While there is much discussion of credit problems and other credit issues on FW Finance, there are other forums specifically targeted to the discussion of improving credit, people who are contesting debt collection agencies, etc. Users who have credit problems may benefit by visiting the following websites, as they hold the answers to many credit questions posted here at FW....
www.creditnet.com They have a large discussion forum area, and I have seen many references here at FW to the site
www.creditinfocenter.com also has a discussion area, and seems better organized than creditnet. LOTS OF SAMPLE LETTERS you can tailor to your situation to dispute debts and collection agencies. Check it out!
Penn Lawyer A PA lawyer whose site actually has a lot of good info on dealing with collection agencies (instead of the typical, uninformative legal marketing sites), plus some recorded messages from debt collectors..worth a listen!
Creditforum.org Bay House These sites have lots of good info too. Please be aware that a lot of these sites reference legal issues, but some of the legal information may be incorrect.....nevertheless, there is a lot of good info there...
Here are some links to prior Fatwallet Finance discussions on debt collection agencies and disputing debts (thanks to SeattleNative):
If you would like me to add any Collections-related posts or links that would be good to include in this FAQ, simply add the link in this thread and I will add it!
disclaimer: nothing in this post, or any of my posts is legal advice. Consult a professional before taking action.
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DO NOT SEND A PENNY TO A COLLECTION AGENCY UNTIL YOU RECEIVE THEIR WRITTEN AGREEMENT THEY WILL REMOVE/DELETE ALL NEGATIVE ACCOUNT INFORMATION FROM YOUR CREDIT REPORT
Message edited by: didYOUsearch on 2006-02-08 03:16:56 CST
those phone calls are funny and disturbing at the same time... like that one guy threatening to show up at his door every day until he gets what he wants.
Want to do a settlement payment on CC debt as a possible option. Never have been in this situation before or even thought about it until recently. I have made payments but less than minimum due to show good faith and avoid collections.
They won't send or process any settlement in writing until I send another (agreed upon plus more) payment for the next months billing cycle. They "promise" to deduct this payment from the settlement amount. I'm told the account needs to be "current" with my less than minimum payment for next month needs to be paid now? Doesn't make any sense because the account is 7 months behind.
I was told last month if I made an additional payment, it would keep the account current and not charge off. So I did. Now, they want more again "in advance" before sending anything in writing with a verbal promise to apply payment to the settlement?
I think both discussions have value. I wouldn't go so far as to refer to either as 'excellent' though considering some of the high quality discussions we have here at FW.
zender: you have a point - my "excellent" comment was meant towards the topics per se. Being financially "in the bucket" on a motor vehicle loan is among the most troubling challenges many Americans face because there is no easy "escape hatch".
So I had a bad experience with google adwords... their servers went down one weekend when I needed to stop my account and now I owe $382.45 due to their technical difficulties. Google's customer service was not helpful, blaming it on me and refusing to recognize the problem. I can pay this debt obviously, but the principle of the thing makes me not want to pay them a cent. They sent the debt to a collection agency and they sent me a letter threatening to put it on my credit report.
My question is, do I send them a request for validation letter? What do I tell them as most of the sample letters have to do with identity theft? Do I admit that I owe the debt and tell them why I refuse to pay, or pretend that the debt is illegitimate?
So I had a bad experience with google adwords... their servers went down one weekend when I needed to stop my account and now I owe $382.45 due to their technical difficulties. Google's customer service was not helpful, blaming it on me and refusing to recognize the problem. I can pay this debt obviously, but the principle of the thing makes me not want to pay them a cent. They sent the debt to a collection agency and they sent me a letter threatening to put it on my credit report.
My question is, do I send them a request for validation letter? What do I tell them as most of the sample letters have to do with identity theft? Do I admit that I owe the debt and tell them why I refuse to pay, or pretend that the debt is illegitimate? >>
NEVER admit you owe them a red cent!
What proof do you have their servers went down over the weekend? For the entire 48 hours? Has Google ever acknowledged there was a problem?
I think the experts at creditnet.com can help you. There have been quite a few validation discussions lately. Hopefully you'll score some violations!
I read most of the links above and they are excellent resources. However, my story is a little different and I was wondering how I should approach it.
My story: I signed up with Verizon Wireless about 2 years ago for a cellphone, and about 1 and 1/2 year ago (6 months after initial signup), I added two additional phone and made it a family plan. Then, what happened was they had to open two new accounts, and then merge them to the primary account for the Family plan.
The trouble is the two new accounts both had the same account numbers but with a -2 and -3 at the end, and after the merge, each sub account both carried an initial balance of ~$50 (Activiation Fee + Prorated fee) and I didn't recognize it. I made the mistake assuming that since these are temperary accounts, these remaining balances would've be transfered to the primary. For the next 8 months, I kept getting invoices for all three, but since they all have the same account number except for the last digit, and the primary account shows the correct balance I am suppose to pay monthly, I only paid the primary account balance.
Finally, I received two collection agency notices on my 8th month or so for the $50 on each account (funny, two different companies for each account and $50 each), and right away (within a few days), I called Verizon, found out about my wrong assumptions, asked Verizon why they didn't transfer the balances, they apologized, but said that they have been sending the invoices for all three, and I should've paid attention to those, but at the end, I paid the remaining balances (~$100) in full over the phone.
However, at that time (about 4-5 months ago) I made another mistake and just ignored the debt collection agencies (didn't know too much about DCAs) since I thought I already paid the debt off, and since I spoke with Verizon, they should be clear.
Well, I just happened to take a look at my credit report this week and my report shows 2 debt collections, and those two debts hurt my credit pretty bad (I have no other negative factors and I have no deliquncies, and I have not high balance). I want to disput it, but I am not sure if it's too late to dispute with the debt agencies, or should I try to call verizon to have them fix it or should I send in a dispute request with equafax and just explain the whole story. Any advice would be great. Thanks a bunch in advance.
I read most of the links above and they are excellent resources. However, my story is a little different and I was wondering how I should approach it. . >>
Your story isnt different, this is a typical collection and you need to follow the steps to remove it. The links have info on removing collection items, and the faq post above clearly states there are OTHER forums setup to discuss disputing collections.
All of the info you need is in this thread , the linked threads, and the linked sites, if you dont want to figure out how to apply it to your situation, post your story in the forums created for discussion of debt collection and ask someone to walk you through it.
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