My credit card company is harrassing my family but offering me a settelment is any of this right or legal?

Question

ok i've always paid my credit card on time,usually min. payment but anyway we have fallen on some serious hard times and its very late, they have offered me a settlement of only 20% of the balance and if i pay that im suposed to be done with them after that..first question..sounds too good to be true, anyone ever been thru this? The bad part, thye have harrased my family more than I. it is the original creditor so im not sure what their rights are.They have called my sister in law and mother in laws cell phone at all times of the day, they asked how he got their cell phone# and he has lied to both of them saying that I had called his office from their phone, they tell him its not their problem and not to call them back, especially on their cell phones because of the charges and he has been extremly rude with them and is STILL calling them even after I have talked with him..Is this legal ????Even after Ive spoken with him the harrassment of my family continues??????????

hello all-first-THANK YOU for your help..I have some new info and details.Ive found out the 20% offer IS legit as well as the guy calling me about it..Ive called the credit card company once AGAIN and told them I will only send them partial payment and they will recieve the rest once I have this entire arrangement in writing, and yes it is only 20% of my balance having to be paid ,of around a $5000 debt.As far as the harassment goes, Ive chosen to work with another rep. and my family and I are filing a formal complaint for harassment with the company but I dont have a huge case against them with law because it is the original creditor (so the really strict laws dont apply)and it's only "hearsay", I have nothing recorded..I dont know if it'll work but Ive also told them "I will onyl pay and arrange this if they leave my family alone, since I have to borrow the $$, they are biting the hand thats going to pay them"We'll see what happens, thank you for leading me in the right direction!!!

Answer 1

Harassment (only one "R" -- if you're going to complain about it, be sure to spell it correctly; Y! has a built-in spell checker) is illegal. You can use the law and turn it against your creditor and its collection agents.

First: keep a diary. Always record the times of all contacts and the names of all callers.

Second: you can tell the company that they are NOT to contact you again except with legal papers if they choose to sue. Or if you have a lawyer, give them your lawyer's name. You might tell them you are being forced into bankruptcy by their "threatening behavior" which has endangered your job and your marriage.

Third: as for the settlement offer: it may well be true. Ask for it in writing, because they can and will deny everything after you have given them money. You can say that your friends and relatives will lend you the 20% (the credit card company -- or more likely a collection agent -- is not likely to settle for that litle if they think you have that much or more yourself.

You might want to trace the harassing caller. If you have his name and his city you could check http://www.whitepages.com -- you could call him at home in the evening.

It would be good to record these conversations. Some states are "one party consent" and in others you have to tell the other party you are recording the call. Of course he is probably doing that already. Here are the laws: http://www.pimall.com/nais/n.recordlaw.html

Your relatives have to be firm and nasty and threaten prosecution. They should mention such words as FTC (Federal Trade Commission), State Attorney General, Criminal Complaint, Identity Theft and other scary terms.

There are many online sites that explain the federal FAIR DEBT COLLECTION ACT. Here are a few (some are nonprofit legal aid sites, at least one is a lawyer's site):
http://www.lawmo.org/law_fdc.htm (Missouri Legal Aid)
http://www.pslegal.org/Publications/OweMoney/3-CollectionAgencies.htm (Prairie State)
http://www.masslegalhelp.org/consumer/debt-collection (Mass.)
http://fair-debt-collection.com/Disputing_Collections/stopping-debt-collectors.html

Be aware that some so-called nonprofit credit counselors are really not out to help you but are out for fees, and that if it is not really the creditor or the creditor's lawyer talking to you, the person making the offer to you may not have the authority to make it. That's why getting the offer in writing is so important.

Answer 2

For starters, computerbuddy! Quit advertising your services here....this isn't the place.

What state do you live?

I think you already know that the original creditor is not covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It only covers collection agents, attorneys, and 3rd party collectors.

But I'm extremely suspicious here....credit card companies are usually not willing to give deep discounts off the balance (if at all). They certainly will not do it voluntarily, and only after chasing you for a few years.

