Hello, new to the board and a thank you to anyone that answers my posts. I have been reading certain threads and have seen a couple of answers to my questions. A lot of good advice on the boards too. Thanks! Basically you are saying that even if I know I owe the original creditor, I still need to send out a validation letter to the CA that is now sending me letters? What would happen if I just sent the money to the original creditor, i.e. At&T? Would they reject the money? On another acct., I know I owed the original creditor, but could not pay them. I have no recent contact/paperwork with any CA on said account. Do I just forget the bill? Or, how else would I go about finding out if someone still has this account? And how to pay it? Thanks!! p.s trying to clear up on delinquent/older acct.'s, (husband wanting to file BK)
You should send a validation letter to the CA because, at the very least, you don't know anything about them such as, are they authorized by the OC to collect on the debt, do they have the right account, etc. In most cases, once an account is sent to a CA, the OC must turn over the money to the CA so there's no real advantage. What you wan to do is to be such a PITA with the CA that THEY return it to the OC. Then you can try paying the OC.
A validation letter is a good place to start. (See other threads for what to include in one). Just be ready for their response. You don't really care who "owns" the debt. What you care about is: a) is it your responibility to pay it (is it from an account you signed for that's since been assigned to them through a purchase or contract) b) are they the ones who are authorized to collect it. If you're not sure about both of those, why would you even think about send them any of your money?
It is cell phone acct.(not even a yr old), an older security system (for home), and Bellsouth(At&t) phone bill(home based) .... As I previously mentioned, husband is wanting to file BK (his business has fallen back, tremendously). And doing so, you have to list everything you owe. Soo, I was wanting to pay the small things instead of listing them on the BK.
If you're filing BK, then you cannot pay some creditors (no matter how small) and not others. Just list them in the BK.
ccbob is correct. If you pay any creditor within a certain period before filing, it is considered "preferential treatment" of creditors. Check with a bankruptcy attorney before deciding to pay certain bills at the expense of others.
