Agreed to pay Collector. Bad Idea?

I asked the question a while ago about why to even pay collections other than from a moral standpoint. From this board one would think that you never have to honor old debt.

Bottom line is if the debt is yours, and you know it's yours, and it's on your credit report being reported month after month, it's sucking the life out of any future credit related plans you may have.

MOST collections (arrow financial, etc.) are persistent but fair. ALWAYS communicate in writing, never by phone so you have records of all correspondence, send all correspondence via registered mail, and NEVER physically sign any correspondence, just type your name.

You can first try and challenge the debt by:

1. demanding in writing a validation of the debt from the collection agency (search this forum key word validation letter)
2. demanding in writing to get the license info of the collector that allows the collector to operate in your state (search this forum key word collection agency license, et.)
3. demanding that you get a full accounting of all interest, fees, etc. associated with the total being collected (various CA/collection agency related threads).

The above will only buy you time in most cases and the debt/interest/reporting WILL continue on your credit report month after month. MOST collection agencies are legitimate, have the info required, and will respond in writing within 30 days, so you most likely will not be able to demand to have the reporting stopped by credit bureaus, etc.

I would request in writing an accounting of all transactions paid thus far to the first collection agency. Keep correspnding in writing to the second collection agency - nobody is going to sue you over $1500. What you have recieved is called a "Cure Letter" - it's simply a collection letter with an attorney's name emblazoned on it that pracitices in this type of law. The attorney office gets a fee for collecting on the account just like a collection agency does. They send out thousands of these letters a month just like a collection agency. They're just one degree closer to a court room than a collection agency is and the implication is often more of a threat.

As you get a letter in the mail each month, pay what you can by CHECK, keep a copy of the check and the letters that will keep coming each month with the small amount deducted from the total. Keep all of this in a file folder labeled "Financial Mistakes".

When you go to buy a mortgage, finance a car or even apply to another credit company, this collection will appear front forward on your credit report and will hurt you, but unless you have all of the money to pay it off in one lump sum, you'll have to deal with that. With a mortgage in particular, you need to have all of the unpaid debt paid off, or the unpaid debt needs to be older than 7 years and have been dropped from active reporting on your credit report.

Also, if the debt is under 5 years old, I would not "settle" the debt. Settlements are not "Paid in full" and appear marked as such on your credit report for seven years. However unfair it may seem to pay interest on an account that is no longer active, all future lenders will see from a settlement is that in the end you did not honor your FULL obligations, but this is a choice - settlement vs continued collections reporting? Ask around on the forum...

Maybe a family member would give you an interest free loan to pay the debt off right away?

All of the above is just one man's opinion, though. Do some key word searches on the forum...

 

I smell a troll....but I have a cold and maybe my sniffer is broke, I'll let the others root you out.

MOST collectors will do whatever they can to get the money they need. Case in point, FAIR ol Arrow Financial is notorious for violations and bending the law in their favor.

If you are going to sign anything, make sure it includes an agreement for a pay for deletion. Any negotiating you do from here on out, make sure it is in writing that way you have proof. Don't be afraid to ask for that or for your validation.

If you pay this account, it will list as a paid collection, not really even a smidge better than unpaid and you come out the loser with less money and a neg on your report. I read your other post and you might want to read what is on this site and match it up with what you have and see if you have violations.

http://www.pennlawyer.com/fdcpa.htm

Just because they are a law office means nothing, they make plenty of mistakes as well and are prone to violations as many on this site can attest to. Hang in there, I know it is taxing, but you'll make it through this. We are here to help you with your questions.

 

I agree with the last post, the other post "to pay" to good ol fair ca is stupid. Once you pay a CA, they will report this as a paid collection and it will take about 300 nutcase letters to get this deleted from your reports.

If they want the money, you need to have them prove that they are due it. Request validation and require that they mark this dispute on your cr if it already appears. If not, you write up a letter which must be signed by their authorized agent, that simply states that they will not report this alleged debt.

The trick of the game is this, make them violate so much that they, the CA, will have so many violations, that they can actually pay this bill for you.

 

I agree with the last post, the other post "to pay" to good ol fair ca is stupid. Once you pay a CA, they will report this as a paid collection and it will take about 300 nutcase letters to get this deleted from your reports.

If they want the money, you need to have them prove that they are due it. Request validation and require that they mark this dispute on your cr if it already appears. If not, you write up a letter which must be signed by their authorized agent, that simply states that they will not report this alleged debt.

The trick of the game is this, make them violate so much that they, the CA, will have so many violations, that they can actually pay this bill for you.

 

Re: Re: Agreed to pay Collector. Bad Idea?

