I had an entry on my CR from "Affiliated Acceptance Corp." and sent a validation letter to them. They came back with a signed contract for a gym membership from 5 years ago ... it was my debt and there was no disputing that. So, I called Affiliated tonight to attempt to settle the debt. Taked to a very nice guy, who informed me that although they can't settle for less than 100%, they will note the account on the CRAs as "PAID IN FULL>>ALLOWED TO DELETE IF CONSUMER DISPUTES" upon receipt of payment. Has anyone ever heard of this before???? He said that after it is paid in full, I can dispute with the CRA's and they will see the note and delete. He also told me ("off the record") that I can dispute this with the original creditor and it would probably work (although I decided against this option since clearly I owe it, so I may as well pay). He admitted that he is working on cleaning up his reports himself. Anyway, has anyone ever heard of this before (the CA putting a 'note' on the CR)??? Sounds fishy to me, especially since he won't just delete it directly (he said the CRAs are really tightening up their rules regarding deletion).
That's the problem....he won't put it in writing ahead of time, he just said he would send me a letter after I send payment. I have to say though, he did sound very sincere. I was quite shocked that being a collector he isn't cynical and jaded like the rest of them.
Ask him if he's willing to have the phone call recorded between you two where he says he will delete the account after payment is received. It doesn't matter how sincere or how jaded they sound, either way, they're the enemy.
Yikes. Thanks for the reality check. Tomorrow, I'll shoot out a letter to the guy I talked to tonight with an agreement for them to sign and return before I send payment. Would you say this is the best course of action?
That sounds good...if they refuse to sign it, I personally wouldn't pay it. If it's 5 yrs old it's not hurting you as bad as something more recent would. I would work on other things and come back to this later. Did they send you "adequate validation" via certified mail? In other words, besides just a signed contract, did they show what payments had been made, the dates etc etc and all this via CRR mail??
Well, this was a gym membership. On the original contract, I opted for the auto-debit deal from my checking account. However, there was something wrong with the numbers and the monthly amounts were never debited from my checking account. So, there were never any payments to this contract. It was a year membership for $499 and I never even went after the first time because the "personal trainer" that I was guaranteed was a loser and the place was a joke. Totally not what they had said when I took the tour. So, time goes by and I had complained and asked that it be cancelled. Although they said 'no', I figured since I never heard anything again that the issue was over. Unfortunately, it pops up on my credit report 5 years later..... : / Anyway, that's the long and short of it. I explained all this to the collector (hoping he would have a soft heart and settle for less than the full amt)...he somehow noted that on my account, which makes no sense because why would a CA give a sh!t whether or not I liked the gym, anyway??? Crazy world sometimes.
My wife (girlfriend at the time) had a membership...WOMEN ONLY GYM...first month free, then month to month... So you were out no more than one months fee... If you didn't like it after one week, you could WALK...
Could someone please tell me what type of contract my gym membership would be. It was for fixed payments of $21/month for 24 months. I'm trying to find determine if this is past the statute of limitations, since it's been over 5 yrs since I signed the agreement.
I'm not sure if it's legal or not. I'm weeding my way thru the MO state website right now to amke sure they're licensed. I think it's a small operation, so they may not even have a license to collect.
Hey! What ever happened with this account? Did they delete in exchange for full payment? My DH had signed an agreement with a gym and shortly after, the manager came into the restaurant where he worked and made a deal that if they could eat for free, they (the managment) could work out for free. He spoke with the manager and she agreed to cancel his contract, but two years have gone by and now there is something on his credit report from this same company regarding his original gym contract. The lady who he made the agreement with no longer works at the gym and the CA does not care, because they have a signed agreement (or so they claim). My DH did not get anything in writing at the time he made the other agreement (not very smart on his part, but he did not realize). I woke up this "sleeping bear of a CA" that we had never received any notices from by disputing it through the CRA. It was verified by the CRA. What should my next step be? Send Affiliated Acceptance a dispute letter and request validation?
