176
votes
Accepted
How to deal with the credit card debt from family member that has passed away?
Don't pay it, see a lawyer. Given your comment, it will depend on the jurisdiction on the passing of the house and the presence of a will or lack thereof. In some states all the assets will be ...
- 76.1k
152
votes
I co-signed on an apartment for a now ex-boyfriend who refuses to pay. What can I do?
Advice based on USA style system.
Do not pay it. Do not talk to the creditor.
What you have is old debt. The debt is not still accumulating, it has stopped some years ago, and now, the debt is ...
141
votes
Urgently need pre-paid debit card to pay debt collector
This sounds like a scam. The debt itself may be legitimate but the debt collector doesn’t sound legitimate.
Legitimate businesses would never need access to your bank account. If you have the funds ...
- 9,332
115
votes
Debt collector has wrong person and is contacting my employer
Request verification in writing of the debt. They are required to provide this by law. Keep this for your records.
Send them a notice by certified mail stating that this is not your debt and not to ...
- 3,990
113
votes
Accepted
If a debt collection company refuses full payment is the debt still valid?
It sounds like THEY don't think the debt is valid and want to validate it by getting you to claim it is. It might be worth sending them a letter asking them to prove the debt is yours or remove it. ...
- 53k
109
votes
A debt collector will not allow me to pay a debt, what steps should I take?
This may not apply in your particular situation, but I think it's important to mention:
When a debt collector doesn't act like a debt collector, it may be because they aren't actually a debt ...
- 47.2k
78
votes
I co-signed on an apartment for a now ex-boyfriend who refuses to pay. What can I do?
After 8 years, you should have a fundamental understanding that things will not change with this ex-boyfriend. He may not be found, and even if he is, he will not pay any portion. Dragging him ...
- 76.1k
65
votes
A debt collector will not allow me to pay a debt, what steps should I take?
What you are describing here is the opposite of a problem: You're trying to contact a debt-collector to pay them money, but THEY'RE ignoring YOU and won't return your calls! LOL! All joking aside, ...
- 4,452
63
votes
Why would a lien appear on a mortgage after 17 years?
RocketLawyer has a brief review of how to place a lien. Searching Money.SE for 'lien' may also turn up some helpful information for similar situations.
You should exercise extreme caution when ...
- 8,632
62
votes
Bill payee can't find my payment and threatens debt recovery action
Find a name
To escalate, you don't want a random helpdesk - you want a name. In this case, I'd suggest googling "finance director (this university name)". You can then ring the main ...
- 2,402
58
votes
How to deal with the credit card debt from family member that has passed away?
First, when a debt collector says, "It's to your advantage to give me money now", I'd take that with a grain of salt. My ex-wife declared bankruptcy and when debt collectors couldn't find her, they ...
- 22k
52
votes
Urgently need pre-paid debit card to pay debt collector
For the purposes of this answer I am assuming that this is not a scam, and that they are not the one who led you down the path of needing to use gift cards to make the payment. No legitimate business ...
- 136k
50
votes
Accepted
Taking college classes to avoid student loan payments indefinitely
You mentioned that this is a private student loan, not a federal loan. There are no standard terms for private loans like there are for federal loans. To find out the deferral rules, you would need to ...
- 115k
47
votes
Potential debt collection scam from National Credit Systems?
National Credit Systems is a genuine and reputable collections agency. It's a member of American Collectors Association and National Apartment Association. The web site and the phone numbers in the ...
- 814
43
votes
Debt collector has wrong person and is contacting my employer
This seems very suspicious, as if it were fraud, and not a legitimate collector.
Garnishing wages takes a court order. A court would require a bit more proof than a name. Names can easily be common, ...
42
votes
A debt collector will not allow me to pay a debt, what steps should I take?
You say your primary goal is to clean up your credit report, and you're willing to spend some cash to do it. OK. But beware: the law in this area is a funhouse mirror, everything works upside down ...
38
votes
How can one be financially devastated by unsecured debt?
Your assets can be seized anyway
The main difference between secured and unsecured debt is that secured debt has a simplified priority claim on the specific assets. However, unsecured debt still has a ...
- 3,353
35
votes
Taking college classes to avoid student loan payments indefinitely
Money interactions/discussions often draw a lot of emotions out of people and this is often complicated by in-law relationships.
The best advice one can give you is to stay out of this conversation. ...
- 76.1k
33
votes
Debt collector has wrong person and is contacting my employer
Assuming you're in the US, you can file complaints against financial institutions (including debt collectors) through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The link to debt collector complaints ...
- 13.8k
32
votes
Bill payee can't find my payment and threatens debt recovery action
It seems to me that an option not much discussed here is to enlist the aid of someone at your bank. You have the records of the money being disbursed from your account -- it is going somewhere. Your ...
- 3,176
26
votes
Can a check be destroyed or does it have to be returned to the person
My revised, bottom-line advice: offer to send a 2nd payment (preferably in the form of money order or cashier's check) for the difference you are agreeing to pay. I cannot imagine any reason why they ...
- 11.7k
25
votes
How to deal with the credit card debt from family member that has passed away?
Debts do not inherit to the children. You are absolutely not liable for your parent's debt, in any way whatsoever. ** Collection agents will lie about this; tricking you is their job, and your job is ...
24
votes
Urgently need pre-paid debit card to pay debt collector
Even if they were legit, they won't file litigation (which is a lawsuit) because the overhead costs are considerable. But who cares? It's not a lawsuit until they serve you. Then it'll be a month + ...
21
votes
Debt collector has wrong person and is contacting my employer
Step one: Contact the collection agency. Tell them that they have the wrong person, and the same name is just a coincidence. I would NOT give them my correct social security number, birth date, or ...
- 22k
21
votes
Bill payee can't find my payment and threatens debt recovery action
I would strongly disrecommend (?) your first bullet "Sit tight in comfort that whoever comes after the "debt" will see all is in order". Broadly speaking, dedicated debt recovery ...
- 3,975
21
votes
Accepted
Credit card charge off : Can creditor take away the electrician's toolbox and the car even if the car was paid off a long time ago?
They would have to get a judgement (from a lawsuit) before they could attempt any of that. In Texas a judgement lien can be attached only to real estate.
So it looks like the answer is generally no, ...
- 53k
19
votes
Urgently need pre-paid debit card to pay debt collector
This concerns me:
I should note I'm also trying to settle with them for a significantly lower sum. However, in order to do this I need to be able to pay soon with a card or bank account.
Debt ...
- 8,297
19
votes
How can I know if a debt collector is holding onto a debt?
How to know if a debt collector is holding onto a debt?
You need to pull and analyze your credit reports yearly. They should contain 7 years of historical data so you can see if there were ever any ...
- 8,297
18
votes
Accepted
Do I need to get it in writing when paying off collections accounts?
The suggestion for obtaining a letter before payment is when you negotiate to pay a lower amount than what you owe. For example, the lender is currently claiming that you owe $1972. Let's say that ...
- 115k
17
votes
Accepted
How can I inform the collector that I have paid the landlord in full, to update my credit report? Will it help my credit score?
You are making an assumption that may not be true:
Unbeknownst to me, some apartment debt I paid had already been sold to a collections agency before I actually paid it.
Typically debts are sold ...
- 47.2k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible