Capital One/NCO Financial Need Help

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by dave6788, Nov 19, 2001.

  1. dave6788

    dave6788 New Member

    Okay Gang, I need your help. I live in Florida. My wife has/had an account with Capital One. In July I got a letter stating that if a payment wasn't made, it would be tyurned over to collections. I made a payment, but then never received another statement from them. Supposedly they had a "mistaken" address. I seriousley forgot about them, being up to the gills in other bills. We had had an account with CCCS a year previousley, but then went out on our own.

    WSe got a letter from an attorney representing NCO financial (With the proper address, no less!), and when my wife called, they asked if the sheriff had been by the house to serve us yet. The balance was $7500, but the guy claimed we owed ~$300 in interest, that if his office handled our case the cost would be 8200, and if they went to court, over $8600, but that if we sent a payoff in right away, for ~$5500, that they would write it off, or we could make minimum payments @ x% interest.

    My wife said we would get back to them. Next she called capital One, and they stated NCO was representing them, that they couldn't help her, but that if she couldn't work something out with NCO, to call back, and they would help her. they indicated they would be willing to accept paynents of 3/4 of the amount.

    Subsequently, my wife got a call from the NCO Attorney office wanting to know her decision. He was irate that Capital 1 had spoken to her, and said he could honor their offer. My wife said she would get back to him.

    this weekend, we got a letter from NCO Attorney stating no resolution had been reached, but that if we didn't reach one soon, they would have to "take appropriate action, which may include a recommendation for legal action" So much for the Sheriff who was already on his way.....

    Now, finally, and thanks for hanging in this long, I come to my questions.

    1: I can get the $5500, but whom should I offer it to: NCO or Capital 1? I see the posts here and elsewhere that indicates NCO is less than honorable, and have heard that they can take the payment, and never let the creditor know you paid.

    2: Should I start by offering less than the $5500. My historical payments equate to 125% of the original charges.....

    3 Where do I go from here??

    Please help, I need to get this taken care of ASAP, and need informed responses, not guesses or suppositions. I don't want to blow this.
     
  2. lbrown59

    lbrown59 Well-Known Member

    Any Ideas anyone?
     
  3. BruteForce

    BruteForce Well-Known Member

    Why give your money to a jerk who threatened you? It seems to me that he's just looking for a commision of the debt if it gets paid. I'd call Cap1 and tell them that you cannot deal with NCO and try to arrange something.

    I wonder if his threatswere a violation? Any ideas anyone?
     
  4. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    Yes. I sure do.

    The very first thing that people should learn is that even though there is more than ample evidece at times that our government(s) and our economy and our judicial system might be irreparably broke and there is seemingly no way out of the apparently hopeless morasses tht we find ourselves in, there is never any need to shoot one's self in the foot.

    All we have to do is to learn to stop and think a little bit and we can usually see the solutions to the problems. Learn to stop and think instead of letting your fears rule your life. So what if the sheriff comes to your door? So what if he comes to your door. Don't mean hunting season on prime boobs has just opened. All he is going to do is give you a peice of paper inviting you to some future session of court. So what? That's not the end of the world. Been there, done that. Know all I need to know about their little parties. No matter what, they are not going to come running out of that courtroom like a bunch of howling banshees with ropes in their hands looking for the nearest tree to hang you from.

    For those of you who are of the feminine gender, I suggest that you learn a little about the Spanish culture. The lady of the house is the absolute ruler of her home subject only to her husband. And you should feel the same about your home. It's your castle, no matter how small nor how large it might be. If you are the ruler of the house then pray tell, who is it that has the right to come riding into your home on a wire and trying to turn you into a nervous wreck? Nobody, that's who. Nobody. You own that wire and it's you that controls it, not somebody trying to turn you into their servant. So hang up on them. Not one thing they can do about it.

    Stop being afraid folks. Stop and think. Is the world going to come to an end because you have mis-managed your financial affairs? Not very likely. Fear is your greatest enemy, not that fool on the other end of some little piece of wire. All you gotta do is hang him. (up that is).

    Don't let fear rule your lives people. Learn that you can take control of your own destiny under almost any and all circumstances. And fear is what beats you most of the time. That and failure to stop and think.

    I get people every day come crying and wringing their hands, nearly incoherent with fear. That's no better than being a blind stumbling drunk. The first rule is calm down, stop and think, It isn't the end and there is always an answer out there somewhere.

    Don't ever let some fool on the other end of a piece of wire spook you. Just hang up on him and let him talk to himself.
     
  5. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    Hey! One thing we all need to learn is to look for a little bit of humor in these situation. Might not solve the problem, but it sure makes things less painful.

    Some idiot tells me he is going to turn me over to collections, you know what they are likely to get told?

    Oh yeah! You know him too? When was the last time you saw him? How on earth is he doing these days?

    HUH? Who? Who you talking about?

    Old Collections. I'm his old pal, Broke and he and I go back a long ways together. Hey! I gotta run. You have a nice day now. Goodbye.

    Blows their mind every time. You get all kinds of crazy reactions out of them. Usually they just gotta call you right back and make some kinda stupid remark. I've even had them call me right back and tell me I'd better not hang up on them again. Why not? Who is paying for this damned thing, you or me? If you are, you just come and get it. Click.

    Don't put up with it.
     
  6. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    So what. New Years is coming and that's when we make our resolutions. So this guy better learn he's got the cart before the horse.

    So what's his recommendation worth? A buck and his recommendation and he might get a cup of coffee. He's gonna have to look somewhere else for the buck however.
    See? Sheriff hasn't got there yet? What happened to the poor feller? Have a blowout in his running shoes? Run outta steam. Somebody told me the sheriff was on his way, I'd call him back next day and ask him what happened to the sheriff. Whatsa matter? Poor guy get lost or something.

    Don't live in fear of these idiots. Learn how to stand up and fight. It isn't hard. Don't get scared, get mad. Don't take their abuse. You don't have to.
     
  7. Newcomer

    Newcomer Well-Known Member

    Ok first of all, the post about not being afraid of them is ABSOLUTELY correct. There is no such thing as debtors prison in America. Well, we have a virtual prison called the land of subprime lenders, but that's a different story. I am in the process of suing NCO right now, because they tried to re-age an account and put it on all three of my credit reports. These people are without conscience, and if they actually can get a Sheriff to present you with a summons, I'd be very surprised. Even if that were to happen, you'd still be in the same postion. Owing them $7500. I take it the account was written off as an R9 by capital one in july, which technically means that NCO cannot report a collections to your report at the same time. So your credit can't be further damaged right now. That gets rid of one fear:). Secondly, I've learned the hard way, all you have is all you have. If you don't have 3/4 of the total due, then don't accept a negotiation for that amount. Offer 1/3 of the total due. You have to call their bluff, because that crap about fees and collections handling baloney. Cap 1 has already written it off their books. My suggestion would be for you to contact Cap 1, ask that they take the account back from NCO (creditors can do this) and negotiate a payment schedule with them. Whatever you do, don't give in to NCO.

    Good luck and God Bless!
     
  8. tom65432

    tom65432 Well-Known Member

    I had a similar problem one year ago with NCO. They scared the hell out of me. I can verify they will lie about almost everything so don't do anything with them unless you get it in writing ahead of time. You already know they lie because they asked if the sheriff was there yet.

    I also found that they will delete in exchange for payment so consider asking for that. But, I do not know if they will delete for less than full payment.

    Now on to the attorneys. I dealt with the "attorneys" from the first time I talked with them. I now am more knowlegeable about how they work and seriously doubt that these people are attorneys. Next time you get something from the "attorney", ask for his/her bar number and state of licensure. I bet you will find you are dealing with a low level collections agent, not an attorney. It would be interesting to report this to the bar.

