Questions tagged [debt-collection]
For questions related to debt collection, debt collection agencies, unpaid debts, etc.
127
questions
6
votes
0answers
79 views
What do I do after requesting and receiving a debt validation letter for a medical debt I don't recognize?
I received a debt collection call a few months ago from a professional debt collector for a debt I didn't recognize, followed by a written notice. I wrote back that I dispute the debt and requested ...
29
votes
6answers
4k views
How can I know if a debt collector is holding onto a debt?
Some time ago, I was contacted by a debt collector. A prior landlord had claimed I had owed them six months of rent. The landlord sold the debt to a debt collector, who then silently held onto the ...
27
votes
2answers
7k views
Taking college classes to avoid student loan payments indefinitely
My sister-in-law has decided she wants to take part time college classes so she doesn't have to make payments on her private student loan and her plan is to do this until she dies.
She graduated from ...
0
votes
1answer
240 views
What is the best way to collect money from friend who owes me some money
I have this person who tries to run away from me and not paying me back as he promised. Since this is not my area and never involved something like this, don't know what to do. Please advise me some ...
36
votes
11answers
7k views
Bill payee can't find my payment and threatens debt recovery action
TL/DR Bill payee can't find my bank transfer and threatens debt recovery action. What to do?
A family member is studying at a major UK university. Quarterly or so, the university raises tuition bills. ...
0
votes
2answers
164 views
Can my property be taken as a payment for a relative's loans?
My aunt went to several loans to which she isn't capable of paying as of now. Now, the lenders are visiting our house and trying to find her and she currently lives in the same residence with me, ...
2
votes
1answer
133 views
Recovering money owed by an unresponsive online business
I did business with an online business based in New Zealand, PredictIt, which has a firm in Washington, DC, called Aristotle, Inc., that handles their monetary transactions. I'm in California. They ...
2
votes
0answers
78 views
Reapplying for same credit card after collections
My Amazon's Chase credit card bill was sent to collections in March 2019 due to some financial issues I had. I paid off the debt completely in collections and my credit rebounded. My credit card ...
2
votes
0answers
57 views
How many "Charge Offs" can a company put on a single debt?
A while ago I took out a loan and couldn't pay it off due to loosing my job. I got another job, and before I could start making payments, a collections agency called me up about the loan. I paid it ...
5
votes
1answer
162 views
Identity Theft: Counterfeit Checks but no Traceable Bank Account
I've been dealing with an ongoing identity theft problem for the past 4 months. Back in March, somebody stole my wallet at a restaurant and it was returned to me by the staff completely empty. All I ...
5
votes
5answers
2k views
How can one be financially devastated by unsecured debt?
My question is theoretical, I don't understand why people say that big piles of debt are dangerous. If one has a lot of unsecured debt and ends up defaulting on it then one does not even have to ...
0
votes
2answers
207 views
Disputing a collection on an account that is current, but the collection agency wants the original debt amount
I have a surgery bill (Original Balance: $2,757) that I have been paying off for the past 2 years with auto-drafted monthly payments. Every month on the 1st a payment was auto-drafted from my checking ...
-1
votes
1answer
67 views
Debt collection payment
In 2016, I rented a apartment for my then boyfriend.I was living at my parent's house and only stayed at that apartment from time to time.Long Story short, he failed to pay one month rent, I got ...
3
votes
2answers
318 views
Comcast Sent Me to Collections
Long story, but I will try to shorten it.
I have been a Comcast customer for two years in the regions (northwest Indiana) for approximately two years before all this happened.
For the past year, my ...
-1
votes
3answers
589 views
If I really did owe the bank a billion dollars, what would happen? [closed]
There's a saying that goes like "If you owe the bank $100 dollars, that's your problem; if you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem."
Let's adjust for inflation and say that I owe the ...
19
votes
11answers
14k views
Urgently need pre-paid debit card to pay debt collector
I owe a sum of a few thousand dollars to a debt collector. I've already gone through the steps of getting a confirmation of the debt and it is a debt I know I'm accountable for. I need to pay this ...
