Is there any real evidence that sending Cease and Desist letters makes it more likely for a creditor to sue you? About one year ago, when I became ill and disabled, my legal aid attorneys drafted eight C & D letters for me when I was no longer able to pay my credit cards (some with balances of about $15,000). I been reading conflicting information regarding what happens within a company when they receive a C & D request. The legal aid attorneys told me that it is better to take the "I'm not going to take any crap" approach with creditors, because in the end, the ones who are going to sue will probably do it anyway. What does everybody think regarding this?
Of the 8 letters you sent out, how many sued? How many "deleted"? How many ignored the "C&D"? Charlie
My wisdom on lawsuits: If they think they can collect something after a lawuit, they will sue. If they do not see any hope of recovery, they will not. My experience is that the creditors and CA's know as much about your finances as you do, maybe even more, unless you are very good at hiding assets. They look at your employment, your assets, and other sources of money and make a reasoned decision on whether or not to sue. Why should they sue if they will never collect? It just takes up more of their money. But, if they think they can collect, they will sue. A couple examples. I helped an elderly man with $75,000 in defaulted credit card debt. Minimum monthly payments had been $2200 - his only income was $600 per month social security. No job and he was too old to work. No assets. Of twenty or so creditors, only Sears sued. But, if you owe enough, make decent money, and spend a lot, they will sue, reasoning that you should be paying them rather than living it up. When I dealt with NCO, the first time their agent caled, he had more information about my assets than I did, including knowing exactly how much was in my bank account (to the penny). It scared me how much he knew. Of course, there are always exceptions. By the way, please excuse the typing this week. I am working with one eye and half a brain.
Until now, no one has sued (that I'm aware of). My C & D letters were to the original creditors, and I'm now getting sporadic letters from a couple of collection agencies (apparently two of the original creditors sent my accounts off to outside collectors which I see as a good sign). I wrote my original post because I have read so much conflicting information (not on this board) regarding the best way to deal with your creditors when you really and truly can't pay.
In my case, yes. I had a $400 medical collection that I used a C & D on, then followed up with the original creditor (hospital) to make full payment. The original creditor never replied and about a month or two later the collection agency served me with papers for small claims. It's my assumption that they had purchased the debt rather than only taking on collection responsibilities.
Re: Will C and Desist Letter Cause In a sense, we both did. I wasn't interested in taking it to court and sent a letter explaining that payment was in exchange for rescinding any and all legal action against me (ie: I didn't explicitly acknowledge the debt as mine). A check was included with WestCaps restrictive endorsement. The case was dropped and it's been about 4 months and so far the collection is not reporting on any CRA's.
