College Student vs. Debt Collector

[tdoss02]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Tennessee

was contacted last week by Client Services Collection Agency. I have two delinquent credit card bills which have been sent to collections. During the phone call, I was told that if I did not pay the 1,791.00 owed by the 25th of June that I will have to go to court. I told the account manager that I am a student and will not have all of that money to pay in a lump sum but that I have started a full time job and will have the money by August, in the mean time... I offered to pay money every two weeks. The account manager became very rude to me and told me that no one will work with me.She then stated that by me telling her that I will not have the money by the 25th gave her the go ahead to file paperwork against me. After hanging up the phone, I started to feel really horrible and called back to see if there was ANYthing I could do not to go to jail. This time... I talked to a different person, and he told me the only thing I could do was pay three payments(once a month) of 593 dollars. That is my whole paycheck for a two week period and I would not be able to survive... but I figured that anything was better than being brought to court, so I authorized the payments. Afterwards, I asked around, and some people told me I should ask for some advice. I came up with a solution to my problem, and I called the agency to ask if the payments can be split up into increments of 290 dollars every two weeks. I was told that this was unacceptable.

I did some research and found that a lot of things that were said and done to me over the phone also violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. I was wondering what I can do about all of this mess.

I would greatly appreciate a response from you.

 

[Ladynred]

First thing to understand - collection agencies LIE, LIE, LIE !!

They SAY they want all the money by the 25th so they can make their quota to get a bonus. They SAY they can't take payments - another crock of crap. They don't WANT to, but they usually can.

Yes, threatening legal action they do not intend to take, or cannot take, is a violation of the FDCPA - and I strongly suggest you read it thru and thru.

Second, NOTHING you say over the phone, no agreements, will EVER be honored - if its not in writing, it never happened and that is ESPECIALLY true of collectors.

If you want to make payment arrangements, send them an offer of a payment plan IN WRITING - and send it certified, RRR. Do not pay them a dime until you get a SIGNED AGREEMENT back from them and make sure it is gets signed by someone with the authority to make the arrangement.

STOP talking to them on the phone - you're wasting your breath and volunteering for their verbal abuse.

NEVER, NEVER give them your banking information.

How long has it been since you paid the original creditor ?

It can take MONTHS to sue you, they can't just call the courthouse and get a lawsuit filed. In most cases, deliquent accounts will go thru several CA's before it ever gets to the lawsuit stage. Since your debt isn't really high, and you don't own a home, it could be a long time before you're sued - if ever.

Learn your rights, don't talk to them on the phone, and if their violations of the FDCPA are numerous, you COULD sue them.