Dealing with a collection agenncy

[jclalor 12]

So I'm thinking about buying a house in North Dakota and I pull my credit report and Find a delinquent debt for $250, it's to a collection agency for some ER visit 3 years ago.

I did a little research online and then called and offered to pay the debt, they said if I payed right now, they would take off 20% and remove it from my report. When I asked if they could first fax me this deal in writing they said under no circumstance would they do that and I should just trust them. From what I read, they could take the $200 and then still come after the $50 and still never remove it from my report.

Any suggestions?

[normiss 861]

Pay your debts.

If I'm not mistaken, unless you pay the full debt owed, it will reflect that on your credit. No matter what deal they make.

"Paid in full" is what you want and need.

[jimmytavino 16]

....send Mike Tyson with the payment and the request for a receipt indicating.."Paid In Full"...


has the chance to send it directly TO the hospital been missed..?? call them...maybe THEY would accept even less..... and assure you of the deal.. plus then you might eliminate the collection agency ( middle man ) altogether..

good luck with the house.

[normiss 861]

creditkarma.com

[theonlyski 8]

normiss

Pay your debts.

If I'm not mistaken, unless you pay the full debt owed, it will reflect that on your credit. No matter what deal they make.

"Paid in full" is what you want and need.

+1,

I had a couple things on my credit that said something along the lines of settled for less than the full amount.

http://www.bills.com/settled-for-less-than-full-balance/

The pain in the ass was, I paid the full amount owed, just not the 20% they tried to stick on top.

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[Morrison79 0]

Collection agencies will tell you anything to get you pay. For only $50 more than the offer you can pay the whole thing off and know you did everything possible to clear your credit report. It would really suck later when your mortgage gets denied or delayed because the collection agency didn't follow through.

[skydiver30960 0]

One of these absolutely NUKED my credit rating a couple years ago. It was about $300 for a medical test for which they were sending the bill to an address that was YEARS out of date.

What I found in my experience goes directly against a couple suggestions on this thread:

1.) It WAS a big deal. Dropped my credit rating from 800+ to around 600. "They say" that the higher your credit rating is, the worse the hit, FWIW.

2.) Paying the debt does make it show "paid in full" on your credit report but it does NOT remove it or make it all better. It will be there for the next seven years, as is.

3.) Two years later, it's still a drag on my credit rating. I've only recovered to around 700, with an otherwise EXEMPLARY credit history.

4.) I spent DAYS getting in contact with all three credit agencies, talking to countless people with Indian accents, and filed a grievance (or whatever they call it) WRT this collection because I was never actually billed for the service (as far as I was concerned). All three agencies noted the greivance, and it didn't help one bit.


Pay the bill, but don't expect much in return. Our credit reporting system is AWFUL, IMO. There is little to no opportunity for the little guy to fight.

My wife and I had to buy our home with only her on the loan. We're both on the title, so that's cool, but part of me WEEPS every time I think about how this crap went down.

Elvisio "credit sucks" Rodriguez

[Andy9o8 2]

Many good comments above; no need for me to echo them.

I will say, for what it's worth, that paying the bill in full still leaves a better paper trail than paying a discounted amount, because doing the latter might be reflected as a partial write-off by the creditor.

Also: pay off the original creditor directly. Don't pay thru a collection agency.

[Andy9o8 2]

As an aside, I will note that medical debt is one of the biggest albatrosses around the necks of American debtors. Elvisio's nightmare experience is emblematic of this - and, disgracefully, rampant. FWIW, a whole lot less of this shit would be the case if average, middle-class, non-elderly Americans' medical expenses were covered by a true system of universal national health coverage like every other industrialized nation on the planet.

[sfzombie13 324]

and a whole lot less of this shit would happen if we didn't have to get a credit report to get a fucking job. or insurance. it's a great big scam: insurance and credit. all subsidized by the government.

