buyer is not normally in the credit card business), then any accounts already in default purchased by the new buyer probably makes them a "junk debt buyer"...not a "new" original creditor.