le4slie Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 My credit card debt of $12,000 was turned over to a collection agency. I did send the debt validation letter. They responded with a copy of all of my credit card statements from the past 6 months. Is that considered proper validation or did they need to include a copy of my original signed agreement (contract) from the creditor? I'm just a bit confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennieb Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 That's validation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le4slie Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Nashville/Savannah Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Unless this was a fraudulent account or is past the applicable Statute of Limitations, I would strongly suggest than you establish a repayment arrangement.I would try first to work with the original creditor...they may be willing to reduce your interest rate or provide some other relief. It they are unwilling to work with you then your only choice is to try and strike an agreement with the Collect Agency. Regardless of who you work with, get any agreement in writing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 I agree that your only recourse at this point is to try to work out a payment arrangement (or, file bankruptcy, if you have other debts and not enough income). However, I, personally would be very reluctant to work with the CA. You just cannot trust them even if it is in writing. I, personally, would tell the OC that it is my personal policy never to deal with a collection agency and if they want their money, they'll talk to me directly or take me to court. (I would follow that up with a letter, CMRRR). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Nashville/Savannah Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 I agree that your only recourse at this point is to try to work out a payment arrangement (or, file bankruptcy, if you have other debts and not enough income). However, I, personally would be very reluctant to work with the CA. You just cannot trust them even if it is in writing. I, personally, would tell the OC that it is my personal policy never to deal with a collection agency and if they want their money, they'll talk to me directly or take me to court. (I would follow that up with a letter, CMRRR).No matter how one feels about CAs, I can't seen inviting a lawsuit and having a judgment hang around for 10 or 20 years is a viable alternative.Given the size of the debt and the documentation already provided to the OP, I would say working with the CA is a much better prospect than going to court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 No matter how one feels about CAs, I can't seen inviting a lawsuit and having a judgment hang around for 10 or 20 years is a viable alternative.Given the size of the debt and the documentation already provided to the OP, I would say working with the CA is a much better prospect than going to court.Tough call. And I really don't have a good answer. All I'm saying is that if I'm going to fork of $12k (or more with interest), I want something legal, in writing, blessed by a court that says that the payments I make go to pay down the debt and don't just disappear between the CA and OC. In my mind, that's the biggest single argurment for BK 13 as oppposed to any kind of "debt settlement". You've got the trustee making them play nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le4slie Posted April 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Thank you for all of the replies. I've tried to file bankruptcy, but my husband and I really don't have enough debt (by their standards) and our income is too high. It doesn't matter on paper that we overdraw at the bank before we get paid. What about working with the CCCA -Consumer Credit Counceling Agency? Do you think they will be able to help with the CA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Nashville/Savannah Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Respectfully,I would never file bankruptcy (Chapter 7 or 13) on a debt as small as $12K and if your income is so high that you are being advised, presumably by an attorney, that you can't file then it sounds to me as if your financial life is simply out of control.I highly and again respectfully suggest that if you aren't already doing so you need to do a budget you can and actually are living on and you may need to make some drastic and possibly painful lifestyle changes or sell some things or take one or two or three part-time jobs.I suspect you likely have a house or a car (or two) or some toys or something going on that are simply out of line with your income...unless a person is at or near the poverty line, they CAN live within their means. They may not like where there means put them but it's a hell of a lot better than the alternative.Look at it this way, if you already overdrawing your checking account before you get paid now, what are you going to do when AMEX goes in a grabs all the money in it or starts garnishing your wages?I'm not trying to be mean...just trying to throw a splash of cold water.I wish you well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Don't EVER do a payment plan with a collector. I'd save up the money until you have 10-25% of the original balance and then make them an offer. I've had too many people say they did a repayment plan only to see interest and fees added on so they amount was never paid off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Nashville/Savannah Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Respectfully, That advice seems a bit dangerous to me.Were this a little debt of a thousand or two, I'd probably think differently but this is a large debt and the OC/CA has already provided more than sufficient validation; enough validation that there is no reason to think that if the OC goes to court, the debtor won't loose and wind up with a judgment plus