No, it wasn't Mark Nickason, but an ass of equal proportions. So far this is still ongoing. I've attempted to offer a settlement, which they have not accepted to date, and I have indicated we could settle the matter in court if they do not wish to accept my offer. Still waiting to hear back from them.

Let me guess... his name was Mark Nickason??

He hung up on me too.

I've dealt with 2 other people from D&A after this and they can never get their story straight.

They are bullies and complete asses. I asked for letters twice and never got them.

I had an outstanding bill with a vendor which was overlooked and I am more than willing to pay the amount. I got fed up, called the vendor up directly and made a very amicable agreement to get this sorted out. The vendor will be calling off D&A.

I was also told by this vendor that D&A cannot touch my credit rating unless the vendor asks them to do so.

Surprisingly the vendor was sympathetic and told me that D&A are good at what they do LOL.

Thank you Raymond, that is reassuring to hear. I will admit, even though I was expecting him to hang up on me, I was a little bit nervous when he did (hence my creating this post on here), but I knew deep down inside that this was just a scare tactic, which is why I never even entertained the idea to attempt to call him back. But at least now I can sleep a little better knowing that I didn't dig my own grave.

Yes, it was an attempt to intimidate you and the collector did a good job. If by fighting back, you mean that you told a collector that you're recording his calls, you are completely wasting your time. All you communicated by that was weakness.

Since the debt was with a private institution and incurred during 2002, the debt will have another year or so before it becomes stats barred at the 6 year mark. (Note there is no limitation period on Ontario Crown debts like OSAP Loans though.) If they were going to sue you, they probably would have done that a long time ago. Total Credit Recovery's adage is that "the longer a debt goes uncollected, the less likely it ever will be," is a collection industry wide working principle. However, it may be that the debt was sold or that your assets or income/employment have recently significantly improved. That's data collection agencies keep tabs on; hence, if that's true they might judge that now is an auspicious time to blitzkrieg you.

Other than that, the deadline and 25% downpayment ultimatums are pure fiction. The collection agencies usually try at least one last kick at the can before a debt goes belly up or SOL.

Actually, I would be remiss in failing to mention they also frequently try one last attempt to collect on a debt shortly after it becomes stats barred. They figure, what have they got to lose by one last bluff.

Negotiate the debt settlement on whatever terms you feel you can manage - if you choose to resolve it. (I'd be more worried about the OSAP loan, personally.) But demand that no further interest accumulate. Pay them 25 bucks a month if you like. After the agent calls you back - and he will, now that you've given him encouragement - simply give him your offer and tell him to take it or leave it and then hang up.

Ray

Hello. This past monday, sept 17, 2007, I received a call from an representative from D&A Collections (whom I will not mention unless required) in regards to an outstanding debt from DeVry (note, this debt is with DeVry itself, not OSAP [although I do have a debt with them otherwise]).

Admittedly, this debt has been outstanding for going on to 5 years. I won't deny the fact that I've been avoiding tackling these debts (this happens to be just 1 of 3 debts incurred by attending this institution... 1 of which was slightly without my consent, but I won't get into that right now) until now, but have recently finally gotten myself into a position to finally be able to start tackling them, and without BS'ing, seriously planned on doing so within the next few months.

So, anyways, this representative called me and got me on the phone. He indicated whom he was, and for which debt. He told me that he was basically at the point where he had to "make a decision against" me, and he essentially gave me a deadline of today, Friday September 21, 2007, to make a payment of 25% of the debt ($1200, supposedly) just to buy me more time.

I confirmed my mailing address within that phone call, and somewhat expected him to send me something in writing (although I didn't request it within that first phone call). Actually, that's somewhat untrue... I actually expected that they *wouldn't* send something in writing yet, which would be my argument against paying by the deadline. I figured he was just a collection agent huffing and puffing to try and intimidate me. Sure enough, I did not receive any notice in the mail.

I had decided earlier in the week that I would call him back today, and insist that I would not pay anything until I receive satisfactory notice in writing. I also was determined to attempt to negotiate a settlement on the balance. I had read several threads on this website today, which simply strengthened my resolve, especially hearing mention of the so called "Jackson Method." Unfortunately, I could find no actual explanation of this so called Jackson Method, only a few pics, but essentially gathered that the main idea is just to fight back, so I attempted to do so.

Today I called the representative back. I immediately told him that I did not receive any notice in writing yet, and would not pay $ to just anyone who calls me up on the phone, he replied saying "that's your decision to make." He then made a comment saying, "You've got a lot of nerve saying this now," and I replied by saying "Yes." I was just about to get into my attempt to negotiate a settlement, and that's when I told him, "By the way, at this time, I should advise you that this call, and calls going forward will be recorded!" He said "That's fine. You do understand the deadline that I set in place before, correct?" which I confirmed, which he then replied to with a "Then good day" and hung up.

My question is, was this all an intimidation attempt, or does this sound like he will be pursuing legal recourse at this time. Can anyone provide any suggestions as to what should be my next step on this matter?

Thanks in advance for any help on this matter.

Edit: BTW, I am located in Ontario