Collection Agency

What is the name of your state? Pa

Well I got another phone call yesterday from that collection agency, this time when I answer the phone this guy says this is the attorney for citibank and I have taken over your file for them. At first I am thinking oh my god but then as I listen to this man talk he was the same man that was calling back in May. Oh yeah! this collection agency has not called here since May nothing in June from them. Anyways, now they are offering to settle for 1,500.00 and I told them I cannot come up with that but I would make small payments until this is paid off. Well he put me on hold and this other guy gets on wants me to ask a family member for the money and he would take a check over the phone and hold it until July 30th. I said no way!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then I go how come you haven't called here since May and he said we spoke to you June 12,2002, well I said I don't think you did the last time I spoke to anyone from here was in May. Now what the h... are they trying to pull????????????

[Jeter]

He's not pulling anything out of the ordinary collections BS protocol. Very simply, when a debtor states that they cannot pay, it's the collector's job to exhaust every means of getting that money. This can include telling you to:

-Pay via Check by phone
-Pay via CC payment by phone
-Borrow the money from a family member and pay him/her back
-Take out a loan for the full amount
-Send the CA a postdated check
-Sell something to raise the money

...just to name a few. What they did to you was called a "handoff". That's when one person calls and then puts the REALLY MEAN, RUTHLESS guy on the phone to make it sound as if he has more power than the first guy. Meanwhile, that second guy was probably the same guy who called you during dinner to sell you long distance service last week. It's the collections version of "good cop, bad cop" (if you can call the first guy the good cop!)

There could be any number of reasons they haven't called you since may but it was probably noted on your account to call in 3-4 weeks. Sometimes they wait because they want your guard to go down so they can hit you harder when they call from out of the blue. Either that or someone made a boo boo in dating the account on the last call. Bad collector!

Make small, consistent monthly payments until it's paid off.

Jeter

SO SHOULD I ASK FOR THIS COLLECTION AGENCY ADDRESS AND START SENDING AS MUCH AS I CAN? THE AGENCYS NAME IS SNA,HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THEM.
THANKS

[Jeter]

Never heard of them but there are as many agencies as there are stars in the sky.

Request a validation of debt in writing. They will send you out a bill asking for the full amount. Take the address from that bill and start sending payments that you can afford. The key is to be consistent. Send them something every month. And hit your Caps Lock button. It's on.

Jeter

[JETX]

Dmje:
Your post seems to read like a followup to an earlier post.... and if it isn't, there are a LOT of things you need to determine BEFORE you make any decisions.

Such as:
1) Have you read and UNDERSTOOD the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act)??
2) Have you validated the debt with the collector?
3) Have you looked at the calendar and evaluated the SOL (Statute of Limitations) issues on this debt??
4) Have you kept records of the CA contacts (date, name, phone number, etc.)??
5) Have you considered sending them a 'cease and desist' letter as allowed by the FDCPA??

Simply, there is a lot of homework that YOU need to do when you are contacted by ANY debt collector.

For example, if you are close to debt expiration due to SOL, any payment you make will reset the clock and cause you years of possible abuse.