College student needs HELP! Collector scared me

[sbs0111]

What is the name of your state? WI

I have a debt of $2400 on a Chase student credit card. I have been getting letters from collectors in the mail for months (they've stopping coming as much lately) and have ignored them. Tonight, however, I decided to call the collection agency so that I could begin paying off this debt. I was told that a) i HAD to pay it all off in one lump sum, and b) that if I could not pay it all within the next day or two, I would be sent court papers. (I asked if this would have happened if I had NOT called and he explained that by calling (and potentially not paying) I was saying that I was unwilling to pay and thus would be issued court papers, and have my apartment "ransacked".

My questions are: can i pay this in monthly installments? I am unemployed (since i'm a student) and can't work due to a recent hospitalization. Will I really have to go to court? and if so, how soon is this likely to happen? Does calling the collector "speed up" the process of having to go to court? What do you think will likely happen?

I want to pay of fmy card, but really cant afford to do it in a lump sum payment. After talking with the collector I am very afraid. I'd be grateful for any advice... Thanks! Shana

[djohnson]

It's a scare tactic. The only thing they can get by going to court is a judgment. That isn't going to do them any good if you aren't working and have no assets. They don't have to take payments and stop collection procedures. How long has it been since you made a payment?

[sbs0111]

It's been about a year since I've made a payment. Should I call the collector back? He seemed unwilling ot negotiate a payment method with me (other than paying the full amount). Is there an agency I can contact that works with people to set up such a plan, or is it too late since my debt has gone to collections?

[caliber]

I have a debt of $2400 on a Chase student credit card. I have been getting letters from collectors in the mail for months (they've stopping coming as much lately) and have ignored them

If you believe you owe this balance, then every communication from now on must be in writing. Remember that collectors are people with low self esteem and have no responsibility in what they say to you. Don't relent to their trying to get you to write a check. They should be held to the many violations they commit, but it's best to answer the call asking their name, their supervisor's name and are you collecting a debt? ending with, "everything in writing." and hang up. Start documenting! You have to show these guys you mean business. Above all remember this: You are in control, not them. You are the one producing the payment.

Sounds as though you ignored written demands from the collector. Within those demands should have been the offer for you to request validation of the debt within 30 days. And if challenged correctly, they will never be able to do so. So do some homework and either challenge or settle. Even your settlement offer must be in writing. But don't volunteer anything. There are aggressive ways out of this.

[djohnson]

Originally Posted by caliber

I have a debt of $2400 on a Chase student credit card. I have been getting letters from collectors in the mail for months (they've stopping coming as much lately) and have ignored them

If you believe you owe this balance, then every communication from now on must be in writing. Remember that collectors are people with low self esteem and have no responsibility in what they say to you. Don't relent to their trying to get you to write a check. They should be held to the many violations they commit, but it's best to answer the call asking their name, their supervisor's name and are you collecting a debt? ending with, "everything in writing." and hang up. Start documenting! You have to show these guys you mean business. Above all remember this: You are in control, not them. You are the one producing the payment.

Sounds as though you ignored written demands from the collector. Within those demands should have been the offer for you to request validation of the debt within 30 days. And if challenged correctly, they will never be able to do so. So do some homework and either challenge or settle. Even your settlement offer must be in writing. But don't volunteer anything. There are aggressive ways out of this.

This is the dumbest post I have seen in a while. You can't take the position that they are in the wrong. A few may be but many are not. The debtor made the debt anyway. This advice has nothing to do with question and is not legal.

[stevek3]

Originally Posted by caliber

If you believe you owe this balance, then every communication from now on must be in writing. Remember that collectors are people with low self esteem and have no responsibility in what they say to you. Don't relent to their trying to get you to write a check. They should be held to the many violations they commit, but it's best to answer the call asking their name, their supervisor's name and are you collecting a debt? ending with, "everything in writing." and hang up. Start documenting! You have to show these guys you mean business. Above all remember this: You are in control, not them. You are the one producing the payment.

Keen psychoanalysis. Very enlightening. You're Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Alfred Adler all wrapped into one. Do you have any related theories regarding the size of a debt collector's penis and how the debt collector's penis affects the heating and air conditioning systems inside the debt collectors' offices? What about women debt collectors? Do the women debt collectors wish they had a penis? If so, how huge?

[You Are Guilty]

Originally Posted by stevek3

Keen psychoanalysis. Very enlightening. You're Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Alfred Adler all wrapped into one. Do you have any related theories regarding the size of a debt collector's penis and how the debt collector's penis affects the heating and air conditioning systems inside the debt collectors' offices? What about women debt collectors? Do the women debt collectors wish they had a penis? If so, how huge?

Holy crap. Now you owe me a new computer monitor too.

[Dandy Don]

You don't need to be afraid. All that is going to happen is that a judgment is going to be issued against you. Pay it off in the future whenever you start working and can get a fairly good paying job. It will be reported as a debt on your credit report.