I was referred here from someone on Clark Howards Website, and Im hoping that someone can help me out.This is what I wrote on ClarkHoward.com- A few days ago a collection agent left a message at my parents house saying that I was being summoned to court. Long story short, my parents live in Texas and I live in Florida. The collector went so far as to leave a case number on my parents machine. So my Dad called me worried that I was in trouble, and passed along the phone number. I called him back, and this debt was mine. Here is where I need help. September of last year I wrote a letter to this particular crediter asking how much my payoff was, and how to get started on a payment program. I never received a reply. So then I wrote to the three credit agencies, and they wrote me back saying that this particular creditor was off deleted from my file, so I forgot about it. Then the call was left at my parents. He wanted two thousand dollars up front to settle, and if that wasnt possible he offered several other offers, but I wouldnt get a "deal" and would end up paying all of the intrest. I offered $100 up front, and agreed to give $50 a month there after until November, then he said that I would have to reestablish with the original crediter. I asked for some sort of documentation stating what we had agreed upon, but he said that his office doesnt handle correspondence, but he would send me an e-mail summarizing what we talked about. He did in fact send me the information stating what we talked about, but is an e-mail enough to hold up legally? In addition, he didnt want me to mail a check, he wanted my account information and six check numbers, because he said that his office doesnt accept checks because if they did, they would have to hire too many people to sort them all out. Did I do the right thing by giving him my account information? I know that this is my debt, and I want to resolve it, but Im not sure how to go about all this, sorting out fact from fiction. The case number he left my father was actually the account number, and the first thing he asked when I offered him what I could was "You couldnt get the money from your Dad?." This has really hurt my pride because of them involving my parents. I am in college now, doing the best that I can, I just want to know if I did the right thing, or if there is something else that I need to do. Im sorry this has been such a long posting, but I dont know what to do. Thank you for your time
No, a court case was never filed, and yes I think that my parents saved the message, but does the crediter contacting my parents mean anything, other than wounding my pride. (Even though they did have my current address?)
Andrew - Where to start on what to do??? OK, first, I would start a suit against the CA for unlawful disclosure while seeking location ifnormation (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act). Sue for $1000.00 in your county's small claims court. Second - NO WAY do you EVER give out your bank account information to ANY BILL COLLECTOR. They will invariably just dip into our bank account whenever tey want and take whatever they want. The "we don't take checks because we don't what to hire clericals to process them" is pure bull$hit. They want the ability to take money from your bank account without the legal exposure of not depositing post-dated cehecks befotre their maturity date. taht's why they wanted six check NUMBERS - so they could write the checks themselves and not have that legal liability. Third - NO WAY do you EVER make any agreements with any CA that is not in writing and signed by the CA. E-mails are useless in court. If they won't put it in writing, they have no intention of folllowing through. Fourth - Since you now live in Florida, Florida's laws apply if and when they ever do really sue you. Taht also applies to Florida' s Statute of limitations. Become very familiar with that. Florida's SOL re-starts not only on pament, but on a PROMISE of payment. Fifth - read the posts here on validaion. Validation is the process of proving you owe the debt. It means not only showing that you incurred a debt, but an accounting pof all fees and payments to show how much is owed.
Thank you so much, this is a bit overwhelming for me! So basically I need to call my bank and void those checks out, and wait for something in writting from the Collector? And if he doesnt send something in writting? A friend of mine told me that I have done all that I can basically do, and if they dont like it, tell them to sue me because I could get a better settlement in court. I would dispute the account in collections, but I know that it is my debt, but Im still at a loss at to why they wouldnt respond to me, then have the equifax and transunion send me paperwork saying that the account was deleted, and then they open it back up again with my parents! As for the disclosure, I would love to get them for $1000, but Im barely getting by now in college, I wouldnt know how to come up with money for a lawyer. I really appreciate your help in all this, Im just so angry, and not sure what my rights are.
Go to the bank tomorrow and close your checking account. Stopping payment on those 6 check numbers may not protect you. With your account number and routing number they can run an ACH debit, no number necessary. Secondly, do you have the name of the CA contacting your parents? If you can provide it here, and possibly a toll phone number, we can help you with the correct address. Or better yet, if his email is one of those that is tied to the site, it can be gotten from there. Then you will have your parents send what is called a cease and desist. Basically they will tell the CA to stop contacting your parents. Thirdly, ok you say you owe the debt. But what you don't know is if they are charging you more than the legal amount allowed by law, or even if it is a collectible debt. This is why you need to dispute the debt, and force the CA to prove it is yours. You also want to make sure this CA is authorized to collect on behalf of the original creditor. Just because it is not on your credit report, doesn't mean it does or does not exist Maybe you won't need an attorney, maybe they can be scared into submission They have already committed a couple of very bad no no's, which means they probably won't hesitate to commit more. With any luck they will pay the debt for you!! Welcome to the board, and welcome to your first CA confrontation via Trial by Fire!