I made the mistake (before I discovered these forums) of settling a debt and now my letters to the CA to have it removed have been in vain. Make sure you get everything in writing and send it certifed mail/RRR. This way you have a paper trail if the CA ever tries to say you didn't dispute, didn't contact them, etc.

Also, I thought that paying off a charged off debt or one sent to a collector isn't really much better than letting it just fall off. Am I wrong on this? Paying the delinquent bill resets the 7 year clock correct?

 

Re: Re: Agreed to pay Collector. Bad Idea?

you need to put out an SOS to the more experience people on this board who can give you a course of action.

I am not sure that if with your initial payment that you have assumed and verified the debt. Another approach is that because you always pay your bills, when this one was stuck in front of you, you started paying it w/o questioning the validity of the alleged liability.

Requesting validation, in my humble opinion, is like asking for a memory refresher. The question you pose, show me the written contract, statements and documents which verify that this debt is mine. If you can prove w/o the shadow of a doubt..well that is where you take it to the next step.

 

Re: Re: Re: Agreed to pay Collector. Bad Idea?

Just something that another poster said throughout their post just leads me to believe that they have green warts or they are a tad delusional is all. I am not referring to your questions, no worries and please ask away, it is why we are all here. Welcome to the board btw!

 

Re: Re: Agreed to pay Collector. Bad Idea?

Most collection agencies will not agree to a paid deletion, only Paid in Full notation. This collection will most likely stay on your credit report for seven years whether you pay it or not - I agree.

However, you are not a loser for paying your bills, however late, and I argue that "Paid in Full" on a collection account for the remaining five years looks better than active and accruing interest. Also you CANNOT get a mortagage with the collection hanging out there unpaid, and future creditors will count unpaid collections against you more than paid.

Document all correspondence in writing. Pay the collection and move on.

 

Re: Re: Agreed to pay Collector. Bad Idea?

First there are some things that must be looked at about this collection item:

1. Was it properly validated?

2. How much of a percentage are you paying for this alleged debt?

3. Is the reason that they want you to sign something is because it is about to run out of statute????

4. Are you able to budget and sucessfully full pay this balance due? If not, think about their next recourse.

5. DON'T LET COLLECTION AGENCIES INTIMIDATE YOU..!!!!!

6. The last post is wrong..a paid collection is just as bad as an unpaid collection. If you go into escrow, and this liability doesn't have a judgment on it, well, it should not show in the preliminary report.

 

no one is ever gonna sue you over 1500??

not true, a ca took me to court over 1600

and i lost

 

nocc, I don't think they're implying that you are a troll, I think they're implying that either bynjut is a troll or extremely ill-informed. You've been given some pretty good advice.

Cease all payments. Write them a letter, certified, return receipt requested. In the letter, tell them that you want proof of this debt. Tell them you need proof that it is actually your debt, and how the amount has been computed. Tell them you need a total statement of account, including all payments you have made. If interest is being added, you need to know the amount and the percentage of that interprets. You also want to know their authority to collect this debt in your state.

The reason you want this is that they may be collecting more interest than they are allowed to, if they're allowed to at all.

In the meantime, do a lot of reading here. Also, check your state laws to see if there is a requirement for collectors to be licensed and/or bonded. If there is a requirement and they aren't, you already them by the short hairs.

If they can't validate this debt properly, they will have to remove it from your reports, so there is no seven-year problem.

It is correct that a paid collection will do as much damage as an unpaid one, maybe more.

Paying them at all, in some states, resets the Statute of Limitations (SOL), which means they have more time to collect or sue you. You want the SOL to run out.

Before they get a judgment, they will have to sue you. If they do, you can make a settlement. But check here first before you go to court.

 

Tell Midland Credit MGMT to take a hike, tell them they can't validate their "alleged debt" midland NEVER can, trust me, I can't give many details, but trust what I am saying, and send a letter to them saying that if they dont remove it from your credit report and delete immediatly you will be suing them. Send it to their corporate office in California as well as their general counsel...you didnt get this information from me.

General Counsel:
Keith Weir
DAW & Ray LLP
5718 Westheimer Road Suite 1750, Houston, TX 77057
(713) 266-3121

That is MCM's gen counsel, they use them for small claims suits or threats, if you sue and they take remove to fed ct, they use:

Turner Jeffrey C Atty - (937) 222-2333 - 130 W 2nd St Ste 900, Dayton, OH 45402

Send a CC to both law offices as well as MCM at:
Midland Credit Management
5775 Roscoe Court, San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 560-2600

Note..they NEVER have the docs to prove a debt and will fold like a bad hand when threatened...TRUST ME...oh and they settle everytime they are sued...so I hear