Collection agency.?

Question

Wow, I just talked to one of the agent and he was quit rude; I asked if I can work out a payment arrangement or pay a lower amount so I can pay it full and he said "we don't give out discounts to someone who doesn't make payment". I understand I made mistake, but I lost my job and could not keep up with my bills. They are taking me to court next month and I want to see if I can settle so I don't have to pay court fees. Should I just go to court, or should I call the lawyer office, are they the same company from the collection agency? With interest my collection amount is around $1200 do you think it's worth it to get a lawyer? I really want to pay this off. This is the only negative I have in my report. Please help. Thank you all!!!

I've already been served and my court date is next month. Thanks.

Answer 1

Think of this as a poker game. All they want is your money, and you have it.

It would cost you about half of what you owe to hire an attorney. See if they will settle for that amount, or face your "attorney" in court.

Before you pay them anything, however, get a "delete for payment" agreement with them. It is important that you get it in writing first. It may be worth a try.

Contact your local bar association. You may want to invest in a little bit of advise from consumer rights attorney. Usually you can get a 30 minute consultation for a small fee.

What is the worst think they can do to you? At least you tried.

Good Luck

Answer 2

The fact that you offered to make a payment is the magic formula. When that comes up, they will look *very* bad - especially when they refused to let you do so.

Try doing an end-run around the pests, contact the company to whom you owe the money, and see what you can do about setting-up some form of payment plan. Even better, if you suddenly come into some cash, **pay in full the original bill(s) plus the interest to company owed.** That way the Agency is out the time and money of hassling you, and your bill(s) is/are paid.

If you can't do that put on your best suit, and either find a friendly lawyer willing to work pro-bono at short notice (if you're in the US, since unlike here in Canada, you *can* have a lawyer argue your case in Small Claims Court).

In any case, see two people, first, a credit councillor and a lawyer - one (in each case) that offers initial consults for free.

If you can't pay-off the amount owed before your hearing date, dress your best, and go to court with the hope that the judge understands that paying rent and buying food have to take precidence over everything else right now, until you are back on your feet.

Also, as a last "I-wanna-stay-out-of-court" gamble, contact the agency and ask to speak with a/the manager. Advise the manager that you are currently unemployed (but actively looking), and that you *want* to pay your bills, and are willing to enter into a payment plan of a couple bucks a week until you're back on your feet, but when you mentioned the magic phrase of payment plan to the person who called you, you were shot down with a "full-amount or nothing" demand.

Incidentally, demand payments for the full amount are rare-ish. They do occur, but not as frequently as some...like collection agencies...might like.

Lastly, if you contact the person(s)/company to whom you owe the original amount, and can successfully make arrangements to pay *them*, you will likely end-up paying less. However, the fact that they went to a collection agency will be a 7 year blot on your record.

Answer 3

You can make whatever payments you can afford, by law. They have to accept them. The original creditor may take payments, since the debt was sold off. Even if you pay off the collections account, it will have negative effects on your credit score. There is some free information on my website if you click on credit info at http://www.rayscredit.com

The majority of the time if you ask for a manager, they will take payments. Remember, the person on the phone is going to bonus 1-2% off of whatever you send in as a payment. Then the collection agency gets the rest. They probably bought your debt for $200 to $300 so they will take a lesser amount. This happens all the time. They want to scare you into paying it in full. You have time to get it straight. The original creditor would be the best bet, so the suit can stop with the courts.

