I gave a debt collector my bank account info!?

Question

I'm trying to get all my past due debts paid off. I started by calling a credit card that had gone to collections late this year, then was sold after that to a lawyer. The law firm was so obnoxious that I called the original creditor and had them give me the name of the collection agency they sold my debt to. I called them directly and set up three even payments over the next three months to pay it in full. They would only do payments they pulled from my checking account. I thought I was being responsible getting it paid. Now I'm worrying they will either clean out my account, or claim it's not paid in full after the payments. I got nothing in writing. Of course they claimed they would take me to court if I didn't agree to EFT payments. What should I do?

What would be the repercussions of closing my bank account, calling and telling them I had to for unrelated reasons then telling them I would not give payments until I had an agreement in writing?

Answer 1

Open a 2nd checking account at your bank and only leave a few dollars more than necessary to make that payment in the old account.. When the debt is paid, close the first account and only use the new one.

Answer 2

The answers who said you should never give your account information to the company is correct. You should NEVER trust a collection agency to what they say unless you have it in writting. However, since that is already done here is what you need to do.

Close out your bank account and open up a new one. This will guarantee that they can not withdraw the funds. You then need to send them a certified letter(overnight if the EFT is scheduled in the next day or so). In the letter state that you are removing the authorization for them to withdraw the funds as previously scheduled until they provide an agreement in writting. State the payment that was agreed to, and the dates of each payment. Let them know that as soon as you have the agreement in writting you will give them the account information. Beleive me that they want their money and they will do this if you force their hand.

Once you have it in writting, open up a second account that is only for this EFT. Give them this account information, and only keep enough money in there to cover the authorized amount. Once the payments are complete close out the account.

Now for some corrections. The ones who said that they "cannot clean out your account" are wrong. If you have nothing in writting there is nothing that keeps a unscrupulous collection agency from taking out more and saying that you approved it. And as you have a feeling, with nothing in writting there is nothing that would keep them from saying that you still owe more money. Also, a Collection Agency can sue you no matter what state they are in. The only requirement is that they sue you in the court that is closest to your known residence. To do this they will hire an attorney in your state to handle the case for them.

Now the one thing that was not mentioned is that I hope you have checked the Statute of Limitations for this debt and have verified that they could still legally take action against you.

Answer 3

You could close your bank account and open another one somewhere else. However, they cannot clean your account out. You have rights with the bank. They would setup electronic checks to withdraw the amounts...checks that obviously would not have your signature. If you change your mind about paying them, you can call your bank after they go through and say that those checks are not authorized. Without your signature, the bank would have to respect your demands and re-deposit the funds into your account.

As far as the law firm taking three easy payments, this is common in settling accounts. Also, as far as I know, a collection agency can only sue you if they are in the same state you are in.

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Hope this helps.

Answer 4

I use to work for collection agency.. They wanted your bank account information because thats an asset for them. If you fail to pay them in the future they will get a judgement and levy that bank account. They can't do that unless they have a judgement against you so don't worry about that at this point. If you stick to your agreement you will be fine. If u run into problems down the road and can't pay and they go after you with judgement and court then close that account down and open a different account at a different bank. Never give a collection agency your employment info or you checking acct. be strong and firm and say I DONT have a checking account and will do money orders only or money grams. If life gets bad on finances there are options.. go to google and type in legalhelpers..good luck

Answer 5

It is too late now. Any information they obtain about you, from you or another source, can be used to collect a debt. It is their job to be pushy but next time stand your ground and refuse to give them any information. Just work out a payment plan and pay with cashiers check or money order. You don't want them to know anything.

Answer 6

I would go to the ATM machine and take cash out and check your balance. If the bank is open right now, go there immediately. Get a different account with a different number, or better yet, go to another bank.

Answer 7

NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER give your bank account information to creditors. You are about to get your account drained.

Work out a deal with them and get it IN WRITING, then send a MONEY ORDER and a copy of the letter to them. Keep copies of everything FOREVER.


Contact your bank and make sure they do not allow any transfers to this company.