I am very on time in paying my bills. About a few months ago, my employer at the time shorted my hours making it a hardship on me to pay my bills. The only thing that I could get by with is paying my rent and utilities and I relied on my parents for food, etc.
I was unable to pay my Macy's card for two mos. & they turned it over to this debt collection agency called Van Rue Credit Corp. I explained to the lady that because of my situation with my past employer, I faced a financial hardship. She seemed to sympathize with me and we worked out a hardship plan.
This month, I am unable to pay the agreed amount because I had a medical emergency. It was either I got treatment or die. I told her my situation and she got really nasty with me and said that I cannot skip payment for a month and I better do something to get the money because then I'd have to pay it in full. I assured her that I can pay for next month but she didn't want to hear me out.
Can someone help me with this?
2007-07-20 03:25:00 · 14 answers · asked by alexis_luvada 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
butter1944fly: I agree with you and yes I acknowledge that it was my poor judgement not to call.
What I'm trying to say is that if I'm being polite towards a person and I'm trying to reason with him/her, I expect the same amount of respect that I put out but then again I know that we don't live in a perfect world.
Like I said, it's not that I don't want to pay them, it's just that right now, I'm just now starting to get things back in motion financially. As a result, my parents have offered to allow me to move back home and in return I just have to pay my dad for my auto insurance. I don't want to move back home but if it's going to allow me the means to get back on track, I'm all for it.
2007-07-20 03:45:20 · update #1
you can tell them not to call you again. That is a law in US.
If they continue to call they are against the law and they them you will report them for harrasment.
2007-07-20 03:34:33 · answer #1 · answered by lana s 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Generally I don't recommend dealing with collection agents, but this case is a bit differant.
They were willing to work with you before. Understand it's extremely hard for a collection agent to be police and understanding, and it didn't help when you missed a payment you agreed to.
You say you can continue to make the payments in the future....so try sending in ANYTHING this month....and try to catch up in the next few months. BE SURE to send a letter along with the payment explaining the situation, and state that by accepting the payment they are agreeing to allow you to catch up on the payments.
If they don't accept it, you haven't really lost any ground. They are still going to be jerks, but at least if you are sued the judge will give you some credit for trying.
2007-07-20 13:54:51 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This isnt the answer youre looking for but - im gonna give it to u anyway cause it helped me not only get OUT of debt all together but i avoided two law suits - and i also, ALWAYS pay bills on time. Go read up on the FDCPA (fair debt collection practices association) - Im sure you can find at least one federal regulation theyve broken. (I personally found 7 with my collector) - Then record all info and times of ur communication with this creditor. THEN next time they call inform them of their wrong doing and let them know this matter (your debt) will not be handled through their firm and they should expect to hear more on their wrongdoings.
i know thats a roundabout way of getting things done. and i didnt even mean for it to work for me the way it did - but it turned out for the best. Ecspecially if this is a big firm (Im assuming it is since Macys uses them) theyve probably had allegations and investigations done before - so when you mention something like that theyre much more likley to stop treating you with such an attitude, like some helpless woman that cant pay her bills.
Best of luck with everything hun! and i hope ur health is improving
2007-07-20 10:38:00 · answer #3 · answered by snuggler 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
write the debt collector a letter telling them you will only deal with Macy's. Tell them it is your policy to not deal with collection agencies and tell them to leave you alone. Then call Macy's and tell them you can and WILL pay the bill every month without a bunch of excuses.
But you can also ignore them - they won't sue you unless you owe Macy's about 3 grand or above.
If need be, get a second job at night to pay your legal obligations.
2007-07-20 10:35:27 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Just pay what you can when you can. Make sure you buy food and make the housepayment and the utilities first. If they call just explain to them you dont have the money. as long as they are nice talk to em. tell them upfront that if they start being mean that you are going to hang up. Then do it.
You really need a 2nd job. And a written budget
2007-07-20 13:14:12 · answer #5 · answered by heybulldog 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your mistake was not contacting Macy's before this went to the collection agency. Furthermore, you are not being harassed. You have a contract to pay the bill and the company is trying to collect it. How would you feel if someone owed you money and did not pay you. You would be uncomfortable asking for it but angry with that person. Businesses cannot afford to have that attitude.
2007-07-20 10:32:55 · answer #6 · answered by butter1944fly 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Borrow some funds and settle it out for less than 1/2. We recently settled an account with Van Rue for 40 cents on the dollar.
2007-07-20 16:39:56 · answer #7 · answered by stephen l 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't sound as if they are harassing you, they just want their money. Can you blame them? I would just make the payments as i could, they are not going to turn down your money next month. She may have seemed unsympathetic, but you must understand they hear every excuse in the book on a daily basis. They could care less about your situations, they just want money. Call back when you have it and pay.
2007-07-20 10:35:18 · answer #8 · answered by frankie b 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All you have to say is that you can not pay and hang up. you have no need to hear that. She is just trying to scare you in to getting the money. That's her job, I guess. Send the agency a letter in writing explaining what happened and that their employee was very rude. I bet that will get them to stop.
2007-07-20 12:16:07 · answer #9 · answered by Cali Girl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi,
It's really a difficult situation. But you can come out of it if you opt for a right debt consolidation. Go to another lender and explain your difficulties. You may find very useful info on debt consolidation on http://www.cashguru.info . Good luck for a debt free life.
2007-07-20 10:33:54 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is the reality of incurring debt and not being able to handle the debt load. You're actually quite fortunate that you got courteous and helpful treatment the first time around. Most of them are downright nasty right from the start.
You will have to deal with them and try to work with them. It is NOT easy.
2007-07-20 10:31:51 · answer #11 · answered by acermill 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