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collection call

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What is the name of your state? South Carolina

I gave back an auto 3 years ago and it was sold at aution. It cost 16,000, I paid over 11,000 on it and it sold for over 8,000. I attempted to settle the matter and all offers were rejected. Now, 3 years later, I am getting calls from an auto dialing system telling me to call a 1-800 #. These calls come in from morning to night, after 9pm several times a day. I finally called back today to tell them to stop calling. The man went on about the debt. I told him I did not call for that reason and that he would take me off the auto dialer. He hung up on me. I then called back and spoke with someone else. I informed him I was taping the conversation and that he would take me off the dialer immediately. He stated that he refused to be taped and hung up on me. The calls keep coming. They will not give me their address or the name of the company either. How can I find then to send them a cease and desist letter?
 


BL

Senior Member
Register with the national do not call list , and after the second or third time they call , advise them that you're number is on the national do not call list . You can register online . Online dialer's take a while to stop , but if you register and tell them your on it , they shoud stop after about the third . Read up on do not call list . ;)
 

TigerD

Senior Member
Blonde Lebinese said:
Register with the national do not call list , and after the second or third time they call , advise them that you're number is on the national do not call list . You can register online . Online dialer's take a while to stop , but if you register and tell them your on it , they shoud stop after about the third . Read up on do not call list . ;)
Not applicable.

If you want the calls to stop, try talking to them and maybe even paying the bill. You need to understand that you are going to have to communicate with them.

DC
 
update

When I would call back, noone would talk to me so I had a friend call and get their address. I sent the letter return receipt and am now keeping a list of calls with dates and times.
For DC, I owed 16,000, paid 11,000 and they got 8,000 for the truck. They got 19,000 on a 16,000 loan and then told me that the difference was the interest they would have made. After 3 years, I would be crazy to pay this as the 7 years on the credit report would start all over again. I also learned that all the collection agencies on my credit are considered a continuation of the original debt and also must be removed in 3 1/2 years.
I guess if they continue to call, I will have no choice but to sue them for harassment. As far as the do not call list goes, I thought that was for solicitations and telemarketers, not debt collection.
 

Debt Guy

Senior Member
OK. I have to kick in my 2 cents.

Registering with the do not call list will not solve the problem. Organizations that have a business relationship with a consumer are exempt from the provisions of the do not call list -- otherwise everyone in the world would just tell the CA they are on the do not call list -- and the whole collection agency business would collapse in about a month (pause to wipe tears from eyes).

Since you have the name and address of the CA, send a letter (certified mail return receipt requested) and ask for an accounting of the amount owed. Once you get that, then you can decide a course of action.

Just because you paid a lot of money does not mean that you do not have a legal obligation to pay more -- the agreement you signed determines exactly what you owe. What you think is "right" or "fair" and what is "legal" may be miles apart.

Also, the fact that you tried to settle and they would allow you to settle is not relevant. The creditor has no obligation to make a deal with you. If you are in default (which you admit you where) then you owe the entire balance in full immediately -- including accrued interest, fees, taxes and anything else you agreed to pay in the original contract.

And, the reporting period for how long a debt remains on your credit report can never change -- whether you pay or don't makes no difference in that regard. So, don't use that idea as an excuse to not do whatever your conscience tells you to do.

Finally, the statute of limitations in SC is 3 years. If the default was more than 3 years ago, you can safely send a cease and desist letter and ignore all the preceeding intellectual exercise. Check your credit report for the entry from the original creditor and see what it says for date of last activity. In almost all cases the SOL begins to run 30 days after the last payment (after which the account was never current). If more than 3 years have passed and you have continually been a resident of SC, then the SOL has expired. All that means that that they cannot use legal means to collect the debt. You still owe the money and will until the end of time.

Even if you send the C&D you can still be sued. The fact the debt is OOS is merely an affirmative defense to the suit. Never, ever ignore a summons.

Now, is this advice more practical and helpful?

PS -- see that key on the right side of your keyboard -- the one marked "enter". Give it a whack every once in a while. Magically, it will create what is called "paragraphs" -- magical devices that break up ideas and concepts into logical chunks. Text that is all typed in a jumble is hard to read and understand.
 
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TigerD

Senior Member
longsally111 said:
When I would call back, noone would talk to me so I had a friend call and get their address. I sent the letter return receipt and am now keeping a list of calls with dates and times.
For DC, I owed 16,000, paid 11,000 and they got 8,000 for the truck. They got 19,000 on a 16,000 loan and then told me that the difference was the interest they would have made. After 3 years, I would be crazy to pay this as the 7 years on the credit report would start all over again. I also learned that all the collection agencies on my credit are considered a continuation of the original debt and also must be removed in 3 1/2 years.
I guess if they continue to call, I will have no choice but to sue them for harassment. As far as the do not call list goes, I thought that was for solicitations and telemarketers, not debt collection.
Okay, I am going to have to spell this out:
1. You signed a contract.
2. That contract most likely included interest.
3. The bulk of what you paid on the vehicle was interest.
4. There is a balance remaining or they wouldn't be contacting you.
5. You are obligated to pay the balance.
6. The National Do Not Call list doesn't apply to debt collection.
7. The OP knows the CA doesn't have her correct mailing address.
8. To engage in written communication, the OP is going to have to give the CA her correct mailing address.
9. Nowhere in the OPs post did she address the issue of the debt, only telling the CA to stop calling her.
10. The seven year credit reporting does not start over when the debt is paid.

