Debt collections questions for the pros or people bad at paying bills lol

[4u 2 nv]

I have obviously contacted other people but wanted some opinions/facts from you guys as well.

We found at a few days ago (4-5) that we had a $750 (not a lot I know) medical bill from 2011 that we were never even contacted about. I am guessing its the amount the insurance would not cover. The lady at the collections agency even admitted they did not have the correct address or number for us (they actually had NO phone number in the system). We found this out when we did a loan app for a new house. I asked why wife's was so low (710-740) and he gave us some information about what came up. I can only assume they logged my number as they have called it a few times already asking about collecting it. They were actually very nice as i explained this was just dumped into my lap. However i get it its there job..they were even willing to collect as little as $10 to go towards the account.

With that....

1) If i can pay in one lump some will they normally take less just to settle debt?

2) Someone randomly told me to send a certified letter to some obscure address associated with the collection agency and they have 30 days to respond or the accounts gets dropped? No clue on that and it sounds odd.

3) does paying a little at at time put me into "repayment" status?

Anything else i am missing? I have the money to pay. Just more annoyed at this point that it was never brought to my attention. We were NOT married at the time if that makes a difference. thoughts? We have obviously had our credit pulled before but never questioned it as together we always got great rates (1.9% on used truck), approved etc for whatever we were applying for.

 

[Torch10th]

1. You can ask but they are under no obligation to do so. Commonly people ask for a "pay for delete" whereby they settle the debt immediately in exchange for removal of the item from the credit report. Again though, they are not obligated to do so.
2. This is a debt confirmation letter and you're making them prove that the debt is actually yours and that it hasn't fallen past statute of limitations (usually 7 years)
3. That likely depends on the collections agency

You should read everything in this link. http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/collections

 

[Screw-Rice]

http://creditboards.com/forums/

All your questions can be answered there. Those guys know their stuff and learned a few things when I had to get wrong debts removed from my reports.

 

[Repth]

I'm just gonna confirm everything said above.

 

[4u 2 nv]

Thanks guys.

We did have a hospital emergency in 2011 that does line up with that debt. Question 2 kinda seems like a back handed way of getting out of it on a technicality. If i owe it..i owe it. Just checking on the options.

Thanks again.

 

[ON D BIT]

From what I heard debt collections agency's pay 7 cents on the dollar to collect debt. Everything they make on top of the 7 cents on the dollar is profit. Yes the will take less than the full amount but you need to play hard ball. If they think they can get or you can pay the full amount they will hold out for every penny.

 

[Torch10th]

Thanks guys.

We did have a hospital emergency in 2011 that does line up with that debt. Question 2 kinda seems like a back handed way of getting out of it on a technicality. If i owe it..i owe it. Just checking on the options.

Thanks again.

Most of the stuff you're hearing is going to pertain to people that have deep collections issues. Unfortunately something happened where you either didn't get a bill or it was sent to the wrong place etc. This does happen from time to time. It also illustrates the importance of checking your credit report yearly.

Given the fact that you are in the process of purchasing a house, I would just pay it off. Ask the collection agency for a pay for delete. If you get one it'll help you out a lot. If you don't, you will at least show that the debt was paid, which will help a little. Once you make payment, have them send you something in writing that the debt is paid, so that you can show that to your lender.

 

[2000gt4.6]

Id make dammed sure it actually is your bill and not a mixup. They surely can tell you what company/bill number etc you're supposed to owe.

 

[VirtualSVT]

You can verify the unpaid debt from the hospital to make sure it's yours and they can tell you who they sold the debt too.

Do not pay the full amount. There's no point. You can settle for partial and have them delete it for payment. Require a letter stating payment for delete.

 

[4u 2 nv]

The company is BCA collections that has it now. I was surprised it didn't hurt hers more. I have pretty solid credit as I am anal about equity %, not getting upside, just paying stuff off etc etc so like i said we have never pulled the credit before to the point we went over it in detail. Mine were 799, 809 and 814. Hence why when we bought stuff we always got great options and %s.

I will call Friday and play the pay for delete game and see where they will meet me at. If not. ill just pay it.

Like Torch said...check it yearly and i will from now on. We also found a random $170 credit card statement that has been at $170 for almost a year from bank of america..in which we closed a business acount and they have ZERO record of that $170 anywhere. We are getting that figured out now as well. All stuff we never saw as i said we never pull it to the point we look it over in detail.

 

[Woody6799]

Contact the hospital and check with them. The debt collectors paid pennies on the dollar for the debt and then most likely increased the total with "late fees" of their own. If the hospital has you as delinquent on the debt you can pay them directly what you owe and they can settle it with the debt collectors. We have done this twice now with these phantom charges. Once from comcast for an old cable box and once from a medical bill. Never trust those debt agencies, go right to the source.

 

[Torch10th]

You can verify the unpaid debt from the hospital to make sure it's yours and they can tell you who they sold the debt too.

Do not pay the full amount. There's no point. You can settle for partial and have them delete it for payment. Require a letter stating payment for delete.

You can ask for a reduced settlement and you can ask for a pay for delete. There is no law that requires a collection agency to do these things. At the end of the day, if it is legally your debt, you owe the debt. It is a kindness that some (not all) collection agencies will provide.