significant attorney fees and interest on top of it.While I wouldn't do this alone and would hire an attorney to work out the details on my behalf, I would work out a deal now.No matter how scummy some individual collection agents or even entire agencies are (and yes, some truly are), most will, at the end of the day, honor a well written contract that they've freely entered into. That aside, with an attorney in the picture, the OP may well be able to work directly with the OC.Being proactive is usually the better course to take and I think that's especially true here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Robert - what you are saying has some merit as far as being proactive. BUT - I've never seen a payment plan with a collection agency work out. The balance never reaches zero. As far a collection agency suing, you can beat them in court - take a look at all the successes in our legal forum. Also, it takes some time for an account to go to court, if it happens at all. In the meantime, those payments you would have made to the CA? Bank them to use as a cash source for settlement. This is a much better approach.To me, payment plans are a no win as far as the consumer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Nashville/Savannah Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Robert - what you are saying has some merit as far as being proactive. BUT - I've never seen a payment plan with a collection agency work out. The balance never reaches zero. As far a collection agency suing, you can beat them in court - take a look at all the successes in our legal forum. Also, it takes some time for an account to go to court, if it happens at all. In the meantime, those payments you would have made to the CA? Bank them to use as a cash source for settlement. This is a much better approach.To me, payment plans are a no win as far as the consumer.I guess we’ll just have to disagree on this one.First; as far as we know from the OP, we are dealing with an OC and their CA (not some JDB with no data and their in-house CA). If the OC sues, there is no reason to think they can’t prove their case and that’s especially true given the amount of proof they’ve already supplied to the OP over and above what simple validation requires. The data already provided should be a bit of a warning that this CA has more on the ball than a lot of CAs out there who would typically fold and go away at the first hint of a DV letter.Second, there is no reason to assume that the OP would necessarily have to deal with the CA…they may well be able to reach an agreement with the OC. However, the OC forces them to go through their CA, as long as the OP has a competent attorney work with him/her and they establish a good written and enforceable contract with the CA (and by extension, the OC) there is no reason to assume that the CA will not adhere to the agreement. It’s been my experience that while individual collection “agents” can be pretty stupid and real a$$ h***s; collection agencies, particularly their upper management/legal counsels do have a brain and do understand the ramification of breaching a contract.Third, this IS a large debt and while possible, I find it very unlikely that the creditor is going to sit around for very long and not pursue legal action and as I said above, I don’t think there is any reason to think they won’t win a judgment.Finally, and I mean no disrespect to the OP, I’m concerned about your plan to have him/her put money away each month so that he/she can offer a lump-sum settlement later. It does make pretty good financial/mathematical sense…my problem is that if someone has allowed a CC to run up to $12K and they obviously haven’t been making their agreed payments; I’m a bit doubtful about their ability/motivation to save significant money on the side.If they can do that and do it faithfully then that might be a better route but I see a lot of potential pitfalls going in that direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 You're right, we disagree. I just know what works based my experience with hundreds of people. Payments plans with CA/JDBs are a losing game.And CA or JDB, both are equally beatable in court. Again, I refer you to the legal boards. It happens every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nascar Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Payments plans with CA/JDBs are a losing game.I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le4slie Posted April 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 Thank you for all the helpful responses. I found out from the OC that my account was placed with the CA, not sold. Is there a chance that I can call the OC and setup the payment plan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agin Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 It will only cost you a few minutes of your time to try. It might work to your advantage to mention that you have thought about BK.Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le4slie Posted April 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Ok. So I called the OC and asked if I could work with them instead of the CA since my account was just placed. They told me to fax over a letter of cease and desist saying that I wish to work with them and not the CA. And that since my account was "charged off", that total amount was due of $12,500. I told her that my credit was not good enough to take out a loan to pay the whole amount and she asked what could I pay. I told her that I could pay $150 per month until my situation improved and she said that all she could offer me was $348 per month. I again told her that I couldn't pay that amount, but I could pay $150 per month. She said that they couldn't accept that, but if I mailed in the payment and just get back with her in 5 or 6 months and we could see if I can do any better then. Thank you for all of your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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