Credit Cards and Avoiding Collection Agencies

[CaptainMorgan]

So I've finally made enough money to pay off my one and only credit card in the full. So I called up my bank the other day and tried to, but the *******s refused my money and said they forwarded it to a Collection Agency, and that I'd have to deal with them now. People are supposedly losing their jobs and their houses are being foreclosed on left and right all over the country, they're in debt to their credit cards and stopped paying their bills, and these ****tards are going to refuse an actual person who is paying? Sorry, kind of enrages me, but this system is definitely set up so that you're a debt slave for life.

Anywho, has anyone experienced this before? Am I basically ****ed? These Collection Agencies can basically make up their own rules, can't they? Like add all sorts of extra charges and fees on top of the credit card. I wouldn't even trust them with my credit card to be honest. I don't want to deal with them at all. Is there a way I can avoid them?

[d'Anconia]

Just call them and see what the deal is. Worse comes to worst you hang up the phone if you're unhappy. Better to deal with it now than later...

How many months overdue were you when the collection agency had to get involved?

[Reko]

the bank wont take your money becuase thye already sold your debt. they got some sort of money for it and it is no longer their problem.

[BilltheButcher]

This should work out in your favor. They sold your debt for less then what it is, so now you tell the collection agency to offer you a deal. Most likely less then you owe, tell them you know they bought the debt for less then it is worth.

[Southern Beast]

You need to call the agency and bargain the hell out of them. Especially since you are able to pay it off in full, this should work out in your favor. I had a $2000 debt last year and it was over at a collection agency. I finally had the money to pay it off in full, but I spoke to them on the phone and just kept asking them if they could work something out for me. At first the woman said $1500, then said I could make two payments of $600. I asked for her supervisor to check if it could go any lower, and he said if I could pay it off in full, he could do $1000. Finally, I told him I would give him my debit card number right now if he could do $850. He couldn't do that, but he said $900 and that's the absolute bottom line, no more. So I paid it, but $1100 less than I owed.

Don't be afraid to haggle and keep pressing the issue.

[Reko]

I would be sure to follow up either with the bank or the credit agency to make sure they close your account that you owe on as well. Sometimes these accounts can be sold and still be reported to a credit bureau or something due to oversights. Make sure it gets taken care of completely when you pay it.

[matt08]

its been sold or assigned. you need to negotiate with the collection agency. offer half or something. these people are scum and they are experts at getting under your skin. its best not to negotiate anything with them on the phone. you can write letters too. dont give them any access to you bank account. pay them with money order or cashier check.

whatever you do dont let it go..because they will try arbitration. dont know how much you owe, but anything under 5k they usually wont try to sue. lawsuits cost too much for them.

im going down this road now, and when im done destroying this debt, i will never touch another credit card again.

[anonymous1]

I would be sure to follow up either with the bank or the credit agency to make sure they close your account that you owe on as well. Sometimes these accounts can be sold and still be reported to a credit bureau or something due to oversights. Make sure it gets taken care of completely when you pay it.

Most important thing right here. Also, when negotiating, you can have them basically expunge the debt from your record in return for payment. This is a real pain and is the reason people get paid to clean up other people credit but can be done on a regular basis. The biggest mistake, worst case scenario that everyone does is just pay the bill. Now you have a bad debt, and paid it. It doesn't help your credit rating and you're still out the money. This is all adjustable but you have to get it done.

Another option - Charge off. You'd think it's way too late, and it should be, but this option exists to allow the credit card company to steal the debt owed directly from the merchant. If you bought something on the card particularly expensive, you can call the credit card company and say you bought and it was defective, or whatever you say is the truth. It has to be thre merchants fault, you tried to resolve it with the merchant, and you have no other recourse so you can't pay. The credit card company then steals this money from the merchant regardless of any contracts or business laws and pretends you paid it. In order to accept credit cards, businesses must agree to this, in one of 382746238 pages of fine print. This works so often it makes me not accept credit cards as a business. I don't need to anyway, but it would help but for the risk.

[CaptainMorgan]

Just call them and see what the deal is. Worse comes to worst you hang up the phone if you're unhappy. Better to deal with it now than later...

How many months overdue were you when the collection agency had to get involved?

I stopped actively paying the monthly bill around July '08.

My credit card was only supposed to be $500. They eventually raised it to over 700. Was going to pay it all off, but I guess I won't be now. Wish I had learned about agencies sooner..

[CrazyK]

As others have said, they sold the debt to increase their liquidity (cash) at a discount to a collection agency. In a bad economy this happens more often then a good one as default rates are higher so banks get ancy for cash. The collection agency still has all the rights to collect the debt so no need to be angry, just negotiate and get the best deal you can.

[SW]

For the first time, I completely agree with CrazyK.