_________________________________________
Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes

[airtwardo 7]

Quote

...a whole lot less of this shit would be the case if average, middle-class, non-elderly Americans' medical expenses were covered by a true system of universal national health coverage like every other industrialized nation on the planet.

Yup...like the guy from Canada that was staying with my neighbor last week. Came from his industrialized homeland with universal health care to 3rd world ole backwater Houston Texas ~ so he could get kidney surgery in time to save his life, instead of waiting on the list until next year or hoping someone else dies and there's a open slot earlier.

I just can't WAIT until we catch-up to those guys!!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Opie 0]

airtwardo

Quote

...a whole lot less of this shit would be the case if average, middle-class, non-elderly Americans' medical expenses were covered by a true system of universal national health coverage like every other industrialized nation on the planet.

Yup...like the guy from Canada that was staying with my neighbor last week. Came from his industrialized homeland with universal health care to 3rd world ole backwater Houston Texas ~ so he could get kidney surgery in time to save his life, instead of waiting on the list until next year or hoping someone else dies and there's a open slot earlier.

I just can't WAIT until we catch-up to those guys!!

He should of shopped around, he could of found a cheaper country with equal quality. Medical tourism is for real.

[airtwardo 7]

Opie

***

Quote

...a whole lot less of this shit would be the case if average, middle-class, non-elderly Americans' medical expenses were covered by a true system of universal national health coverage like every other industrialized nation on the planet.

Yup...like the guy from Canada that was staying with my neighbor last week. Came from his industrialized homeland with universal health care to 3rd world ole backwater Houston Texas ~ so he could get kidney surgery in time to save his life, instead of waiting on the list until next year or hoping someone else dies and there's a open slot earlier.

I just can't WAIT until we catch-up to those guys!!

He should of shopped around, he could of found a cheaper country with equal quality. Medical tourism is for real.

In this guys case, money wasn't a consideration I'm sure...his watch cost more than my car...hell BOTH cars!

I think he went for quality and convenience. ~ I could be wrong, but rumor has it there's a fairly good hospital or 12, someplace south of downtown.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[ghost47 18]

Quote

Also: pay off the original creditor directly. Don't pay thru a collection agency.

This may not be a good idea if the creditor has assigned or otherwise sold the debt to the collection agency. You could end up out $250 to the original creditor, and still owe another $250 to the collection agency. Sure, the original creditor should refuse your money if they've already sold your debt, but, as they must have sold it for less than the amount owed, the original creditor might just keep your money and dare you to do something about it.

[airtwardo 7]

ghost47

Quote

Also: pay off the original creditor directly. Don't pay thru a collection agency.

This may not be a good idea if the creditor has assigned or otherwise sold the debt to the collection agency. You could end up out $250 to the original creditor, and still owe another $250 to the collection agency. Sure, the original creditor should refuse your money if they've already sold your debt, but, as they must have sold it for less than the amount owed, the original creditor might just keep your money and dare you to do something about it.

It's my understanding that's usually the case.

Once the original creditor 'sells' the account, the debt is owed to the 'new' creditor - the collection agency.

They usually buy these debts in bulk for nickels on the dollar.

What the 1st party may do (if they aren't nice) is take your money and pay the 2nd party the most reduced amount they can, keeping the rest.

In a different life I worked as a repo man, I saw some repossession agencies pull that kind of scammy crap on people trying to get their cars back. They didn't hold the note but offered the pay me and I'll take care of it stuff...

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[ChrisD 0]

That's not entirely correct...

what is being sold is the right to collect on the debt, not the actual debt.


My 2 cents is to not deal with any collection agency, you have no rights whatsoever!

They are under no obligation to you whatsoever!

If you want to settle a medical bill then deal with the original source directly, and everything in writing including your inital letter to them indicating that you wish "them to explain" this debt in the first place!

Admit nothing in your correspondence.

Many places will then indicate that you will have to deal with a collection agency at this point, if this is the case, get them to put this in writing. At this point yor obligation is over under the FCRA laws. And you are the victim of the scam artists.

