WTF!!! Collection Agencies!

[elsol]

So I asked for one those fancy 3 in 1 free credit reports 'cause I make way too much money not to be buying a house or doing something more with my money than buying dog treats.

And there's this stupid piece of shit $61 dollar collection account from God knows fucking where...

I figure I'll just contact the collection agency and dump the damn thing except...

These fuckers make you run rings to pay them off... I'm like 'You got an account on me, HOW THE FUCK DO I PAY IT OFF, YOU ASSHOLES!'

It's like these idiots have to contact you or they don't know their asses from their elbows.

Get this... I have make sure they have all the 'correct' contact information so then they'll make a collection call on me and I'll be able to pay it off.

Stupid people should pray I don't get a terminal disease... I'm dead fucking serious, I get cancer and a whole lot of people are going to go *BOOM*

Sincerely,
ONE HELLA-PISSED OFF ElSol

 

[Belegon]

EL:

did a check on my Pops a few years back...found an old Discover card account reported to collections. Dad swore he paid it so I did some research. They had cashed his check. Made some calls and put on my professional voice and knowledge. Got thru to someone who actually knew what the fuck they were doing. Found out something I still can't believe...

They had the money the whole time and never applied it to his account.

for three and 1/2 years! and they reported him/sent him to collections on an old address after the forwarding had stopped! They had been reporting him to TRW on it for three years!

Got it cleared up. Quite simple once I got through the first couple of layers of the bueracracy. But to get through to the that point...VERY ANNOYING!!!!

and you better believe I was all over following up and making sure they cleared his credit.

 

[Dar~]

I completely understand, Vent away. I have had quite a few things go to collections and The people are all fucking incompetents

 

[elsol]

Okay, so it's not just me!

Oh, and let's not get started about the information on the big three.

Why is that someone who wants to SELL me something already knows I've been promoted at work, but the fucking credit bureaus don't know I switched jobs eighteen months ago.

I think I figured this one out... the credit bureaus are running a scam.

They want you to 'join' them and have immediate access to correcting everything on your credit report. I have to pay each of them for a credit report (even though) I already have one to make sure everything is correct.

I get the feeling no one actually uses them 'cause if they're fucking my simple been with the same credit card company since my first CC ass, then they must be inventing fuck-ups for other people.

Sincerely,
ElSol

 

[Seattle Zack]

What is so special about your fuck-up that I should consider it my emergency?

 

[wishfulthinking]

Bloody hell, don't 'pay' it. They bought if from the credit provider, so 'buy' the debt from them. They have to recover 10c in the dollar or something to make a profit. Tell them you'll give em 15c in the dollar, and go about trying to recover the debt yourself.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

So I asked for one those fancy 3 in 1 free credit reports 'cause I make way too much money not to be buying a house or doing something more with my money than buying dog treats.

And there's this stupid piece of shit $61 dollar collection account from God knows fucking where...

I figure I'll just contact the collection agency and dump the damn thing except...

These fuckers make you run rings to pay them off... I'm like 'You got an account on me, HOW THE FUCK DO I PAY IT OFF, YOU ASSHOLES!'

It's like these idiots have to contact you or they don't know their asses from their elbows.

Get this... I have make sure they have all the 'correct' contact information so then they'll make a collection call on me and I'll be able to pay it off.

Stupid people should pray I don't get a terminal disease... I'm dead fucking serious, I get cancer and a whole lot of people are going to go *BOOM*

Sincerely,
ONE HELLA-PISSED OFF ElSol

You don't ever have to deal with a collection agency. they hae no legal power to harass you. And if you tell them to stop, they must.

As to the credit reporting agencies. You have a right to submit a consumer comment that must be appended to any mark on on your record. Rather than explain, try to defend yourself, etc. Simply tell them you intend to submit a comment that it's a disputed claim and you don't owe the original company/creditor anything or that you dispute the amount owed.

The trick there, is the original company wouldn't have submited you to collections, unless they had already decided the amount you owe them isn't worth going to litigation over. If it was worth litigating, why split it with a collction agency? The credit reporting agencies take creditor claims at face value. They must also take your claim at face value if you submit a consumer comment on it in writing.

So here is the catch. Most people who are looking at giving you a loan or issuing you credit will check your record. And marks against you will weigh in their decision. If, however you have one mark, or even two, the amount in question is marginal, and they see you haven't paid it because it's in dispute. Most loan instituions won't hold it aganst you.

A long time ago, I took a job with a company who moved me around quite a bit. So I found myself living in rat holes, where I could get short leases. On one such occasion I had to move again and the lease held a clause that let me break it if I was transfered more than 50 miles with the same job. When I got transfered however, they got bitchy. I had to move on short notice, and the on site manager refused to come to my appartment and check me out, because I didn't make an appoinment with her in advance. Nevermind that all she was doing was sitting in the office smiking with her secretary.

I moved out, and then they "claimed" 600$ in repair costs and used that to withold my security deposit. So according to them that left me oweing them around 400$, strangely what I would have owed had I just paid out the lease and forfieted my security. I told them, in no uncertain terms wehre tehy could get off. They sent me to collections. I told the collection agency where they could get off. I then send consumer comments to the big three, claiming they owed me my 200$ security and I didn't owe them anything.

It's still on my report, but no one has ever refused me credit because of it.

Just inquire about how to submit a consumer comment and then don't wory about it. It beats playing thier games and is a hell of a lot easier on you.

 

[Op_Cit]

Do what I've done in the past, talk to them for a long time on the phone. Act stupid (ok so it's not much of a stretch) but completely cooperative and sincere. Make them spend much more $ time talking with you than the dispute is for... and never pay them any amount.

Long term: Free yourself. Never use credit again, the home ownership/real estate thing is mostly a lie anyway. New cars are a waste of money anyway.

It is in fact a scam, but one that evolved naturally from the original scam of the Fed. (And this is one of the smallest examples of how slavery never went away.)