Hello all. I am a one day newbie and I am in trouble. I received an email from my boss this morning that someone had left a voice mail at our Corporate Office from collections. That is when I started searching for a forum to see what my rights and options were to keep this from happening again. I found ya'll (that's Texan for everybody here.) I called the number and no one answered this morning. I got busy with work and reading all I could on this forum thinking I had a few days at least to research and gain knowledge. I was wrong. I finally got someone on the phone this afternoon. The conversation, in summation, is that I had a Charge Off on a card from December 2002. According to the guy on the phone, a letter was sent to me 38 days ago with a settlement offer. No response caused a judgement to be issued that will get me served in about two days. After calming him down and asking for a copy of what he told me was sent I got him to determine that a person had not been assigned to delivery the judgement yet so he emailed me the letter. (I could not get him to send it via snail mail again.) A little more conversation and he told me that he worked for U.F.P. (and didn't know what that stood for.) They are the "filing agent" for ACMG that bought the account. That is all I know at this point. Oh, the amount owed is apparently $4400+ and the settlement would be $2150. Now I am here, asking for help as a newbie with immediate issues. I will be back later tonight to respond to any questions or comments from ya'll. Thanks for being here. Ref
off hand i would say it's sol for collecting,check your state law.Also check your local courthouse to see if it;s been filed.I would quit talking to them and Tell them you want any info sent via mail.Still dispute it.Use cmrrr!!
Is it your debt? #1 Remember to never admit that it is your debt, whether it is or not #2 Is this your debt? If so, you can always settle for far less then they offer, they usually throw you some number that they HAVE to receive, but remember, they purchased this debt from the original creditor for pennies on the dollar, so whatever they are asking you to pay includes their margin on their accounts, this is always negotiable. #3 They cannot do anything to you unless they know where you work, and have legally verified your employment. Most collections will not pursue unless they also know where you live and have verified. Remember, as long as they do not know everything about you, and can prove that this is your debt, then you have all the power, as long as you have time and patience to deal with it. The only thing that sucks is when you have to deal with them in a timely manner because you are trying to buy a home, car, or something of that nature. Good Luck!!
Bladz, I first found out this collections company had the account when they left a message with my employer. I am wondering if that is legal since I was not contacted by anyone at my home prior to that. Next, I gave the rep my email address when he refused to re-mail the settlement letter to me so I could see what they had and what they wanted. I received the letter via email and it is pretty much a form letter with their terms. I did not respond, but waited for him to call me back the next day. When he called me back I told him that I could not accept the terms or conditions listed in his letter and that I do not recall ever having this debt to begin with. Not sure on the second part, but I thought it was a good time to start drawing the lines in the sand as it were. Interestingly enough, he immediately started asking if I could afford 25% of the settlement to get "current" and I knew he was grasping. We agreed to disagree and that was the end of the phone call. I am pretty sure that I will be hearing from them again soon. Taking JJG's response advice, I will not be talking on the phone with them any more except to request everything be delivered by mail. I am working on finding out about the case being filed at the County. Here are the Statuatory Limitations as I found them on the net: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- STATE: TEXAS Interest Rate Legal: 6% Agreement: can charge up to 18% No Agreement: statuory interest of 6% begins to run 30th day after becoming due Judgment: 8.25% (effective 2007) Always consult cousel to charge interst - Texas has very onerous usury laws & penalties. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS (IN YEARS) Open Account: 4 Written Contract: 4 Promissory Note: 6 Domestic Judgment: 10 Renewable Foreign Judgment: 10 Renewable BAD CHECK LAWS (CIVIL PENALTY) N/A GENERAL GARNISHMENT EXEMPTIONS 100% of wages. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, what in the interim, should I be doing to prepare in this Board's opinion? Thanks again for being here. Tha Ref
Does anyone know a way for me to get free copies of all three of my Credit Reports? If there is a thread, I cannot seem to locate it....maybe the ADD is taking over.... Ref
Dumb Bob can never remember which of the many similarly named ones is the real one so he just suggests going to the site via the ftc.gov link, The Federal Trade Commission's Information on Free Annual Credit Reports