You could easily reach an agreement, if you made a small payment, for them to take $400 as payment in full for that account. First offer $200, then $300, then $400, or up to $600 if you need to. They settle for 50-75% all the time. I just reached a settlement for my brother for 61% less than what the original debt was for.

http://www.rayscredit.com/credit_repair_tips_tricks_and_info.html

Answer 4

you dont need a lawyer in my opinion for such a small amount anyway. the lawyer would cost as much. i think you are being flim flamed.
i was a collector for a nationwide chain of spas for years. we would use the words "legal office" because it has no real meaning. it does not mean law office.
we called from the "finance company" but it was just another branch of the same corporation. in your case they may or may not be the same company.
here is the law as they carefully drilled it into us.they cannot say law office or lawyer or attorney unless that is indeed what they are talking about. they can however say things like legal office because they are in an office and it is legal.
they can not say that they are going to take you to court if they do not intend to do so. they can however, remind you that you have a legal contract and that they have a right to take you to court.
a good collector can make it sound like he has an attorney ready to take you to court at the end of the month without ever saying either thing. the trouble is if they are really going to take you to court, it may sound very much the same way.
here is how you find out. i have a feeling that you have the guys number around, call him and ask for name and number of of his attorney. if he gives you one, great. the will tell you where you stand and probably offer you a settlement or make arrangments rather than go to court.
just saw that you were served papers. why are you talking to a collector? call their attorney! and mention that you dont wish to recieve any more collection calls.

Answer 5

1. You know a collection agent is lying when his lips move.
2. Unless you have heard from the court and have a court date then they are not taking you to court next month.
3. He will say and do anything to get you to pay.

This guy wants to rattle you. He wants you emotional. He wants you scared. Why? Because he knows that if you're scared, rattled, and emotional then you are more likely to do something stupid like send him the rent money as payment.

Don't do something stupid. Do NOT give him money you would spend on essentials like food, clothing, shelter, utilities. Do NOT give him electronic access to your bank account. Do NOT give him post dated checks. Do NOT take his harassment. Tell him you will talk to him like an adult and expect the same in return otherwise he can talk to a dial tone.

Do learn your rights as outlined in the Debt Collection Fair Practices Act located here - http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm

Do continue to try to work a deal.

Do make sure you have the cash when a deal is made. Get it in writing.

They bought this debt for pennies on the dollar. He will settle.

Answer 6

Have you tried contacting the original creditor. Chances are he has written off this as a bad debt and sold it to the collection agency. He may be (or the credit mgr) be willing to accept your offer of smaller payments in turn calling off the dogs. He will show a plus on his financials because this is now "gravy" - but stick to your word, it's very important that you are timely and accurate, even a day or two early if you can.
Collection agents are bulldogs with one goal only - to intimidate you into paying up and paying now. They don't make any money if you don't pay and they don't want to be your friend.

good luck

Answer 7

well you dont need a lawyer, the judge will tell you to pay.
depends on the company (the collection agency i work for works with the debtor) they mail not lower payments with someone who doesnt want to do one time payment. Just send it payments of what you can afford. Collections efforts will keep on going though till you get your debt taken care of

Answer 8

I was also being sued by a collection agenciesss..I countered sued the rats.First you should make sure all the laws were followed letter to the law.Have you pulled your file to make sure every single thing regarding that debt is correct? Has the SOL ran out. Has the collection agencies followed the laws in which they have to follow before they can sue you?

The collection agencie that sued me broke the law and I was able to prove it. I did not dispute I "owed" the money I sued them on the grounds in which they sued me.Just one of the things I was able to prove is the collection agencie had my wrong apt number they had 11 and I live at 113 that's was just one thing that was on my side.Email me if you have any questions

Answer 9

Go to court and tell the judge your job loss problem.
Explain that you tried to set up a payment plan - on this date.

Knowing the name of the person your speaking to helps a lot here, if you make an attempt to pay and they refuse - you could be not obligated to pay - legally.

Answer 10

Get a Consumer Law Lawyer, he can get them to validate the debt (since you already were served) and see if what they are collecting is even worth collecting, (past the statue of limitations). Did they buy the debt or were they assigned
the debt? If they bought the debt, what contract do they
have with your signature on it that says you agreed to pay
them. You need a lawyer because they served you, Courts
may not be familiar with FCRA Practices so it is best to get one.

WWW.CREDITINFOCENTER.COM

Also check on rip-offreport.com and punch in
the company who is collector,