Being relatively new to the Board, I have been reading all posts pertaining to my situation in hope of educating myself in re my credit issues. Have learned all about validation letters, cease and desist letters, etc. and think I know when and how to use. Have a CCB account and have suffered the fires of Hell because of. Have posted briefly last week regarding the situation so won't go thru the whole ugly story again. Suffice it to say, put the acct with Ameridebt and paid each month until I realized the $75 I was paying each month was not even enough to cover the late fees, over the limit fees and the 29.99% interest. I stopped paying and called to see if they would cut some of the fees. (Idiot I was). They were their usual wonderful crooked selves and angered me greatly. Didn't pay for two months and began sending $100. Account is now up to $3,204 dollars (at least $2,000 is fee charges). Didn't pay in December, called them in January to make double payment and was told that it was charged off and sent to NCO for collection. Have yet to hear from NCO and was told to wait until I heard from them. Which I am doing and will then send a validation letter, etc. NOW, my question (remember, I'm a neophyte) is that I read from so many posts that people even with higher amts. being charged off than mine do not do anything, or maybe just validate. I realize I have a way to go re SOL (live in Georgia), but so do many of the posts and yet they do nothing put keep putting the collection people off, or never hear from them until they try to get new credit and see the agency on their CR. What happens that they can do this, don't the agencies keep after them and if payment is not made, don't they then sue you? I am tempted to just leave mine alone and wish it away for the next 4 years but I'm sure I won't be that lucky. I am not a deadbeat and would like to make a settlement with NCO (if I ever hear from them) but from the posts I read, CCB usually won't settle. I want to do anything possible in order not to be garnished or taken to court, but I don't want to just throw my money at them either since the orig. creditor is such a scumbag. Thanks for reading my post - any feedback would be great.
You probably should have turned that bump into a speed trap since your message was once again headed off into the wild yonder somewhere with no answer. Collections is a numbers game. Thats because collectors are most often paid a salary plus commission. Collectors who dont make some kind of commissions are soon gone. Debtors who are troublesome for whatever reason are soon pushed aside and either left for other collectors to work or just forgotten about and pushed off to the side. New employees quite often get the oldest accounts to work so the bosses can see how well they perform until they get some training in and that way the bosses can evaluate how good they are before letting them loose on the fresh meat where the production and the commission is better. So those debtors who can survive the initial onslought soon get pushed onto the back burner. Try it if you wish. Lots of luck if you do. Settle with them and get it plastered on your credit reports good and solid with little chance to get rid of it? Ok. Pay them then but its your funeral if you do. I suppose that's understandable to most but it isn't to me in most cases[/quote] but I don't want to just throw my money at them either since the orig. creditor is such a scumbag.[/quote]That makes no difference. Either you owe him or you don't. You think he is a scumbag? That's not his problem. His problem is trying to get you to pay up.
One more time Mr. Bauer Thank you Mr. Bauer for your response. If you would bear with me just a few more minutes, I'd greatly appreciate it. Your answer has me a bit confused insofar as my first step once they contact me. I planned to follow all your other suggestions to past posters and request their name, firm, matter for collection, acct. number, etc. and tell them I will correspond with them re this matter, then do the validation letter and take it from there. A brief background: 3 yrs ago closed this acct. CCB reopened the acct unbeknownst to me and sent a new card. My alcoholic daughter took it from mail and in her addiction, used it. She got all bills, I never saw them. Didn't know this until they called about 9 mos later dunning me. She put about $900. I put it with Ameridebt (which was stupid, I know) and was paying $75 per month not knowing that their charges were more each month then what I was paying. I stopped paying for 3 months as the bill was now up to $2,400!!. Resumed paying in August myself and skipped December. Called them in Jan and was told its with NCO. It's now $3,400!!! So, I do owe them I just dont feel I owe them $3,400 unless they can show me figure for figure that i do. Hence, the hope of "settling" with NCO (if I ever hear from them). I read from your response that if I want it forever on my CR, then pay, which of course I don't. But then you say if you owe, pay it. Just trying to figure out the best way to handle paying what I should be paying them but also putting my best interest first. Thank you once again. P.S. Gave daughter the choice of jail or long term rehab. She wisely chose rehab and is living in a residential rehab for almost 2 yrs. and is doing well.
One more time Mr. Bauer Well almost forever. It will seem like it anyway Sometimes if the amount is so small it isn't worth fighting over. Thats not the case here. If that is what you want to do because of some moral aspect but if morality is your excuse for making a big mistake then it is my argument that you also think about the moral issues involved when dealing with those who break the law. Morality is always used in a religious sense. And it is always used to control the behaviour of others. But Jesus didn't always look at it that way. He did say render unto Ceaser what is Ceaser's but he also railed against the money lenders and those who are guilty of usuary and if stretching $900 into the kind of money you are talking about isn't usuary then I don't know what usuary is. And when he told us to obey the law he meant everybody had to obey the law. He didn't say or mean that if you owed somebody money they could then disobey the law and do whatever they wanted in order to collect. But enough of morality and religion. The point is that if they break the law enough times then they just might end up owing you more than you owe them. These guys already proved they are criminals because they are trying to lay heavy usuary on you if nothing else. And maybe it is or isn't criminal to do that under man's law but that isn't the only law we must live by. Glad to hear that.
re: One more time Mr. Bauer Bless you, bless you - thanks so much for the help and for your patience! I'm learning!!
