Collection Agency question

**momof2inpa** · 08-16-2007, 03:33 PM

I have a question about collection agencies. My hubby has a credit card that we forgot about (atually I did not know that he had it!). We received a letter with them offering a deep discounted amount- which of course needs to be paid in 30 days. We love the price that they offered but really don't have the means to pay it off in a months time. DH talked to them and they were pretty much the only option he has is to pay it off in 30 days no matter what he does- we do not want to take out any loans (we probably would not qualify right now either) and we don't have anyone to borrow the money from.

So my question is this- is it possible to send just 1 payment a month to the collection agency until it is paid off? We are currently paying down a lot of debts and we can squeeze in 1 more bill a month. Has anyone ever done this before and how were you able to do it? The person my hubby talked to was pretty rude (which they have a little bit of right to do so- since they are trying to collect a debt) but they did not offer any other options. Thanks in advance!

**Dancing Lotus** · 08-16-2007, 04:48 PM

Yes you can send a collection angency a monthly payment but it will be for the full amount that you owe. The only way to get the reduced amount is to pay it in full. They will just send you a monthly bill.

**latierra84** · 08-16-2007, 04:57 PM

every collector is going to try to make the debt owed to him sound like its more important than your mortgage. be careful about what all you tell him. they will hassle you and hassle you until you say what they want you to say and agree to pay what they want you to pay.

ive had experiences with creditors and if they have agreed on a significantly smaller amount than what you actually owe its because they have probably bought that account from the original lender or cc company for pennies on the dollar. the thirty day cut off that he is sticking to is just to get your money asap. im not saying that you shouldnt pay a debt that you do owe. all im saying is to watch out for yourself, because although it may seem like they are trying to help you out by offering a settlement amount, if they were really trying to help you out theyd work out some sort of payment plan. not try to get you to make a large one time payment of some couple hundred dollars by the end of the month. and im guessing that the guy on the other end of the line was the one who suggested that yall looking into borrowing money from friends/relatives or taking out a loan to pay off the card........ am i right? they can be vicious! just be careful before you give out your checking account information or agree to post date a check.

**FrugalMomof3** · 08-16-2007, 06:23 PM

First off how old is your DH's CC that is in collections? You have to remember that even 1 payment towards that bill it will now stay on your DH's credit report for 7 years from the date of payment.

If this CC is older it might be best to just forget about it, it may even be that it's over 7 years old and now they want you to pay on it, DONT DO IT!

**sueh** · 08-16-2007, 07:52 PM

Please check your statue of limitations in your state. As Tracy had stated above this debt may be out of sol. One thing that I learned in my credit rebuilding is do not talk to any creditors. If you agree to any arrangements that can restart the "clock" so to speak for the statue of limitations.
Years back I had a few collections and I didn't have the $ to pay the discounted fee so I would just send them what I could. Yes I still got letters and sometimes phone calls but as long as I was making an attempt to pay off the debt it worked out for me. Have you dh check his credit report to see if it on there as well. If it is I would write to the credit agency requesting documentation for proof that in fact the debt belongs to your dh. If they can not provide proof then they have to remove it from his credit report.

Good Luck!

**accountantbyday** · 08-16-2007, 08:05 PM

If you take the discount, you will be 1099'd for the difference (as in TAXED). That is something to keep in mind.

**accountantbyday** · 08-16-2007, 08:06 PM

Oh and another thing to consider....if the debt is big enough (usually over $1500) they can and most of the time will seek judgment. Judgments are treated differently and can be renewed right before they expire, so they are indefinite.

**Jskell911** · 08-17-2007, 10:50 AM

If you do find that the statute of limitations for your state have been exceeded, this is what you need to do......

Send a verification of debt letter (I have a template if you need it), registered mail with signature required. This means they have to provide you with written proof of this debt and that it occurred within the statute of limitation in YOUR state.

If you get no response, on the 30th day- send a Cease and Desist letter and they can no longer contact you again regarding this debt.

We had to do this with aa Sears card I had 12 years ago. I agreed to a profit./loss settlement for a lesser amt and paid it. Then, 12 ysr later a collections acency thought they were going to collect the rest. Yeah, right!

It work for us. So, it's just a suggestion here. But knowing your legal rights is so important when it comes to these agencies.

Here is a kida interesting article re collectors:

http://www.budhibbs.com/debt_collector.htm
http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php