Tag Archive for collection agencies

DIY Credit Repair: Fix Your Credit For less

October 17, 2011 Credit Manager Credit Repair Articles & Resources

FIX YOUR CREDIT FOR LESS! We’ve got complete resources for all your credit & collection issues.

Everything You Need In One Location To Be Your Own Credit Expert!
In law, at the core of every good defense, is knowledge. An attorney certainly cant go to bat for you if he isn’t fully aware of your rights and how to apply them. The same goes for yourself. If you plan to make informed decisions that impact your financial future, educating yourself is key. Credit repair isn’t just about your credit reports. It’s about all the things that affect your credit reports, and that includes dealing with bill collectors and original creditors. Our DIY credit repair material covers credit issues from the credit bureaus all the way down to the collection agencies — and the people reporting information about you.

Want a real solution to your credit issues?
Do it yourself. It sounds quite simple for a reason. People need education to achieve a healthy credit report and so many consumers are undereducated in credit issues. With expert research and tools, we offer simply the best self help credit repair education tools around. You pay us one time for access to our education for life — and that’s it. We don’t repair your credit for you, we don’t see any of your financials because you use our education to do the work yourself.

Real credit repair is using credit bureau verifications, collection agency debt validation, restricted negotiations and other lawful tactics by using the FCRA, FDCPA, FCBA, FACTA and other consumer laws to the fullest! That’s REAL credit repair and it can prove very powerful. Combining consumer credit laws with knowledge and powerful education can get your credit up to its best possible status ever! Avoid upfront credit repair fee scams. It’s a REAL and final solution to fixing your credit issues, saving money, and a lot of time. Whether you are fighting collection agencies or credit bureaus or even stubborn creditors, this suite of success tools covers it all. Learn how to deal with collection agencies, credit bureaus and creditors the right way. We offer real educational material to help you understand your legal rights and avoid credit repair scams. Learning to correct your own credit issues is a solid worthwhile investment.

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Can Collection Agencies Charge Interest On Assigned Accounts?

August 16, 2011 Credit Manager Credit Repair Articles & Resources

Collection agencies are in the business to make profit just like any other business, but what you may find startling is just how much profit they can make on debts either purchased or assigned.

Reading an article today, we see a very basic question from a person whose credit card was still charging interest even though the card was cl0sed.  People often assume if a credit card account has been charged off that the interest fees will cease because the debt is no longer active. In reality, the credit card company isnt charging you interest anymore but the collection agency is within their rights to add penalty fees.

State law determines what a collection agency can charge you in fees and penalties, but whats alarming is that they can continue to use the credit card contract terms and charge that interest charge. It’s a big deal because interest allowed in your state may only be 6 or 7 % but the original credit card agreement may have a rate as high as 24%.

It doesnt take a degree in finance to see that you will probably never pay off the debt if every penny is going towards interest with every payment you make. Its best to negotiate a settlement with the agency at the onset if you can come up with a payoff. You can read more here about the credit card interest rates as well as a link to the contracts for the card issuers to review terms.

Related: Collection Laws by State |  Battle Debt Collectors and Win!

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Free Credit Scores for People Denied Credit – Considered Risky

July 21, 2011 Credit Manager Credit Repair Articles & Resources

As of today, the new Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is in full swing. The bureau was created to offer more protection, accountability and transparency by lenders and credit related companies. Part of the Dodd- Frank Financial overhaul has created a new rule to give consumers access to their credit score if they are denied a loan or are forced to pay higher interest rates because they are considered risky.

Most people already know by now that they are entiled to a free credit report via annualcreditreport.com but that may not give a full picture of your financial fitness. Having access to the credit score and credit report will give people more complete information as to where they stand.  Credit scores range from 400 to 850 and a person who knows their score can work to improve it. Having access to the complete picture will allow consumers to better manage their credit and work on resolving errors or issues that may have affected their credit score. Existing reports (from PIRG) have already shown us that credit reports contain errors – many serious enough to derail a loan.

The purpose of the new CFPB is to support issues along side the FTC for consumer lending. The FTC receives complaints from consumers about issues ranging from credit repair scams to collection agency abuse. The CFPB will have the authority to actually make changes in the industry to further protect consumers. One change we are hoping to see is a new standard for collection agencies. By having a universal standard that collection agencies must follow, more people will be protected from abuse and harassment.

You can read more about the new CFPB as well as the free credit scores at Bloomberg.

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Common Collection Agency Questions – Answered

June 24, 2011 Credit Manager Credit Repair Articles & Resources

People who’ve never dealt with a collection agency often know very little about their procedures.  If your debt’s been sent to a collection agency then you usually have no more pull with the original creditor. We’ll try to cover some popular topics about collection issues below, and hopefully clear up some myths.

A reminder before we discuss the topics below. Always make sure the debt is, 1.) actually owed - validation of debt (VOD) and 2.), not expired – statute of limitations. (SOL).

Can I demand that the original creditor take back my debt from a collection agency before I pay it?

No. Although you may not like dealing with a bill collector, you cannot demand to deal with the original creditor once the debt is sold or assigned out to a third party collector. If the debt has been sold, then there is nothing you can do because the collector owns it, however if the debt has only been assigned to a collection agency then you are not barred from contacting the original creditor and trying to sway them to take it back so you can deal with them directly. It doesnt hurt to ask.

Can I demand that the collection agency accept my payments?

Unfortunately no. There is no law that says the collector must accept your partial payments. Additionally, you can still be sued even though you appear to be trying to show good faith. It still may not be enough. A bill collector will often accept payments if they are large enough to pay back the debt in less than 6 months but once you start asking to spread payments out over a long period of time, the less the collector will want to accept. They are not bound to take payments because they are not your lender. You are in collections and their job is to collect that debt as quickly as possible.

Can I create an offer and settlement without the collection agency’s participation?

You could but its not a legal contract. Part of the concept of an offer and compromise is an accord (your offer) and a satisfaction (their acceptance). If you send a settlement demanding this that and the other and the collector has never agreed to it then they may just cash your check and trash the letter. On the other hand, if you create an offer and they accept, then do so in writing only, not by phone.

Am I lawsuit proof it I am disabled?

No. You can still be sued if you’re on disability but you cannot have your SSI income garnished. It’s a good idea to keep your SSI income in a separate account and not co-mingle it with other income that may be attachable by levy. Even if you are disabled, a lawsuit can still attach to your property or other monies. If you do not have any other property or income besides SSI then make sure you advise a bill collector at the first contact that you are disabled, collecting SSI and have no property or other assets. Most bill collectors wont bother with the costs associated with starting a lawsuit if they know these facts.

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