Dealing with collection agents

[Cyberlink]

Ok, so some one has been calling me 3 to 4 times a day. I normally just hang up on the computer that calls and says "Please hold for the next available representative." So I decided after months of this harassment that I would wait on the line and chew out whoever it was. I mean, calling some one to put them on hold is insulting to say the lease and doing it 3 to 4 times a day every day Monday through Sunday is excessive.

So I wait on hold for 5 min to find out that it was a collection agency. They are trying to collect a debt from 1998. I laughed at them and simply told them that #1) It was over 7 years old #2) It could not be listed on the credit report #3) It was past the statute of limitations for a court case so they can not sew me. #4) The original lender has written it off as a loss. I then told them not to call me again, all communication must be in writing.

So they called me back the next day, and the day after that., etc.

New Tactic I wait for them to get on the phone and state "You are hereby notified that this call is being recorded for legal reasons." To which they state "We have nothing to discuss" and hang up.

Seems the above works with all collection agents. None of them will talk to you if you are recording the call. I find that a little funny as 90% of them state that the call can be recorded when they call you.

 

[Texan2]

i havent had any of them call for me but I have had some call for employees. Collection people are typically 2 levels lower than the scum of the earth.

 

[SC-Texas]

Very simple, send them a debt validation letter that tells them the debt is disputed, the statute has passed and that they need to only contact you in writing.

Why Chat's Credit Confusion is a resource that works.

 

[cuate]

It has been my experience in the telephone world that if you are called and do not hang up but leave your phone "off the hook", the calling party cannot disconnect from you until you do hang up. This of courde makes both your line and the caller's unusasable for both parties as long as it continues but, its an idea ...

 

[TxDad]

One time I messed up with the 7 year thing. lol. It was like 5 years old or something. I was trying to do the right thing and pay what I owed. (even though I swore I paid it). I said I would make a payment later that I didnt have xx amount right now. They asked how about $5? I agreed. Thus screwing myself. I learned the 7 year period starts over if you pay anything on a debt.

 

[txinvestigator]

Why won't you pay the debt that you owe? You have a moral obligation to pay your debts. Just because you dodge your responsibility for 7 years does not mean you remove your obligation. And a company "writing off" off your debt is not them relieving you of it.

That said, no one deserves to be harassed. You should familiarize yourself with the Federal Fair Debt Reporting Act and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

 

[bvillars]

cyberlink, sorry for your problem but if you owe them pay them. Try to work out a payment plan and start. It is kind of an honor thing. On this forum and other gunboards we warn membes of scammers and people who do not pay. Should we add you to the list? I do not know your situation but you stated you did not pay the first time, then you made an agreement to pay $5.00 a month and did not live up to that agreement. IMOH

 

[Cyberlink]

So BVillars and txinvestigator A debt is a debt for ever?

I have no information on the $2000 CBCS claims that I owe. Heck, It is a 12 year old debt, Companies are only required to keep records for 5 to 7, You only have to keep your tax returns for 5 years. To contact someone after 12 years and claim they owe a debt is a bit much. You would think that if they really wanted there money they would have called me before now. Heck they could have sewed in the first 4 years but did not seem to think that was necessary, they could have called and attempted to collect, they could have put it on my credit report for the first 7 years, again nothing from them.

Frankly if they did not attempt to collect and did not use the methods available in the SOL then why should I even consider paying them and taking a hit on my credit report for a debt that I know nothing about?

BTW, the 5$ a month was not me, I never heard of this company or the debt before a few months ago.

 

[bvillars]

To most honorable people a debt is a debt until paid or forgiven by the holder of the note. Sure you can out wait them and obviously you can live with that. I am just glad you warned all on this board to beware.

 

[dublin]

A co-worker was recently receiving a lot of collections calls to the point where another employee was so sick of it he pretended to be the person they were calling for. He then proceeded to post a message on the bulletin board in our break room asking "Bob" to call the collection company regarding his $1800 debt. "Bob" wasn't very happy and the other guy was wrong but at least you answered the phone and found a way to deal with them.

 

[txinvestigator]

So BVillars and txinvestigator A debt is a debt for ever?

So Cyberlink, if you can dodge 'em until the statute if limitations is up you should consider yourself no longer obligated.

