I am trying to pay off my credit card which is in collections its over 4,000?

Question

I called the company and they said that they only way i could start to make payments is by first paying 1,259 by the end of themonth which is in 2 two weeks if i don't they are threstning to sue why sue when i made them an offer of 300 per month

Answer 1

They cannot sue you. However, they can take you to court and have a judgement placed against you for the amount of the debt. You have the right to attend this court hearing. If they do actually take you to court, make sure that you tell the judge you offered to make reasonable payments of $300 a month which they did not accept. You'll want to keep a log of all your conversations, including date, time and who you spoke too. If a judgement is entered against you, and a payment plan is not put in place by the judge, they can than file a motion to garnish your wages, freeze your checking account, assets, etc. If you own a home, the judgement can become a lien against the property that must be paid if you refinance or sell.

They can choose to charge whatever amount they'd like to start a payment plan with you personally as long as the amount is applied to the balance of the debt. The only thing you really can do at this point is stay calm, and reiterate to them that you can't afford to pay that amount, but you can afford to pay $300 a month towards the debt. Eventually they may take the offer.

Answer 2

Well dont be afraid of them threatening you. They are just playing the scare tactic. They want to get whatever they want out of you. For them that is not a large amount of money but every penny counts so they will get whatever they can. Call them and tell them what you will pay or if you dont want to talk to them just send what you can. Either way what are they going to do in court? They will only get what you can afford in payments. 1,259 by the end of the month is ridiculous and they should not ask for an unreasonable amount within two weeks. You know if they did that in court the judge would frown upon them for being unreasonable anyways.

Answer 3

Get a bank loan and pay the whole amount that you owe them. The rates on bank loans are a heck of a lot lower than credit cards. If you don't have enough equity for a loan, then ask a family member or friend to co-sign a loan. Good luck!!

Answer 4

FROM EXPERIENCE.... tell them when they will accept 60% of that amount that they need to STOP calling you.... give them a couple of days and they'll accept. They are threatening you because that's what they do to get as much as they can to get a bonus out of it. If you fall for it, they win, if you threaten them back they know you know the game.... ( I know someone who used to be on that side of the threats so I know how they work) it's called a bluff. When it's in collections settle for half or go for the 60%, almost always it works.... and that amount will be DONE!

Answer 5

they won't do anything. first, if the $4,000 isnt a settlement, negotiate a settlement amount. most of it is probably fees and finance charges. See how low they will settle for. if you offer them a payment amount they will take it. offer them what you feel comfortable paying, because if they file a judgement against you, all thats going to happen is a court mediation to work out a payment arrangement. don't let them tell you what to pay, tell them what you are going to pay and let them figure it out.

Answer 6

Ari? They cant sue him but they can take him to court and have a judgment placed??? How do you get a judgment without a lawsuit??

They sue, they win and than they are granted their judgment. Cant have a judgment without a lawsuit...unless of course you sign a stipulation and its entered by defualt.

Moving, will they do it? Sure why not? If they want, they can sue you for any amount. If the balance is low...they can sue you in small claims. If they want.

Do they want? Why not? Collection attorneys work on a contingency basis...meaning they dont get paid till the bill collector gets paid. If the bill collector doesnt get paid than the attorney never gets paid. So what exactly does the bill collector have to lose?

As far as costs for court...well they rate anywhere from 250.00-500.00 depending on the court and location. No big deal. Besides, those costs will be added to the judgment with interest for you to pay back. Again they have nothing to lose.

Do they have to accept your payment plan? No. There is no law that enforces a bill collector to accept ANY payment plan you throw at them. They can take your payment, post it and still sue you. If he wants to be an a$$hole about it, he has the right to demand payment in full.

What can you do? Bill Collectors can not threaten you that they are going to sue you and not do it. They cant lie about it. It is in violation of the Fair Debts Collection Practices Acts (FDCPA). If he is telling you he is going to sue you than he probably is...thats not to say that some bill collectors wont commit violations, there are plenty that do and plenty that dont. So if you want to call it a bluff...just remember there is a big chance its not.

Tell them to stop calling you?? If someone tells me to stop calling them... I will stop right away. But I will have them served within the week. I will sue him and it will cost him more than it would have if he just finished the deal with me. A deal that we both agreed on. Negotiation is the key but dont try and give them an ultimatum. I dont mind negotiating with anyone but if I ever get an ultimatum I pull the trigger and boom...theres a knock on their door..Oops here comes the process server with a subpoena to appear in court.

If your hearing as this interest crap...Im sure there was some type of interest agreement in your terms and conditions. They will add the interest as agreed on and the court will 99.9% award it to them.

If people are telling you to dispute it and I seen this many times...and the debt is valid...you dispute a valid debt he will sue you for sure and validate it for you in court. Dont push him to pull the trigger. Only dispute things that are not valid.

First, google the FDCPA and read up on your rights, educate yourself so that you can stand up for yourself and know what you are dealing with. Next, call them closer to the end of the month when they are trying to close books and make numbers look pretty and offer them to settle for a less amount. Start by offering 40% and they consider it paid in full. Tell them that you are having financial hardships...dont push it or lie too much cause they have means of finding out that will take them about 3 minutes to do it. They will probably work you up a little to settle for a higher amount...but dont let them work you up too much. Sound "firm but honest". Dont let him push you around but dont **** him off either. Make one bulk settlement payment and close out.

If your going to settle dont give them any information or money unless you get in writing that they agree to close your account as settled in full for the amount of money you agreed on.

Otherwise, try your payment plan and figure out if he was using a "scare tactic" like the other guy said.

Heard of "stall tactic" but in the many many years of being in this business I never heard of a "scare tactic". Bill collectors just call it "Bull $hitting".

Dont ever assume that "they cant" or "they wont" or you have rights and laws that protects you.

Of course there is recourse! There is a reason why they are in business and generating millions, if not billions a year. They have rights as well and there are laws that protect them and laws that provide them with remedies to resolve situations such as the one your in now.

If you have any questions...email me and I will be happy to help you out to the best of my abilities.

Good Luck

Answer 7

Check out the free evaluation form at the source website; they can help.