1
vote
0answers
65 views
Impact on credit score of paying off a debt very late
We went through a rough patch a few years ago after a disabling accident and got behind on some payments. When things turned around, we squared our accounts with our creditors and our credit report is ...
2
votes
1answer
258 views
What happens to small bills if they are unpaid?
I understand that bills are sold to collection agencies if they are unpaid. But what about very small bills then? For example, say if there is a bill of less than $10.00, will the company bother to ...
10
votes
1answer
370 views
Medical bill sent straight to collection agency
I was very surprised to receive a letter from a collection agency regarding a medical bill incurred during my wife's pregnancy last year. We never received any correspondence via mail, e-mail, or ...
2
votes
0answers
108 views
How to collect a judgement in Maryland?
I have a $30,000 judgement against an individual in the State of Maryland. The case was adjudicated in Small Claims Court in Maryland. I'd like to collect the judgement but the individual is not ...
3
votes
2answers
264 views
Negotiating with a collections agency to remove a valid, small debt from credit report
I just found out that my wife had a debt from a doctor related to our recent pregnancy go to collections. I found out because credit monitoring picked it up - I haven't heard from a collections ...
2
votes
2answers
74 views
Is there a prescription/stipulated time for an invoice to be collected?
Is there a time frame to collect an invoice? I have a client I need to collect a bill from. They are always making excuses. Do I have a time frame to collect the bill? Does the debt have a ...
1
vote
1answer
2k views
Does deleting a tradeline mean the account is wiped from credit report
A collections agency wrote:
Within approximately 30 days of your final payment successfully posting, we will request that the three major credit reporting agencies delete our tradeline related to ...
0
votes
0answers
107 views
Credit card debt
A Russian-Norwegian dual nationality person I know took up 20000 pounds of credit card loans in Norway. He then went back to Russia and has lived there for 1 year now.
He has not heard anything yet. ...
3
votes
1answer
206 views
Does not paying a collections company affect credit score?
From a discussion in comments, a question came up. For the purpose of this question, all I care about is my credit score.
I got a credit card, used it and did not pay it back.
The credit card ...
1
vote
2answers
199 views
Should I pay off a credit card or a collection balance first?
I have a collection and a credit card with roughly the same balance. I received a bonus and I am able to pay off one of them completely. Which is more beneficial to pay off first?
2
votes
1answer
273 views
Improving credit: what should I do about very old debt; ignore, settle, or pay it in full?
I have about $6,000 of very old debt. It went into collections about 3 years ago when I was in college.
Today I have a good job, and I am thinking about the future. I am now interested in improving ...
3
votes
2answers
148 views
How to negotiate a debt in collections?
I have a debt that has been in collections for a significant period of time (>10 years). The debt is from a college loan that defaulted when the lender (a private school) didn't send the deferment ...
87
votes
6answers
30k views
I co-signed on an apartment for a now ex-boyfriend who refuses to pay. What can I do?
I co-signed on an apartment with my ex-boyfriend when I was 18 and he was 21. We broke up.
I am now 26 and it has been in collections for years. He refuses to help pay the debt. I am now stuck with ...
2
votes
0answers
140 views
Student loans paid already but collection agency claiming loans are in default
I paid off my student loans via pay garnishments and the IRS taking 3 to 4 years of my tax refunds.
Unfortunately, I have moved 5 times in last 2 years and I cannot find my files confirming this.
...
3
votes
2answers
159 views
Does an unpaid medical bill that is sent to collections have any adverse affect besides affecting the credit score?
I know that an unpaid medical bill affects the credit score if it is sent to collections. But is there any more adverse affect that it creates?
0
votes
2answers
209 views
Can a sole proprietorship start a debt collection business
Can I buy bad debt under a sole proprietorship?
I've considered the costs of an LLC versus a sole proprietorship.
However to dig deeper, I am unaware on "who can buy debt", and where to find these ...
11
votes
3answers
2k views
Original creditor forwarding payments to collection agency
In 2017 I had back surgery performed at an orthopedic specialist surgery center. During the billing process I set up auto-draft for all of the bills so that I would not have to worry about missing a ...
