Santander agreed to do a voluntary repossession of my car along with $500 to close my account. Unfortunately, I made this agreement with them over the phone a year ago without getting anything in writing. I made my payments on time and in the amounts agreed ( $500 split into 3 payments ) and I thought that was the end of it. However, later on I learned about credit report monitoring services and signed up for the one from USAA. I was shocked to see that Santander was still listed as being in collections and the amount was unchanged. Since I track every cent I spend, I knew that they had cashed the checks I sent as payment. I called them, the person who answered at first told me that I was in collections, and I argued that we had an agreement which I had fulfilled. They promised to pull me out of collections and send me documentation showing that I had paid in full. Satisfied, I ended the call. This was about 6 weeks ago. 2 weeks ago my Google voice number(I'm overseas, and use that when I have to enter a US phone number for online stores/etc ) started receiving phone calls from a collection agency, the same one that Santander had promised to pull my account away from. This week I recieved a collection letter from NBC Management Services, Inc , for an inflated amount of the balance I had with Santander. Not knowing what to do, I sent them a DV letter to shut them up for a bit. And I'm negotiating with my manager to let me come into work late so that I can call NBC while they are open.Due to time differences most places in the US are closed by the time I wake up, so calling them is nigh impossible without quitting my job since I have to be there very early, Did I do the right thing? I feel I may have already lost this battle since I sent them money without getting anything in writing from them. I was so foolish/trusting a year ago! If you have any suggestions as to best handle this situation, I appreciate at it. Other than putting them through the DV process and demanding everything in writing before sending any money, I'm at a loss as to what to do. Thank you for reading this!!!
As you've learned, the #1 rule when negotiating any deal regarding old debts is to get your agreement in writing before sending any payment. I would go back to the OC again and push to get your account pulled back from collections and the payments you made recognized. They've already agreed to it before, so hopefully they will again- just make sure you get it in writing this time. If you can avoid dealing with the CA, that's good. It sounds to me like your account may have just been transferred for collection, so there's still a chance that they may pull it back. If they've sold it this time, then you're going to have to deal with the CA. Beginning with the DV process was a good start.