I can't say this strongly enough:

Only deal with the original source.

Collection agencies are the new mafia, many of them operate outside of the law and use illegial coercive methods. The problem is that they fully understand that most people don't understand the law.

Never deal with a collection agency. You have absolutly no rights or protections with them.

C

But what do I know, "I only have one tandem jump."

[normiss 861]

That's not generally possible.

If it's off to collections, the original holder of the debt has written it off. They will not take the payment.

[ryoder 1,590]

ChrisD

That's not entirely correct...

what is being sold is the right to collect on the debt, not the actual debt.

No, the *debt* can be sold. Twardo & Normiss are correct.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_buyer

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[david3 0]

normiss

That's not generally possible.

If it's off to collections, the original holder of the debt has written it off. They will not take the payment.

It's not that black and white.

[airtwardo 7]

Quote

They are under no obligation to you whatsoever!

And the company you stiffed IS?

YOUR 'obligation' was to pay them for the service you received in a timely manor...more often than not they made several attempts to collect it without satisfactory result...by continuing to try to collect it, they are throwing good money after bad - so to recoup anything at all they sold the debt -

Just what obligation do they have to you?

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[davjohns 1]

It all depends on the contractual agreement between the creditor and the collector. I'm pretty sure they aren't going to reveal that to you.

Contact the creditor. They might be able to take payment and turn off the collection efforts. If not, the debt will no longer be an active account in their system and they will tell you so. Since you said it is a hospital, they are not going to take your money and hang you out to dry. It's just business to them.

If you absolutely must deal with the collection agency, I recommend you pay the full amount and be done with it. For some reason, those people make being assholes an art. I wouldn't believe anything they tell you and I would deal with them the bare minimum possible. Just get it behind you.

Also, you have a legal right to place a statement in your credit history regarding any issues. If there is a good reason this debt went unpaid (one poster said the bill was sent to an old address in their case), you can put together a clear, concise statement saying why the debt appeared on your record and that you handled it promptly when you became aware of it. This will be considered by any mortgage company when making decisions. They will also likely require statements about any irregularities in your record when going through the mortgage process.

I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

[chedlin 0]

I hope you didn't tell them you were trying to buy a house/land. If not you hold a lot of power.

Go to creditboards.com for a lot more insight, but most collection agencies have very little capability to collect a debt from a well informed consumer.

But you were right to ask for it in writing. You can't trust anything they say. But despite what the rules say, negotiating "pay for delete" IS POSSIBLE. Up the offer to 100%, but only if they will put it in writing and delete the tradeline from your report. If they won't put it in writing, imply they will not see one dime.

[jclalor 12]

I don't know what happened, but after not hearing back from the collection agency all week, I received my weekly update from CreditKarma.com ( A great site ) and the debt is now off my credit report. I don't know if they are just messing with me or what. I would like to send them what I owe but it just may open a can of worms.

My score went up 28 points.

[DougH 270]

Iago

***creditkarma.com

You need to be careful with those. The Fair Isaac model is proprietary. Other institutions may have their own models they use that may or may not track the Fair Isaac. Plus they may have different scoring scales. It's tough to know which model they are using unless it expressly says Fair Isaac or FICO.

FICO is the only one a lender is going to use.

myfico.com is Fair Isaac, so it will pull you real FICO reports from two of the three agencies, unlike the fako report you get from a monthly monitoring service, or credit karma.

They also have a very knowledgeable forum which has topics on things like this where you negotiate a PFD, pay for delete, or sending goodwill letters requesting negatives being dropped from your report.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[chedlin 0]

Quote

I would like to send them what I owe but it just may open a can of worms.

It would almost certainly be a can of worms. If nothing else, you can't negotiation a delete if there is nothing to delete, and it could easily show back up as paid.

And for everyone complaining about FAKO scores. My experience is that they do track very closely, and they can at least let you see when something goes wrong.