4
votes
1answer
341 views
14 year old charge on utility bill
I recently bought a house and signed up for utilities. I then go to sign up for automatic payments on their webpage, and it says I owe over $400 from when my account was last active in 2004.
I know ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
Do I need to get it in writing when paying off collections accounts?
I have a credit card in collections with a balance of $1972. I will be able to pay this off in a couple of weeks. I have read a lot of articles that say that I can negotiate to have the balance ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
Medical bill with wrong name sent to collections
A few weeks after my wife gave birth, the medical bills started rolling in. One of them was addressed to "BB Last Name)." Our last name is not common but there are other people in our city with the ...
4
votes
1answer
276 views
Better to pay debt collectors or original provider?
I was having a conversation with a colleague about repairing credit. He believes if you have a debt that went to collection, that it's best to pay the original provider of the goods or services. ...
3
votes
2answers
184 views
What is the most efficient way to dispute an invalid collection on a credit report?
I had a surgery and a ton of medical issues. All but one thing went through insurance. The healthcare provider for that one thing went straight to collections. I contacted them, and my insurance ...
26
votes
6answers
21k views
Potential debt collection scam from National Credit Systems?
Yesterday I received a letter in the mail from an organization called National Credit Systems. In the letter, they say that I owe them $230 to the apartment manager that I rented from 3 years ago. I ...
2
votes
1answer
124 views
Collections account on one credit report yet CreditKarma reports my scores are almost the same. Why?
I've been fighting with the credit reporting agencies to get an incorrect collections account removed from my report. Two of the three have complied, but TransUnion is being very stubborn. It's been ...
3
votes
1answer
331 views
Can credit card debt be negotiated?
A family member with Credit Card Debt has missed a few payments. The bank sent a letter saying that they would be willing to settle for 20% less of the current debt.
Question: Can the debt be ...
4
votes
1answer
92 views
Can a bill be sent to a third-party debt collector at any time?
Bob lives in the United States. A business billed Bob. Can the business send the bill to a third-party debt collector at any time? (e.g., does the business have to wait a certain amount of time? ; ...
0
votes
1answer
98 views
When does a debt collection affect one's credit score in the United States?
Bob lives in the United States. Bob didn't pay for a bill, and the bill was sent to a third-party debt collector. When will it start affecting Bob's credit score? For example, will Bob's credit score ...
44
votes
3answers
7k views
Why would a lien appear on a mortgage after 17 years?
I have a 30 year, fixed rate mortgage from the year 2000. I have never missed a payment and don't have any other debt. A couple of months ago, I a got a letter sent by a company I never heard of (...
-1
votes
1answer
166 views
Multiple credit cards for one debt? [closed]
Scenario:
A person owes $30,000 in school debt to a single entity. The person also has THREE credit cards. Each month, the person pays $500 using credit card 1 towards the debt and $50 (minimum fee) ...
7
votes
1answer
2k views
Collections calling thanks to BioLife. Is this a scam?
My father just received a phone call from collections saying he owes $650 for a product he purchased in 2015. We thought it was a scam call at first but they seemed to have his personal information ...
1
vote
1answer
498 views
How does "debt prescription" work in America (Utah if that matters)? [closed]
When googling for "debt prescription" I get a lot of hits in South Africa. Is it called something else in US English? And to the point, how does it work in America? Specifically contracts such as "...
4
votes
1answer
139 views
Debt sent to collections while still attempting to solve with vendor
In California, can personal debt be sent to collections while you are still engaging in a potential resolution with the vendor?
Example: communication with the vendor towards a solution is moving, ...
9
votes
1answer
309 views
Old collection keeps resurfacing on my credit
[This question is very similar to Credit Report debt expiration limit: original creditor vs. Collection, but I'm solely concerned with the 7-year FCRA rule and my ability / legal right, or lack ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
How to Dispute a Medical Bill that Went to Collections
I had a 2-hour ER visit for a biking accident at an out-of-network location in 2014, and provided the insurance information at check-in. Four months later the hospital and the doctors (charging ...