Now, paying your debts is always what you are supposed to do. I will always state that you should pay your bills. I also support the FDCPA. It is there for a reason.

The op doesn't have grounds for harrassment suit. And frankly that can be quite expensive depending which CA is collecting. The growing trend in CAs is to counter sue baseless claims - a policy I am seriously considering instituting for my own agency.

Commmunication is key. If the OP refuses to communicate with the CA, she is probably going to be sued. Then the bill get a lot bigger very fast.

DC

PS As Debyguy and I were posting at the same time, I thought I'd add this:
The SOL is three years and it starts from the date of the sale of the vehicle as that is the last payment. You may very well not be outside the SOL. Without more information, we cannot say.
 
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Debt Guy

Senior Member
DC

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. I have not read the SC statute specifically. In all states I know, the SOL begins to run from the date of harm or the Date of First Default. Generally, that is the last payment on the account after which the account was never current.

We all get careless sometimes and use the Date of Last Activity as a proxy for DOFD. In 98% of the cases, they are the same or within 30 days of each other.

In this case the DOFD would have been sometime before the auction sale -- probably between 30 to 120 days. I don't think the auction sale would have reset the DOFD.

Make sense?
 

Sonix

Member
If more than 3 years have passed and you have continually been a resident of SC, then the SOL has expired. All that means that that they cannot use legal means to collect the debt. You still owe the money and will until the end of time.
So for the sake of the discussion after bankruptcy you still owe the money and the original creditor can still can you?
 

Ladynred

Senior Member
So for the sake of the discussion after bankruptcy you still owe the money and the original creditor can still can you?
Absolultely NOT. A debt discharged in bankrutpcy can NEVER be collected upon again. Attempting to collect, which would include a lawsuit, would be a violation of a Federal court order - the permanent injunction of the discharge.
 

TigerD

Senior Member
Debt Guy said:
DC

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. I have not read the SC statute specifically. In all states I know, the SOL begins to run from the date of harm or the Date of First Default. Generally, that is the last payment on the account after which the account was never current.

We all get careless sometimes and use the Date of Last Activity as a proxy for DOFD. In 98% of the cases, they are the same or within 30 days of each other.

In this case the DOFD would have been sometime before the auction sale -- probably between 30 to 120 days. I don't think the auction sale would have reset the DOFD.

Make sense?
That makes sense, however, I was refering to the SC stating that any payment tolls the SOL. (SCCLA 15-3-30)

There may be better information or perhaps it is just that I am not a lawyer -- but I think it is worth considering. OP really shuold be sure before inviting suit and should never ignore a suit.

DC
 

Sonix

Member
The only reason I brought it up was because, while reading these posts, there seems to be some absolute comments. People read them and wonder what is the real truth.

It happened to me when I read that they need to serve you to sue. A more accurate term would be they have to attempt to serve(or publish) you or some such.

In my case they didn't and I lost because I didn't use the sol as a defence and ultimently a got a judgment. In my case somehow the "last activity' was altered. It seems that when a debit is sold or whatever they can/do use that date. I got caught up in a CC fiasco where they offered me terms to get the business and then turned around and went of more profit by raising the interest to over 20% from 9.9(witch came from a teaser of 1-5%). Anyhow all this was from 1989. One of the cards now shows as "date updated" 08/2001, mind you with no money or agreement from me to pay.

I was even reported deceased by one of these guys.
 

TigerD

Senior Member
Sonix said:
The only reason I brought it up was because, while reading these po**************hese guys.
It is very rude to hijack someones thread. Please start your own and I am sure you will get answers.

DC
 
to debt collector

OK Here it is in a nut chell
1. I was told that this would remain on credit for 7 years from the date of last activity. The credit bureau told me that if I paid it, the 7 years would start again
2. It has been over 3 years since I returned the car so the legal thing is over
3. I do not know where bankruptcy came into the discussion but I did not do that
4. I did offer a settlement, they said no, then sent letters asking form 12,000, then 9,000, then 5,000 and then, almost 3 years later 2,000. I did not send the 2, which was my original offer because of # 1
5. At this point, I got the address ( I had a freind call) and sent the cease and desist letter return receipt
6. As of my original post, the calls have stopped, even though I do not know if the letter was recieved.

We are simply not going to pat this debt this far out. We have improved our situation greatly since the time I gave birth and my husband lost his job, almost on the same day.

I do thank you for the advice
 

Ladynred

Senior Member
I was told that this would remain on credit for 7 years from the date of last activity. The credit bureau told me that if I paid it, the 7 years would start again
I hate to disagree, but that's just incorrect. It's not unusual to get this kind of bad information from CRA employees, I swear they don't read the FCRA.

Negative items cannot remain for more than 7-1/2 years from the DATE OF FIRST DELINQUENCY, which is NOT the same as the 'date of last activity' although most people seem to think so. The DOFD is the date that the account 1st went delinquent and was never again brought up to date. THAT date MUST be reported by the creditors and it is the ONLY date which, per the FCRA, can NEVER be changed. The FCRA ammendments in 1997 established that date as a 'date certain' specifically to be used to stop negative info from being kept on reports for decades.

So, the CRA employee, not surprisingly and probably NOT in the USA, was wrong.

The SOL on the thing has passed and you've taken the appropriate action with the C&D - good luck !!
 
update

I just wanted to update and tell you all that the letter was received by the agency ( I sent it return reciept).

There have been no more calls
 

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