I have no information on the $2000 CBCS claims that I owe. Heck, It is a 12 year old debt, Companies are only required to keep records for 5 to 7, You only have to keep your tax returns for 5 years. To contact someone after 12 years and claim they owe a debt is a bit much. You would think that if they really wanted there money they would have called me before now. Heck they could have sewed in the first 4 years but did not seem to think that was necessary, they could have called and attempted to collect, they could have put it on my credit report for the first 7 years, again nothing from them.

Excuses. If you do not owe this debt that is one thing; if you DO owe and have decided that after x time you should no longer have to pay...well I'll remember never to do business with you.

 

[TXchoctaw]

I don't think this thread is going the way a couple of folks expected.....................

 

[Texas42]

I don't think this thread is going the way a couple of folks expected.....................

What?! You mean someone braggin about how he dodged 2k in debt that he owned someone didn't get him a lot of respect on this forum? Some one has seriously misjudged the caliber of most of the people on this forum.

 

[TXchoctaw]

Crazy, I know..............

 

[Clockwork]

A few years back when I lived in Alaska my (now ex) wife had a collector calling her about a dozen times a day and it was really upsetting her. I found out where the agency was located and went down there myself and told the fat pig at the front desk that if she didn't have the asshole in charge out in front of that desk in ten seconds then I was going back there and finding him myself. Eight seconds later when the guy was standing in front of me looking smug and his entire staff was watching through various doors and cubicles I proceeded to verbally destroy him like I can only imagine he has never received in his lifetime.

He cried in front of his staff.

The calls stopped after that and the Mrs. was grateful.

 

[ROGER4314]

You should pay your debts............. Period. I've done business on a handshake all of my life and when I say I'll do something, you can put it in the bank. That isn't popular these days so when I find a person who goes back on his word, I cut him/her off and won't do business with them under ANY circumstances. There is NO bargain that is worth dealing with a person like that!

Having said that, the ethics of American businesses have hit rock bottom. I've been looking for a job and have come upon the sleaziest liars of my entire life among prospective employers. They lie, cheat, misrepresent, and work every angle to pick the pockets of their employees.

After you get a job, the games continue. I worked for one outfit that padlocked the male john making the guys piss on the shipping dock concrete apron. That continued for 2 months until I filed a complaint with the Health Department and the padlock came off immediately. These companies are scum!

Flash

 

[Jason]

I have heard there are companies out there that try to claim you owe money (even if you don't) just to see if they can get anything out of you... so collection agencies don't get my trust.

Isn't there something in the case of homes that you can say "Produce the note" and get proof of you owing whatever to whomever? I am not sure about this type of stuff but it could also be phishing scams too...

I'd tell them to mail it to me for further review...

 

[RetArmySgt]

There is one company out there that i know of that a lot of people have problems with them fileing false claims, i have had problems with them too. The are called NCO Financial and they show up on credit report as NCO99 or NCO-FIN99. But i do believe if you do owe money to someone i dont care how old the debit is you need to pay them. You entered into the debt you need to be man enough to pay it back.

 

[TexasRedneck]

I have no problems w/paying a debt I owe. What DOES tick me off is how the agencies tack on fee after fee. Hell - the poor devil couldn't pay it the first time, how is making it HIGHER gonna help?!?? Went through all kinds of financial hassles on my divorce, but repaid all but two of 'em eventually. One was simply NOT my debt - it was the ex's, she FORGED my signature on the sales slips (card company agreed) - yet they STILL tried to get me to pay. I filed a police report, told the card company I had done so, and asked for paperwork to file w/them. Have never heard back from 'em.<???> The other? A company that I knew I owed, but their version of what I owed and mine were drastically different. I asked for an audit of the account....no response. Asked again - nothing. Never did hear back from them, so I called a year later and they couldn't find any records. As I said, I KNEW I owed them something (a lot to me - about $4,500), so about a month after the last call I made, I sent 'em the check with a cover letter. 3 weeks later, they returned the check saying they could find no record. At THAT point, I figured I'd made every reasonable effort!

 

[Rabies]

I have no information on the $2000 CBCS claims that I owe.

I got a call a month ago about a bill I supposedly owed at a medical clinic that I used several months earlier. I told the collector that I had insurance and the insurance paid. The collector said they would mail me a copy of the bill showing the amount I still owed. Nothing has come and the calls stopped. Don't pay a bill just because some collector says you owe it. Get the information. It could be that a clerical error has been made. It could be that the collector is a scammer.