Hi, I'm new to this forum and I just love it... To start with I made a big mistake by co-signing at Care Credit last March for my daughter to get a couple teeth fixed, I thought the total bill would be just a couple K. Well my daughter made a couple payments and got behind in her rent and didn't make no more payments, and never told me. In December Care Credit sent her settlement offer for about one third of the total bill~still she never said nothing. In February the CA started calling me demanding 11,000 dollars right away~I never dreamed the bill would be that much and I just don't have it, I told them I might be able to pay 150.00 a month and they got really upset with me and told me that is an insult,and said that I'm refusing to pay, they like to put words in your mouth that you didn't say, then they sent me a past due notice and if I don't dispute it within 30 days they will assume the debt is valid, it has been about 20 days and I am asking what is the best type of letter to send them to dispute this amount, and also shouldn't the original creditor have offered me the settlement along with my Daughter before selling it off to the CA... Since I recieved this past due notice from the CA they have been calling me twice a day and letting the phone ring just twice, they even called me at work to tell me I don't answer my phone, these people are vipers and they are waitng for that 30th day to strike hard I believe. Any advice would be helpful...Thanks
Hang in there, you can deal with this. This is messy because you are the co-signer, which leaves you with all the responsibility but leaves you in the dark about previous communications. The first thing to do is write a "Debt Validation Request". This is a simple letter stating you request full and proper validation of this debt. State that you dispute the alleged debt. Example letter: "Dear Collection Agency: I write to formally request full validation of this debt, and my legal obligation to pay. I dispute this debt, until validated as to amount and my responsibility, as prescribed by the Fair Debt Collections Practies Act. Please be aware that I am requesting this within the first thirty days of communication with you. Further, I request all future communications be in writing, as it is inconvenient to take phone calls at any number and time. Sincerely, XXXXXXX This will buy you time, and determine what the true amount is.
Who is the collection agency? Let's be careful with a debt that large and given the fact that GE Money sells off paper like it's going out of style. I wouldn't want to see you get sued over this.
