I'm trying to clear up a balance I owe to a collection agency.?

Question

They told me out of the $3200 they say I owe with interest, that they would bring it down to 1600 if I pay in 24 hours, but the other option is to give them $2400 and they will clear it from my credit report where it won't effect my credit score so my credit score will go up to the pont like it wasnt ever there.
Can they actually do this? or is this a scam.

If I just pay the $1600 would it be the same with me contacting the credit bureaus myself?

Thanks!

This was not because of a credit card.
It was money owed because my car was towed.

Answer 1

SCAM. Pay the 1600 and it shows as paid after 30 days. They can't pull it off until the scheduled date (seven years after it was posted) Dont let them do that to you. Tell them you want to be assured in writting that the entry will be completely removed from your CR. Until then, keep ur 2400 inyour wallet. Those Jerks.

Answer 2

No, they cannot remove it from the credit bureau and your credit report. It stays for 7 yrs. I assume you have other problems besides this one. Unless you are trying to buy a house which all interest rates will be higher because of this problem with the credit card i would go to Consumer Credit Counseling and get their free initial consultation. It Government backed to help people get out of debt. If you call them and go to the Appt. and they advise you what to do it may cost you a small fee. you won't be allowed to use a credit card and they will get all creditors off your back. They set a budget and you pay them and they pay your creditors. What they also do, that you or no one else can do is get the interest stopped. They knopw what to do and how to do it but you have to want their help and be willing to change. I hope you at least call...not another agency because they will charge more. this is the best one that the Gvt. backs. Good luck to you , love coming your way.

Answer 3

I have heard that it is bad to pay to a collection agency. Here is a good website that explains it a little more and how it can help or hurt.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/Yourcreditrating/P136684.asp

I know from experience that a few years ago my husband and I wanted to buy a house. We had a couple collections on our credit. I just called up the collection agencies and asked them what amount it would take to pay the account in full. I then requested that they send me a letter that the account was paid in full. That usually only works if you have a good chunk of money to give them and you don't need to make payments. After I paid the amounts I waited 30 days and watched our credit reports. After a year all the things were shown paid in full and we had no problem getting the house loan.

Answer 4

Actually, while everyone who answered appears well intentioned, truthfully a creditor can do what he wants as to the report. IF they agree to "remove" the item...what they are really telling you is they won't report it negatively. If your repo happened recently, then they may not have reported the problem adversely to you on the credit bureaus yet. While a collection company may not "own" the debt, it might. However, in any case it is authorized to act on behalf of the creditor or it's in violation of the FDCPA.

What I would be MORE concerned with is their ethics. Not very many collection companies will honor their "oral" promises to do things like this. Get it in writing before you pay the amount they have requested. At the minimum, confirm it in writing by certified mail with your funds with your understanding the check will not be cashed without them complying with their promise. They will still cash the check but you will be protected if they don't come through with their promise to not report against you. Then you have a cause of action against the collection agency.....and I bet THEY HAVE DEEPER POCKETS THAN YOU DO.......LOL; attorneys LOVE to sue collection agencies when they have a ground to stand on.

Answer 5

First of all remember this... YOU DON'T OWE THE COLLECTION AGENCY ANYTHING, they buy your account from the people YOU DO owe. If they keep bugging you over the phone about the money "you owe them", find out their address and send them a limited cease and desists letter stating that they are not allowed to contact you via telephone. That they are only allowed to contact you via mail. Just be sure that when you do that you send it via certified mail so you have proof that they received it. This way they cannot deny that. If they keep calling you can actually sue them for harassment.

They best thing to do, is IF you want to pay the debt call the original creditor and establish some kind of payment plan. But NEVER pay a collection agency anything. Its their loss if they think they can fool you into thinking that you owe them anything.

Also go here http://www.creditboards.com

It helped me, and you can find a sample of a cease and desist letter that I am talking about.

Answer 6

The collection agency is able to remove their own negative listing from your credit report, but the original creditor will still show the negative information regarding the charge-off.

The $2,400 / $1,600 deal that they're cutting you is just to get more money out of you. Collection agencies buy charged-off accounts for pennies on the dollar, and the more you send them, the more they profit.

So unless you're dealing directly with the original creditor, no one will be able to remove that information from your credit report. You might be better off dealing directly with the original creditor, anyway, as you can and should negotiate with them to remove all instances of the account on your record.

Then you can attempt to have the collection agency information removed, as well. Because if the original creditor doesn't acknowledge the account, how can a collection agency maintain a legitimate claim to negative information on your history?

ForeclosureFish
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