Debt collector not holding up their end of the bargain...

[ErinMuffins]

What is the name of your state? OH

My husband (I love him dearly) was not very good with money before we met. Every once in a while some oddity pops up in mail form for which we need to deal with from before we met. When my husband attended a trade school several years ago, he took out a student loan with Sallie Mae. He believed he took out 2 loans, but apparently there was a third loan for about $1000. He recieved mail regularly on the first 2 loans, and took out forbarence on them for the max of 5 years after school. He has been paying on the first 2 loans reliably since the forebearance was over. No biggie...

But the third loan which he claims he never knew about (my bet is forgot about, or just didn't read his paperwork carefully, but it doesn't matter now) ended up being defaulted on. I didn't know about it until it was WAY too late. So for a couple years we worked with several debt collectors trying to pay off this loan (which became a 3,000 loan very quickly!). Everytime we thought we made a repayment plan, the collectors always backed out claiming they never accepted our terms ($300/ month payment, it was all we could afford). So after making payments yet never being applied to the loan, we gave up for a while. Everytime the debt went to a new collector we would request an aggreement in writing and we never got one. We sent in a letter certified mail to several collectors proposing a payment plan ($300/month), and more than one company refused to accept certfied letters.

So in November, Zwicker & Associates in MA contacted my husband, threatening a judgement against him. But they offered a settlement for the original $1000 loan. We jumped at that (being christmas time, we actually for once had that much money in the bank) and were even able to get them to fax us a letter stating that upon receipt of the $1000, Sallie Mae would consider the loan settled. The only caveat was that we had to let them ACH the payment that day. I felt okay since we had the faxed letter on company letterhead and begrudgingly gave out checking account number hoping for the best and that we could finally put this mess behind us. This was on Nov. 28th.

The following week, the money was debited from my account, and Our Sallie Mae account online showed the payment had been made, but that we still owed the ballance of the 3rd loan. I was somewhat relieved that I knew Sallie Mae actually recieved the money, but worried that Sallie Mae in fact had not agreed to these terms. On a side note, Sallie Mae reports this 3rd loan on their website along with the other 2 loans, yet they refuse to discus it with us always referring us back to the debt collection firm du jour.

Either way, I had my husband call Zwicker & Associates, and was told it would take 30 days for the loan to be settled with Sallie Mae, and once it was, we would recieve a letter stating such. Every day I signed into Sallie Mae's web site hoping to see this had been handled, and it still hasn't. It has been well over a month now, and Zwicker has become increasingly beligerant with us when my husband calls, claiming that it is handled. When we state the obvious, that it hasn't and we require proof, they just stonewall us.

So, my questions... Clearly it looks like we have been had yet again by this debt collector. We don't have another 2 grand to pay the loan in full (at this time), and can only afford $300-400/month wich no firm will ever accept as a repayment plan. It will take us about 6 months to save the amount necessary to pay this in full, and by then who knows who will own the loan and what they are threatening us with then. Should we contact our Attorney General's office and file a complaint (Because we did abide by the terms stated on the faxed settlement proposal)? Is there any back door way to get back to dealing with Sallie Mae again? (the loan does not qualify for reaffirmation due to the relative small size and length of time it has been in default.) Should we just sit tight a little longer and hope we weren't lied to by Zwicker & Associates and that it really takes a long time for these things to go through? Is there something I am mising here?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[TiredOfAbuse]

But the third loan which he claims he never knew about (my bet is forgot about, or just didn't read his paperwork carefully, but it doesn't matter now)

It does matter! If some company you know nothing about calls you because they caught wind you had a loan earlier in your life, wouldn't you like to have proof of not only the debt, but the fact they are entitled to collect it?

Everytime the debt went to a new collector we would request an aggreement in writing and we never got one. We sent in a letter certified mail to several collectors proposing a payment plan ($300/month), and more than one company refused to accept certfied letters.

A majority of collectors do not want to be locked into a contract forcing them to do something. They need to have the ability to work in a way to collect the debt in as fast a way as possible. You will find very few would agree to your terms.

I am not surprised they do not receive certified letters. A great way around this would be to either send the letter via UPS or FedEx, as it is still trackable. You can also send it certified mail again, but write "payment enclosed" on the outside of the envelope. Tricky yes, but it gets yor letter delivered.

So in November, Zwicker & Associates in MA contacted my husband, threatening a judgement against him. But they offered a settlement for the original $1000 loan.

If you can, screen your calls and try to keep communication in writing. Why? It will keep them honest. Their threat may or may not have been serious.

Should we contact our Attorney General's office and file a complaint (Because we did abide by the terms stated on the faxed settlement proposal)? Is there any back door way to get back to dealing with Sallie Mae again? (the loan does not qualify for reaffirmation due to the relative small size and length of time it has been in default.) Should we just sit tight a little longer and hope we weren't lied to by Zwicker & Associates and that it really takes a long time for these things to go through? Is there something I am mising here?

