I recently had been dealing with what I thought was a lawyers office regarding a bill. They would never really accept our offers to set up a payment plan, stating they could only accept full payment or they would file suit. Come to find out they were just a collection agency. Is there anything I can do?
2007-01-17 13:36:46 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
No. It's no more against the law than if I told a girl in a bar that I was a pilot or a doctor just so I could get her phone number. As long as they don't actually walk into a court room and claim they are a lawyer or attempt to serve as a lawyer in a legal proceeding, what they did was most likely not against the law. Dishonest? Yes. Unethical? Definitely. Despicable? Without question. But debt collectors have been all these things and more for years. They can tell you just about anything they want to try and convince you to pay up and according to Dave Ramsey they will sometimes pull some REALLY cheap tricks.
Furthermore ... I don't know exactly what they told you, but if they said what you said ... that is ... pay full payment or we'll file suit? That was well within their rights. Even if the person that you were talking to wasn't a lawyer and the company wasn't a law office, that is completely irrelevant ... they may have a lawyer on retainer and plan to sue you in court using their lawyer. And if you only owe a few thousand dollars, they could sue you in small claims court without even using a lawyer.
Anyway, I feel for you man. These guys are scum and they can really pull some cheap shots. HOWEVER, there is a solution ... so what if they claim they won't accept a payment plan. Get their address and your account number from them ... they must provide that to you ... and then start sending them payments on a payment plan of your own making. If you can afford to send them $25 a week ... send them $25. $100 ... send them $100 ... whatever you can afford. Keep VERY good records of every penny you send them AND send them the money using traceable means like a check so you have a record through your bank that they cashed it AND as a registered letter so you have proof that they received the letter. As long as you're making payments on the debt, the odds that they will sue you are practically nil. They may PREFER than you pay in full and will do everything they can to get you to pay in full ... but pay what you can and you'll make progress toward getting this resolved.
As one other writer mentioned, the fair credit acts do provide provisions that state they can't harass you. So by writing properly formated letters you CAN get them to stop calling you and writing you letters. BUT ... Dave Ramsey also STRONG recommends against doing this unless they are getting threatening. The reason is that as long as the lines of communication are open, there is a chance to resolve the situation without it going to court or worse. The communication may be unpleasant, but almost any communication is better than nothing. If you slam the door in their face you are basically leaving them no choice but to sue you. At which time they may just let it go and let it drop ... but if you owe enough you can guarantee they are going to go after the money anyway they can.
Hang in there, man ... you can make this work. Good Luck.
2007-01-17 14:03:28 · answer #1 · answered by Informed1 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I work for a major credit card company, and what you just said is totally illegal. When a collection agency calls you they must state who they work for and why they are calling at the very beginning of the call according to the FDCPA. They can't act like they are a lawyer because that is falsifying information. This company is breaking major federal laws and state laws. I would contact the BBB and you could possibly sue the company if you have the correct prove.
2007-01-17 13:50:12 · answer #2 · answered by auto2007 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wrong. The original company charges off the debt and sells a group of bad debt at a discount to a collection agency. The collection agency works the accounts and tries to collect as many accounts as they can. The collection agency then sells a group of accounts they haven't collected to another collection agency, at a deeper discount. This continues till it gets down to the hard-core deadbeats and the "scum" collection agencies that buy the debt for pennies on the dollar. The agreement you signed with the original creditor includes verbage that allows them to sell the debt off to a third party. You created the debt; you owe the money.
2016-05-24 01:59:41 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you're receiving harassing calls from a collection agency you can stop them. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was written to protect people from debt harassment. Get a copy of the Act at www.ftc.gov. You can also check out www.debtreferral.com/calls.html
Tell them you need to have all correspondence in writing and if they continue to call, you will call that state attorney general and the FTC and file a complaint against them for harassment. (That will stop them).
2007-01-17 13:49:06 · answer #4 · answered by hopeihelped 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes it is against the law, go here and post your question and let the experts take care of you www.creditboards.com
2007-01-17 13:42:30 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would think they SHOULD be able to just to get all the jerks who owe money to pay up.
Legally though, I would question it.
Happy Wednesday !!
: )
2007-01-17 13:53:07 · answer #6 · answered by Kitty 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