    I can't help you with how much they will accept. If you have read my previous posts, you know that they will accept more than the amount owed. I ended up paying over $2000 in "attorney fees" to these people on a $5000 debt. They refuse to give me anything showing what "attorney" got these fees, nor will the lender, Wells Fargo.

    Just be aware you are dealing with the worst of the worst.
     
  9. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    It's not only that you shouldn't give in to NCO, it's a much deeper subject than that.

    Learn that even though you owe, you are still a human being and as such, you have a right to be treated with dignity and respect.

    Take a lesson from the Mexicans. The older Mexicans teach their children that respect is all they got in life. They teach that if another person don't respect you then he is nothing but a dog and he should be treated like the dog he is. And they teach their kids that if they want respect then they have to give respect to others. The Golden Rule again.

    In Mexico, it's a serious offense for a foreigner to show disrespect for a Mexican citizen. If you visit Mexico and show disrespect for a Mexican citizen, he can file charges on you and get you thrown in jail. Don't happen much any more, but the law is still there and it can be enforced.

    Folks, respect for yourselves and respect for others is one of the most important things we have in this old life. Respect is a real deep subject if you go into it far enough. But you have to start somewhere and if you don't have enough respect for yourself to demand that others respect your rights and back it up then how can you expect others to respect you?

    Learn that nobody has got much respect for a whipped dog. And so never let anybody put you down by calling you up on the telephone you pay hard earned money to rent each month and abouse you. And I think you all will have to agree that after you get one of those nasty phone calls you usually come away feeling about like a whipped dog. You have at least momentarily been robbed of your own self respect. Nobody, and I mean nobody has got a right to make you feel that way.

    I have no silly idea how many lives have been ruined by disrespectful bill collectors, but just stop to think about it. How many people have been made so miserable by bill collectors that they just went out and got drunk to forget about it all and finally ended up drunken bums? A lot more than you would ever imagine. How many divorces and broken homes have they caused? How many suicides? We will never know. Do you want to become another statistic? If you don't, then learn to stand up and fight back. It isn't hard.
     
  10. themyles

    themyles Well-Known Member

    Bill, I have to say thank you for that first bit of advice about the fear being your worst enemy and that your home is your place......Even though I have dealt with those types in the past, your post was a good boost for people who need to defend themselves from jerks that call their homes threatning with scare tactics.
     
  11. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    I can't say as I remember ever having anybody claim they were an attorney when they weren't. That's a serious offense and somebody ever did that to me, I'd sure try to make sure they paid the price. I might not get anywhere, but I'd sure give it the old college try.

    After all, attorneys are officers of the courts. Even when you hire them to defend or represent you in court, they are first of all officers of the court and your attorney second. Their first duty is to the court, not you. So somebody representing themselves as officers of the court when they really are not has got some tall problems coming their way if you go at it right. Get their name and who they represent and then call up the bar association and find out if they really are attorneys or not and if not, file charges and complaints on them.

    Somebody tells me on the phone that the sheriff is on the way he is going to have some tall explaining to do because I'm going to have it on tape and I'm going to find out where that sheriff or him one is at. And that's just one of the reasons I have a tape recorder by each of my phones so I can tape if necessary. I don't tape everything, but I'm always ready to do it if I need to.
    If you got bill collectors hounding you then you should be taping their every call.

    Make sure you get their name and the company they work for on the tape every time and then tell them you don't talk about such things on the phone and they are going to have to send you a letter. Then hang up on them. Then keep a written record of their calls. How many times, what hours. All of it. Then you have a paper trail you can use to go fight with.
     
  12. beary

    beary Well-Known Member

    Don't you legally have to inform a person that the phone call IS being recorded?
     
  13. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    The courts have ruled in different ways in different jurisdictions and in different situations. But one thing is pretty clear and that is that you do not break any laws by the simple act of tape recording a conversation without the other person's knowledge and consent. Where you go wrong and might break the law is when you play that tape to a 3rd person or allow them to play it.