In your situation it might not be a bad idea to get your AG involved. Contact him and file a complaint based on the fact you were promised the update and it never happened. Let the AG know you think the Zwicker office is acting in a fraudulant manner.

You could bring up Sallie Mae to your AG as well. The AG does not act as a personal attorney for the consumer, but they are able to write good will letters to the agencies acting in bad faith. A letter from the AG's office can go a long way!

I would not sit by and let a Collection Agency walk all over you. CA's make promises they do not keep a lot. The good thing is you have proof! You have their fax with their written statement. You also have bank statements showing when the payment was debited AND you can show the AG when you write to him a copy of the Web Site showing the payment STILL hasn't taken affect. Sounds like fraud to me.

I don't think you are missing anything.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

TiredOfAbuse

[Debt Guy]

Erin

Ignore TOA. He is just rattling on about things that are not relevant for you now.

Your question is what to do today -- not what your shoulda or coulda or woulda done.

My advice is to just sit tight. Take a deep breath and just sit tight. What Zwicker is telling you about how long it takes to get the creditor database updated sounds about right. It might take longer.

The really important thing is that you finally wised up in how to deal with collectors -- that is don't give them any money until they put the agreement in writing first. The fact you have a written agreement with Zwicker is golden. I'm going to make the assumption that you are cautious enough to have read the agreement and reached a decision that it contained all the right words.

Now, there are several things that can happen.

1. The transaction gets posted to the creditor and all is right. Good, then you are done.
2. The transaction gets goofed up somehow. In that case you send a certified letter to Zwicker with a copy of your agreement and demand they get it fixed. If they don't get it fixed, then you sue them and the creditor.
3. Zwicker or someone else decides to try to collect the unpaid balance. This is not uncommon. In that case you send a certified letter to the collector with a copy of the agreement. 99% of the time that gets it fixed.
4. Some collector sues you for the unpaid balance. You file a response with the court that the debt has been settled and attach a copy of the agreement. 99% of the time that gets it fixed.

So, take a deep breath and relax. Give it a little time. Don't go off on a tear on day 31 either. Chill.

While there are some things that can happen that will annoy you, you now know what those things are and you know what you are going to do about each. Nothing to be afraid of. Right?

[TiredOfAbuse]

Ignore TOA. He is just rattling on about things that are not relevant for you now.

When you make a statement like this please back it up and explain. Because there is a lack of explination, this is viewed as a Personal Attack. Personal attacks are not appreciated. Please refrain from doing so as continued effort will result in a report to the forum moderators. Thank you.

ErinMuffins:

Debt Guy has given good advice and I am of the opinion that all advice given to you so far is valid and relevant.

You are in a good position, but I would like to add that Collection Agencies in general push and push for immediate payment, then drag their feet when it comes to following up their on their side of the agreement (if they follow the agreement that is).

Do not hesitate to treat a CA in the same speedy efficiency they exhibit to you.

TiredOfAbuse

[Debt Guy]

Quote:
Ignore TOA. He is just rattling on about things that are not relevant for you now.

When you make a statement like this please back it up and explain. Because there is a lack of explination, this is viewed as a Personal Attack. Personal attacks are not appreciated. Please refrain from doing so as continued effort will result in a report to the forum moderators. Thank you.

Well, you were distracting this young lady with your customary and repetitive diatribe about the evils and abuses of the collection industry. All of that may be true and perhaps even relevant to some situations. But, it was not helping her one damn bit.

She needed direct answers to her questions (which you were not giving) and less "rattling on about things that are not relevant for you now". Thus the "ignore TOA"

I regret that you consider this a personal attack. There was nothing personal about it.

TOA, I know you mean well. However, I think you sometimes could be of more constructive help if you toned down the rhetoric and stuck with factual and practical responses to questions.

I don't have a clue who the forum admin is but if you feel the urge to complain, I guess there is nothing I can do to prevent that.

[TiredOfAbuse]

She needed direct answers to her questions (which you were not giving) and less "rattling on about things that are not relevant for you now".

I am sorry you see it this way as well. While I do admit I add commentary, like everyone else does, I find that after re-reading my post a few times I did answer the OP's questions and added advice to situations even where questions were not asked.

As we all try to do, I posted advice based on what was posted. This included statements, and it did include questions.

I still believe both of our postings are relavent and were a sincere effort to help the OP.

I do feel it was personal, as it was directed at my advice and posting. All I ask is that in the future if you feel I have said something in error, point it out. I have thanked you in the past, and I have demonstrated that I accept and am grateful for constructive corrections.

Do you feel the statement "Ignore TOA." is constructive or something else? In all fairness, what would your first reaction be if I were to say that to you?

Thank you for your time!

And to the OP: I deeply regret having to detract from your posting to clear up this matter. Please - if there is more you can share or have an update we would like to help.

TiredOfAbuse