can a collection agency still take you to court if they refuse the amount that you can afford?

Question

if they accept a money order for $5 a month and then demand the rest of the amount in full by a certain time, can they still take you to court? And can the judge force you to get a job to pay them in full when according to the state, you are a caretaker of your parents.

well i sent the agency a letter stateing that i aknowledge that I owe the bill and will take the responsibility to pay the bill and sent a $5 money order and told them that I can only pay $5 a month until my financial situation improves, well they cashed it and according to what I have been told they accepted the agreement when they cashed the money order and they sent me a real nasty letter stateing that they want the rest of the money in 2 weeks. at this time i can not work because of my parents poor health conditions and mine as well that i can not work at this moment but i am willing to send them $5 a month. and I was also told that The state law says that they have to accept what i can afford at this time and it has to be at least a dollar or $5.

Answer 1

I'm not sure, where I'm from, as long as a regular payment is being received, there is little more the company owed can do.

Re your add. post - you have not mentioned an amount owed, If the cost of a court action outweighs the sum total owed- I reckon your safe!

Answer 2

NO, unless you signed something that says otherwise.
Collection Agencies make more threats then they can actually do. They make their money by bulling you into paying off the debt.

You would do better to work with a Credit Counselor.
http://www.careonecredit.com/Landings/Landing.aspx
http://www.nfcc.org/
http://www.moneymanagement.org/financialfreedom/debtmanagement.asp?RCTAG=TTCO&CMP=KNC-gaw&src=MMIPD_google
http://www.cccsintl.org/
http://www.consumercredit.com/

Most of these services are nonprofit organizations. When a company gives their debt to a collection agency then the agency gets 50% of the money collected. If you make a deal with the creditor then you can get them to give some of that discount to you. The creditor also prefers to deal with a Credit Counselor Service, or the debtor.

I don't know all of your conditions and what agreements you have signed so I can't say that the collection agency won't take you to curt, but from what I know the collection agency doesn't have a legal leg to stand on. If they and you made an agreement to pay $5 per month then that is a contract, to suddenly change the conditions of the contract without your agreement is illegal. You need to talk with a Consumer Credit Consoling Service.

Answer 3

I would say yes, as the original debt was apparently a valid debt owed. And that's their job, to recup whatever and however they can. It is not the original entity to whom you owe the debt's fault that you choose not to be gainfully employed with earned income.

Answer 4

They will do whatever they can to get payment even if it means going to court. They don't get paid until you pay up so they are eager to get the $$$$$$ you owe them!