Here's one I'm hoping someone can help me with.
My girlfriend had an old credit card debt (from well
before we met) that she never paid and a collection
agency finally caught up with her in October.
At that time, as my GF is not working and going
to school full time, I was offered by their rep
a settlement amount of half the balance ($400).
I said not at this time but I would be willing
to make monthly payments through March 15
provided the 50% settlement offer would be available
to whatever remaining balance there was at that time.
All payments have been made to date per our agreement.
But, sure enough, its the end of Feburary
and she gets a call from the CA saying that they
are offering her the 50% settlement deal again.
About $300. I told them I already spoke with
a rep in October who agreed to the March 15 date.
They countered by saying that although they
see that in their own notes, they're not honoring
anything he did and he no longer works for the company.
Although I'm no attorney, that comment alone did not
sit well with me as I know that I could reasonably
believe we had an agreement and he had the authority
to make such an agreement on their behalf.
After another 20 minutes of them trying to convince
me that they wouldn't give her the 50% off deal if
she waited til March, I finally just caved and
said fine, send that amount in writing and I'll pay it.
They then pulled another shocker and told me they
wouldn't mail anything out UNLESS I first gave
the bank routing number or credit card number
to "guarantee" the payment. "
You have just learned rule number one in dealing with a collection
agency-Never believe anything that they tell you.
Do not under any circumstances give them the bank routing number or
credit card number or they will remove the entire amount. In fact they
may
try to take it out now if you have sent them any payments by check. I
would notify your bank in writing not to accept any bank drafts from
this company.
Even if you pay the 50% they can still come after you for the
remainder without the proper documentation. You don't give your state
and it is possible that the Statute of Limitations has expired and
they cannot come after your GF anyway. Paying off the debt now will
not help her credit rating since the collection will still show. Since
she did not renew the debt the SOL would not have started over. Even
if it has not expired it is unlikely that they are going to do
anything except harass you for the money.
You need to notify them to stop calling you and you do not need to
talk to them. Everything should be done in writing, CRRR. You can find
more information and a good artitle titled "Steven and the Collection
Agency Grinch"
at
http://www.solidgoldhomebusiness.com/credit-report.html
Your GF has a moral obligation to pay her bills. I question you paying
them for her but that is your business. In a situation like this I
always recommend paying the original creditor if possible and
extracting an agreement not to report anything to the credit bureaus.
However it is likely that by now they have completely written off the
account.