I'm sure a lot of people will have a lot to say on this matter. But in general, don't be bullied by any collection agency--and don't let someone demand that you give them post dated checks. There is nothing wrong with doing that if it is your choice, but you don't have to.
Thank you again so much. Yes I have his name, it is Mr. Powell, he works with French and Associates in Pensocola, Florida, he is also the man that I spoke to. Its a little odd, because he presented himself as working for a law firm, and his e-mails to me were signed "senoir paralegal." SO I guess another question is, is he really in a legal office, or was that another lie.....The more I learn about this the madder I get!
he might be a paralegal, although I doubt it. He might work for a "law firm" (read collection agency) which is more likely than him being a paralegal. I don't care if he was god almighty, he pretty much lost any leverage when he disclosed information to your parents. Also, to give an account # with an implication (or directly saying) that it's a case # for a court case is a blatant violation of FDCPA
If you wanted to have a little fun, call the collector back and tell him that you are very concerned about the status of the lawsuit he said had been filed. Verify the case number that he gave you. Ask where the suit was filed and when so that you can get a copy from the court--or ask him to send you a copy. I would love to hear his responses.
1* Did I do the right thing by giving him my account information? Is there something else that I need to do? AndrewL 1*Never give a stranger your checking account number as they can drain your account dry. 2*Read the intro threads at the of each page. Read the validation links below. Read the FDCPA and the FCRA. THE END ** *** ** LB 59 """""""""```~~~```'"""""""""
What does the law say on this? Since Andrew said he was in college, I'm assuming that when he incurred the debt he was either living at his parent's house, and/or gave that address and number as his permenant address. If this is the case, when the CA called and got the answering machine he probably assumed that it was andrew's machine. Would this still be a violation? Or is just leaving details on the answering machine a violation? When I had a debt collector calling me all he left on my answering machine was something along the lines of "This is a very important business matter" They never provided any details of why they were calling. Just curious, Brett
I'm no expert, but if I were you, I'd close the account, and open a new one, especially if the CA is OSI. I made that mistake (giving them my account info), and they took money they knew wasn't in the account, caused a whole bunch of other checks to bounce. The CSR at the bank told me that CAs are "pond scum," and that they do it all the time. She also said that just calling and telling the bank not to accept drafts from such and such person won't work. You can say don't pay any drafts for such and such amount, but according to her, the CAs just change the amount by one penny and then they go through. She said NEVER give your account info to anyone, especially a CA. My advice, from my painful experience, would be close the account, open a new one, and tell the CA you'll send checks or money orders and he'll just have to hire someone to sort them out.
Re: Re: Helpebt Collectors It is a violation to leave a message with ANYONE or ANYTHING that states that the subject may owe money or that the caller is a bill collector subject to FDCPA. Period. End of duscussion, start of suit. Go to Court, Swear out Summons, Collect $1000.
It's a big no-no for debt collectors to tell anyone besides you (or your spouse) that their call is about a debt. It's also a big no-no for them to threaten non-existent litigation. Never give a collector any account information or check numbers. In fact, I'd recommend that you cancel the entire sequence of checks (usually a bank will charge only one stop-payment fee for one continuous sequence of checks) and close the account. Then close that account and open a new one.
1*A friend of mine told me that I have done all that I can basically do, and if they don't like it, tell them to sue me because 2*I could get a better settlement in court. 3*I would dispute the account in collections, but I know that it is my debt, 4* I'm still at a loss at to why they wouldn't respond to me 5*As for the disclosure, I would love to get them for $1000, but I'm barely getting by now in college, 6*I wouldn't know how to come up with money for a lawyer. AndrewL ================= 1*Don't sound like your friend is any better informed than you are. 2*No guarantee on this one. 3*That's not why you need to dispute it!!!!! Protect your rites! 4*No mystery here they want to take you for all they can get. 5*Small claims don't cost that much. 6*No lawyer needed in small claims.