If you have all the time in the world to sit there and haggle back and forth with the collection agency you have that right. You risk further damage to your credit, interest charges, possible revocation of licenses, asset seizure etc.

Since we're dealing with the OP's specific situation where he and his wife are in the process of buying a house, his best course of action is to pay the debt in full immediately and ask for a pay for delete. Hopefully he'll get it. Even if he doesn't, the zero balance will help his wife's score a little.

As more and more institutions start utilizing Vantage 3.0 zero balances on delinquent accounts will help more than they do now.

 

[4u 2 nv]

Called hospital. Charge was spot on. Told me they couldn't even help me and that all of their debt collection goes to BCA collections only.

Ill call them in the AM and see about the pay for delete option. Ill try to get a few nos before i just pay the damn thing lol.

 

[o2gt]

its interesting this issue came up. I have spent the last couple weeks studying debt collection law for one of my classes. I cant give any legal advice. but there are both federal protection laws and I would think your state does also. you might look them over to make sure everything looks good.

I will tell you the companies are open to negotiations in many cases. as another poster commented on the collectors buy debt for pennies on the dollar. Im not sure if this is a third party debt buyer or just collecting on behalf of the lender. That could effect the amount that would be accepted. this is just from some personal experience. Good luck with the issue.

 

[Woody6799]

its interesting this issue came up. I have spent the last couple weeks studying debt collection law for one of my classes. I cant give any legal advice. but there are both federal protection laws and I would think your state does also. you might look them over to make sure everything looks good.

I will tell you the companies are open to negotiations in many cases. as another poster commented on the collectors buy debt for pennies on the dollar. Im not sure if this is a third party debt buyer or just collecting on behalf of the lender. That could effect the amount that would be accepted. this is just from some personal experience. Good luck with the issue.

Most protection laws are based on harassment type offences if I am not mistaken. Such as calling family members and telling them you owe money or calling after certain hours or too many times in a day. OP hasn't suggested any of that yet which is good. Are there any other DC protection areas?

 

[o2gt]

Most protection laws are based on harassment type offences if I am not mistaken. Such as calling family members and telling them you owe money or calling after certain hours or too many times in a day. OyP hasn't suggested any of that yet which is good. Are there any other DC protection areas?

Your correct many of the protections are in place to protect against just those types of practices by collection agencies. There are also more technical visoltions. These looks more at what was sent to the debtor. There are many things tha must be filed correctly. Such as wording, type face, size and placemat of mini maranda and so forth.
There are also request that can be made of the collector to provide info. Many times 3rd party collectors won't have this because of there buying practices. Such things can help the debtor.

 

[01Jes]

http://creditboards.com/forums/

All your questions can be answered there. Those guys know their stuff and learned a few things when I had to get wrong debts removed from my reports.

This man knows what's up.
Also look into debtorboards. You need to validate the debt or else you may find another collector asking you for payment again on the same debt! Get a settlement agreement before you send them a single cent.
Check your state consumer laws to validate debt. I believe the FDCPA section 1692g applies to any 3rd party debt collector. I speak from experience, however there are many things I can't talk about due to NDA's.

 

[4u 2 nv]

I did call the hospital and they confirmed the debt was sold to BCA collections and the amounts line up as well as the dates. The hospital said they 100% cannot do a thing anymore and everything is in BCAs hands (obviously as they bought the debt).

They called me yesterday around 7pm while i was at the gym but other than that not much. I will call them today and see about doing the pay for delete and try to get them somewhere around $150 or so. You know what they say..if they accept you first offer you started to high...

 

[01Jes]

I did call the hospital and they confirmed the debt was sold to BCA collections and the amounts line up as well as the dates. The hospital said they 100% cannot do a thing anymore and everything is in BCAs hands (obviously as they bought the debt).

They called me yesterday around 7pm while i was at the gym but other than that not much. I will call them today and see about doing the pay for delete and try to get them somewhere around $150 or so. You know what they say..if they accept you first offer you started to high...

Did they have consent to call your cell phone? They are a 3rd party debt collector per the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. They can't call you before 8am or after 9pm. If they do it's a violation provided by FDCPA 1692c(a)(1). If they called your work and you told them to stop and they continued, bam another violation per 1692c(a)(3).

Excuse my rant I have a special spot for debt collectors. Anyhow, you really should validate the debt in Writing via cmrrr per the FDCPA. Explain you're not disputing the debt but would like proof they are the owner in Writing, not over the phone. Debts get sold daily to new owners. They could even fax to you in writing. Then you lay out your terms to them. Explain you want those terms written on the settlement agreement or no deal.

However, careful how hard you push as the alleged debt seems to be within sol. Sol for FL looks like 5yrs. Good luck just cover your ass in Writing. This isn't legal advice just an opinion from a person that can't read
http://protectingconsumerrights.com...atute-of-limitations-by-state/states/florida/

 

[Woody6799]

Ah yes in writing... that's huge. Never dealt with that specifically but I have heard if it's not in writing and you negotiate a deal they have been known to credit you that amount and then come back for more later. If you have no proof of the deal in writing you're screwed. Good info in this thread!