Credit Card Collections

[csunk]

What is the name of your state? CA

I have a credit card debt in the amount of about $2065. The original credit limit was about $800, so the rest is just late fees and interest. I haven't paid anything on the account for about 3 years now. I moved several times, so I haven't received anything from them for a while until about a month ago. They sent a letter to my work address telling me to contact them or they will refer my account to an attorney for legal action. I am just afraid to contact them because I know that they will harrass me and come up with unreasonable figures I just am not able to pay at this time.

So what will happen from here? I know I should contact them, but what will I say? They gave me til tomorrow's date to contact them. Will they really garnish my wages and sue me?

 

[Ladynred]

Don't call them, don't waste your breath. They are making illegal threats. This 'do by tomorrow or else' is bull.. pure and simple. When they send you a letter, and by law they have to, then you start debt validation on them.

The SOL in CA is 4 years, so you're probably close to that expiring. You need to find out exactly when you last paid on it. Pull all 3 credit reports, at least one of them will have 'date of last activity' on it. If you really are close, then you can probably stall them with validation until it does expire.

They really can sue you if they do it before the SOL runs out, after that its illegal, but they try it anyway. They can ONLY garnish if they sue and win. Read the FDCPA and learn your rights, now.

 

[sdr267]

You have several options. As a junior member I shrugg to advise, but I will do my best.

Is this a Collection Agency (CA) or the original creditor (OC)?

I will assume that it is a CA and the OC had written this off as bad debt.

First, you must understand that CA's will use every trick in the book (Legal and sometimes illegal) to persuade you to pay.

If you owe the money and are trying to be responsible, you can arrange some form of monthly payment for the original amount, sometimes less but refuse the ancillary charges. Always do this by certified mail with return receipt requested. Be sure that any correspondance include the deletion of any derogatory information from your credit report (CR) if they have been reporting to the Credit reporting agencies (CRA's)

or

You could write them and have them verify the debt as yours, by sending all documents associated with account to prove the debt. Validate. This could buy you time as protest and delay causes them problems. What you are hoping for is the Statute of Limitations (SOL) to be expired. Many states are 4 years for credit card debt, some are longer. Find your states SOL. SOL is based on the date of last activity. You then could ignore them and hope the don't procede with any action. Once the SOL has expired, They cannot sue you.

Notes:

Don't send any money to them unless you intend to pay the debt, any payment received by them re-starts the SOL clock.

Always correspond by certified mail, RRR.

Never cower under thier pressure, They will do whatever it takes to get you to pay. They can sometimes be rude, abnoxious and overbearing. They generally have a bad bark with little bite.

Go to Free credit repair: mix6.com as a starting point to understand what you are getting into. They have many links to all the laws and other good sites.

Good luck, I hope I was helpful and I am sure that senior members will correct any mistakes I have made. (I need to learn as well)

 

[Ladynred]

The SOL in CA is 4 years, as I stated.

Sending a payment does NOT always restart the SOL clock, that is dependent on state laws. In many cases, you have to have signed a new contract and both parties have to sign to restart the SOL. Not sure if CA is one of those, but, either way, DO NOT send them any money.

You can find excellent validation info at www.creditinfocenter.com as well.

 

[csunk]

Thank you for all your advice. It really helps. I have another question though. Will this validation process work even after they decide to sue me? Or does this need to occur before that happens? Thanks!

 

[Ladynred]

If you send them a validation demand they must stop ALL collection actions, and that includes suing you. They MUST validate first ! If they are dumb enough to drag you to court w/o validating, you can use that to your advantage in court because they have not obeyed the law by providing absolute proof the debt is yours. If they don't have proper validation when they get to court either, you can still win, because they HAVE to prove the debt is yours. No proof.. no case ! You would, of course, be armed with copies of the relevant sections of the TILA and the FDCPA. Not all judges are familiar with the Act or even their own state statutes !