I did just that, hung up when they called and I told them to do what they had to do and yesterday I recieved a registered letter from the Collection agency they are suing me and filed it in court. Can the CA get a judgement?

Thanks again :)

I suppose if one company had the account two years ago and didn't bother to sue, these ones would be less likely to? We did move between that company and the new company hassling us, but we didn't attempt to hide from anyone. It's like they just gave up.

That is so very typical. They assume everybody ls a liar. That's why you don't talk to them at all. Just HANG UP. They will immediately call back (the guy just pushes the redial on his computer screen). HANG UP AGAIN. Every time they call.....HANG UP. Why would you want to get into conversations with a stranger that doesn't believe anything you say. Don't tell them your BF is on night shift, definetely don't tell them where he works (they will ask), DON'T TELL THEM ANYTHING.

Bottomline, if the bank/credit card company doesn't want to talk to BF.....then forget about it. If they don't want your money then that's their decision....at least you tried to do the right thing. As far as the credit report.....it's probably already on there....paying isn't going to change anything.

I used to be a financial planner/consultant. Several of my clients had debt/collection problems either past or present. Most of them who did pay the collections, received phone calls from a different collections company a year or two later and the games started all over again. You can have a lot of fun with these idiots once you know that they are essentially powerless to do you any harm.....despite their threats and lies.

Thank you so much for your help :)

He has tried his best to speak to his initial credit card company about it, and they told him flat out they wrote it off as a loss long ago. He might call them again to be sure as he really wants to do the right thing. We'll start ignoring the calls..

They are so frustrating. He works swing shift so he's usually asleep during the day and I am a freelancer working at home, so I gotta pick up the phone so it doesn't wake him up... then they start on ME accusing me of lying about where he is when the guy really just works or sleeps.

I didn't really mean he's actually stupid....maybe Naive would be a better word for it.

You don't send them any letters. It doesn't do any good. The Collections will never take you to court....it just isn't worth the trouble. Besides, it's the credit card company that sues you not the CA....irregardless the number of threats they throw at you.

DON"T talk to them. DON'T write them any letters. It won't do any good....believe me on this. They aren't in the business to resolve conflicts or correct errors. They don't even really know anything about you debt. All they know is your address, phone number and the $amount. All they care about is to collect money....not to satisfy the debt, but because that is how they get paid. If they don't collect any money, or if they try to answer peoples questions, problems, etc.....they don't get paid. That's the bottomline.

How do I know this. I have a good friend that spent 18 months working as a CA (that's quite a while). She did all right. Her goal was to get people to send in a monthly amount. If she gets 100 people sending $100 per month that's $10,000/mth and about $2500/mth for her. She doesn't even care how much the debt was. Often the interest on the debt was more than what the people were sending....it didn't matter. They don't care.

I'm only going to say this one more time. Don't talk to them except F-Off. Don't write them. Don't send them any money. They are trained to have an answer for anything you might say.

Just to be clear.....I am not suggesting that people stiff their lendor. If you owe the money, then you owe the money. Pay it! BUT don't pay the CA.

If you want to settle, then only settle with the credit card company. Usually a settlement is 60-75 cents on the dollar. Inortherwards a $500 debt could be settled for $300. IF the credit card company doesn't want to talk to your BF directly, then the debt has been written off, the books are closed on it. After a couple of years they can't even take you to court if there haven't been any payments If you make a payment then the two year clock starts all over again.

Don't bother requesting a statement of account. They don't have it. I already told you what they have. They don't need to provide you with any information at all. All they need to do is to send you an intial letter which is a formal notification of the debt, then the phone calls start. Who cares about phone calls. For some strange reason people think that just because some stranger phones you that you actually need to talk to them (Example telemarketing call selling Windows & Doors).

Don't talk to them. Just hang up.

If you want to have some fun (my oldest son got into some trouble and was getting the calls and I would say I was my son), tell them that you owe nothing, tell them they are scumbags, tell them they are idiots, tell them anything to be rude. They get really upset. They are not used to people who are not scared of them. The get downright beligerent. Just laugh at them and tell them they are funny. If you have the balls to talk to them this way, it really is fun seeing them get all flustered.,

If we request a statement of account in Ontario, do they have to provide it?