    It's about like running a stop sign when nobody was there to see you do it. Yes, you broke the law, but who is going to do anything about it? They sure aren't going to throw you in jail if you just use it for your own memory jogger. And if you did end up in court and made some accusation based on your taping evidence, you can always ask your attorney what to do about it. Should you reveal the fact of your taping or not? Let your attorney tell you what's right and what's wrong. That's what you would be paying him for and he can't tell anybody you told him about it.
     
  14. Hermit5

    Hermit5 Well-Known Member

    Great post.
     
  15. G. Fisher

    G. Fisher Banned

    A debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section: ...

    ... (5) The threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken.

    - FDCPA

    http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm#807

    Bill, how can one enforce that?
     
  16. bbauer

    bbauer Banned

    Greg: & All
    If I misunderstand the context of your question, the please forgive me, but I don't advise going out and actively trying to enforce much of anything on anybody. While there are those times when you might have to, it's usually better to let the other guy do the enforcing. If someone (a collector) sends me a letter (which they never have) telling me that they are going to come breaking my door down or maybe my legs if I don't pay up, I'm not going to go trying to get them arrested and thrown into jail just because they broke the law. All I advocate doing is keeping a record about their activities and in the event they actually get dumb enough to go trying to sue me then I have a great defense. If they are willing to leave me alone, I'm willing to leave them alone. Why go about causing yourself more trouble than you already have? Don't make no sense to me, so I don't do that and I don't advocate that anybody else should either.

    I know quite a few people who are willing to drive around with no drivers licenses, no insurance and no license plates on their cars. Tim McVeigh was like that. He bombed the Alfred P. Murrah building and then drove off down the highway with no license plates on his car because he didn't believe the state had any right to license his priviledge to travel freely upon the highways. He died because of his beliefs(in net effect anyway}. How ever he died, he didn't die a martyr as he may have hoped. He died a craven coward. Any way I look at it, he was just plain stupid. And the way he was stupid is that he tried to enforce his beliefs on others and he didn't stop to think that 168 or more other people had rights too. But he was willing to die for what he believed in just to make a statement. I don't want to get "killed" just to make a statement.

    I prefer to let the other guy stick his neck out on the chopping block and swing the axe when he does. If I start the fight, then I'm the one that's in the hot seat. That's not for me. If I start the fight then I've got to prove the point in court. If he starts the court fight then he has got to prove his point and he has to be sure he does it right. He's got to be sure he don't miss any little point whatever. He's got to be sure all the required affidavits are there like they should be. He has to prove the debt and do so in the proper way. He has to be sure the court has all the proper jurisdictions. He has got to be sure there can be no mistake or error that can be found by me. He has got all the responsibility. Not me. All I have to do is prove he missed one little thing. One little thing he forgot about. One little thing he should have known or should have thought about. He is the one that has to do all the worrying. So I'll let him stick his neck out on the chopping block and make the mistakes. And when he does, I plan on doing something about it.

    If you stop and think about it, use a little common sense instead of running for the hills like a scared jackrabbit, he who goes to court quite often has the least chance of winning because he has the burden of proof on his shoulders. He who files charges on somebody else has the burden of proof. Sure I say sue them, but I'm a chicken. I would gladly let the other guy have his day in court and I'll sit there like a bump on a log and watch him make his mistakes and then I'll come back another day and teach him his lesson. You quite often don't need an attorney to do that. A little study and it's a done deal. But if I'm going to go out and sue somebody else, that's a whole different ballgame and I'm going to let somebody do that that knows what he is doing.

    I still gotta build his case for him most of the time and that's hard enough in itself. So to come back to the answer to your question, I would not try to enforce it on anybody. I'd just wait till he got stupid and went to court and then let him learn the hard way that he had been a bad boy.
     

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