Find out exactly who this guy is before you proceed. Contact the credit card company and speak to a supervisor to verify this guy works there. I'm almost convince he's a collection agent.

If it's legit.....are you sure they say you are only paying 20% of the balance? Or did they say they will reduce the balance by 20%? That sounds more like it. Double check the offer.

If you decide to accept it, you need to get two things in writing.

1) An agreement that what you pay will constitute a "payment in full" of the account. Otherwise, they may sell the balance to another collection agency and continue to try and collect.

2) An agreement that they will remove any negative information from your credit history.

Now, if the state you live in has their own FDCA rules, and they include the original creditors into their law....forget everything I said. Sue them for multiple violations of the FDCA.

Contact me if you need more advice.

Answer 3

Creditors are not allowed to harrass you and they are governed by laws like anyone else. Here are some things that they can't do:

** The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) applies to personal, family, and household debts. This includes money you owe for the purchase of a car, for medical care, or for charge accounts. The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from engaging in unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices while collecting these debts. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:

* Debt collectors may contact you only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.

* Debt collectors may not contact you at work if they know your employer disapproves.

* Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you.

* Debt collectors may not lie when collecting debts, such as falsely implying that you have committed a crime.

* Debt collectors must identify themselves to you on the phone.

* Debt collectors must stop contacting you if you ask them to do so in writing.

If you perform the latter, make sure that you send the letter, certified with a return receipt, that way you know that they got it. Keep a log of all of the calls that you recieve as well as the dates and times of each call and who was called.

I do know from past experience that the 20% is just to get you to pay a larger amount and they will not excuse your debt. Once you pay the larger amount, they will still harass you. As long as you are making an attempt to pay, then they should stop harassing you. Send them a letter explaining your situation and what you can affford to pay them. Most creditors are helpful in those regards.

If they still hound you and you can't afford to pay, you may want to look into Consumer Credit Counseling Services.

For more info and your rights, check out the sights below:


http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fdc.htm

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/crdright.htm

http://www.nfcc.org/

Answer 4

Make sure that your family writes the company stating that they are not to be harrassed and that the debt is not theirs. They also need to send it certified and returned, so they know the creditor has recieved the letter. If the creditor still contacts them, then you need to see a lawyer, b/c then it is harrassment and yes it is very ILLEGAL. If you ahve fallen on hard times make sure to keep the creditor updated. Yes, they can settle with you at a lower amount. Just make sure that you get in writting that if you settle then the debt is completely taken care of, just to make sure they don't sell your debt to a third party collection agency. You want to make sure that everything is in writting so if they do sell it to someone else, you have legal backing. I hope everything works out for you.

Answer 5

1. Sometimes, creditors will offer a settlement. Get the settlement agreement in writing.

2. Have your family members tell them that if they continue to call, they will press charges of phone harrassment. If he doesn't stop, press charges.

3. Contact a non-profit group to help you with this credit card payoff. Sometimes they can even eliminate the interest charges completely.

Do a

Answer 6

Yes it's againest the Law when Creditors call my house for my husband I Threaten them with a lawsuit & tell them if they call again I'm getting them for harrassing me the calls have ended they have no right to call any member of your family have you tried 2 block them here in Ct it's *60 then you listen for the directions to turn the service on then you add there number end of calls.As for that 20% yes it is legel & once you pay it they'll leave you alone & can't get anymore money from you.Good Luck

Answer 7

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Answer 8

If they are offering you a 20% settlement, take it. They can force you into bankrupcy, which can be a lot worse.

If your family members co-signed or guaranteed the application, then the credit card company is legally allowed to demand that they pay.

Answer 9

See a lawyer and consider filing for bankruptcy. Once you file it is illegal for your creditors to contact you (or your family) directly...they will need to go through your lawyer from that point on.

Answer 10

Lol XD just leave it in there, it will probably work better than an actual floppy disk, will store more data, and is much less likely to lose your data.