Hi, thank you for your answers, they've been very helpful...

He's not stupid at all, and I don't really appreciate your saying so. He's trying to do the right thing and get his debt paid off. It's just that things aren't connecting (higher debt than shows on his account, settlement offers etc.) and I hate to see him pay something and have it not count.

Aside from that... court and the garnishing of wages is obviously a concern. It is a real debt, the credit card company wrote it off, they told him so... so I don't understand how the money comes off his online account with them when he pays the company.

His tax return was a way to get a settlement, which is why he offered it... I wouldn't trust a written agreement for it though, as you said they could turn around and resell the debt.

We can't get a straight answer about where all this extra money is coming from that is apparently owed... it can't be interest (they say it is) it doesn't add up.

Would sending one of those letters that say cease and desist, otherwise sue me be a really bad idea and make them sue him?

The company is NCO btw.

First of all he should not be paying anything to the collection agency. Having said that, if he insists on making payments to the CA, make sure that every payment is well documented, photocopy all cheques sent. Collection agencvies are notorious for not reporting money. For example, I know at lest 2 people that were stupid enuff to pay on a "settlement". Sure the CA stopped calling after the payment but guess what, two years later another collection agency started calling about the exact same debt.

Don't allow the CA to pressure you. The collector works on commission. He doesn't care about you. He doesn't really even care about your debt. His/her goal is to get you to send monthly payments and he gets a percentage of that money. They will lie and cheat and say anything to get that money. They will threaten to turn your credit history to mush....but, surprise, if you are in collections, your credit report is already ruined....the CA can't make it any worse.

If you are stupid enuff to settle a debt with them, then you absolutely need to get everything in writing BEFORE you send any money. Verbal committments by these guys mean absolutely nothing!. Even written committments mean nothing with most CAs.

The best way to settle a debt is to contact the company you have the debt with and not the collection agency. If the debtor company (example a credit card) doesn't want to talk to you, then I wouldn't pay anybody, I always advise people to never pay a dime to a collection agency.

I repeat again.....Collection Agencies are liars and cheats. The worse they can do to you (despite all their threats which are mostly lies) is to phone you maybe several times a day. Big deal.....let them phone all they want. Just tell them to F-Off and hang up. Don't talk to them (because they want to get you in a conversation), Just F-Off and hangup. They will get tired of calling and switch to automatic computer dialing. Big Deal!. Just hang up when they dial. It's that simple.

It's highly unlikely that they will take you to small claims court. Some collection agencies use a "lawyers letterhead". It's all a scam folks. The collection agency is in the business of collecting money quickly and easily. Small claims is a pain for them. The threaten court action but that's a joke. They threaten to call your neighbors but thats more lies. They lie, they threaten, they are scammers.

Bottomline, he's already been stupid for giving them any money. Don't feel bad, a lot of people are intimidated by these scammers.....that's why it works. He's stupid for even telling them that he's getting any tax refund. I can't believe he did that. The collection agent must be salivating at the thought of the commission he's going to earn. That's why he's phoning every day. Next time he phones, your BF should say just 2 words (F-Off) and hang up. When he calls back, agian F-Off and immediately hang up. Don't talk....only those two magic words. Each and everytime. NEVER talk to these guys. NEVER! NEVER! No good will ever come of it. They don't care about you. They don't care if the amount is wrong. They don't even care if you've already settled the debt with another collection agency. The only guy you should ever pay is the original debtor because that's who you owe the money. You don't owe the CA anything.

I know I'm being repetitive....but that's the tactic that the CA uses....to wear you down by repeat phone calls and harrassment. They are liars and cheats and scammers.

Have I said enough.

Hi, my boyfriend is dealing with a particular collection agency and I just have some questions.

He makes the agreed upon payments every month to the collection agency, but they come off of his credit card when he views it online. How is this possible?

He is receiving letters and calls from the collection agency for over $1,000 more than is showing due on his credit card. Could this be interest? It is pretty much impossible for that much interest to have accrued on his account.

He told them he would give them his tax return and they call every day asking if he's gotten it yet, but he hasn't....One collector told him he could settle for the amount of the tax return but did not state anything in writing...

What should he do, before giving them anymore money?