debt collectors

[lovemyshiba]

Ok, I know I'm not the only one who was stupid in college and got credit cards and ran them up, only to fall behind on payment. I have paid most of them off, and am working on my student loans right now, and I get this call today from a lady saying she is a lawyer, and my credit card company has hired her to either collect the money or file a suit. I freaked out a bit (I had totally forgotten about this card), and asked her to hold. I was talking to my husband, and I accicentaly hit the hangup button instead of the mute button, and she got disconnected. I had no number to call her back, so I was waiting for her to call back. In the meantime, I had to run the dogs out, and of course, that's when she called. Here was her message: "Emily, that was very rude and ignorant of you, we're going to go ahead and file suit"
Great--I have no phone number for this "lawyer", and now I have to sit and wait to be sued.

[babolaypo65]

Wait for her next call. and research the rules for this... there ARE rules for how they have to behave. I dont know if this violated the rules. But know what your rights are...

I'm sorry you're having to go through this. I work on a university campus and I watch the hard sell tactics the credit card companies use to get young people to get credit cards.....they know young people don't have money, yet they market to them...

[sammi]

Maybe you should try to contact your credit card company and talk with them. They should be able to give you more information and you might be able to work something out. Good luck! Money is the pitts - or should I say lack of it!!!

[Cookiebaker]

Aaaggh! I know how freaked out you must feel!! Sending good vibes your way that this will all be over with soon!!!

[micki76]

Is it a VERY large sum of money? If not, I wouldn't worry about them filing suit. It usually takes a huge amount of debt to make it worth their while. When I got divorced from my first husband I had a lot of problems in this area.

My boss’s brother even owns a collection agency and he's not an attorney.

I would contact the credit card company and find out who purchased your account from them so that you can make arrangements to pay it off. Even if it's only 10 bucks a month, it looks much better on your credit.

[iceyshiver21]

That was rude of the lady on the other end if you ask me...

[Karen]

Do you not have "star-six-nine" where you can find out the number of your last incoming call?

I agree, contact the company to whom you owe the money, explain the situation, and try to work something out with them if you still can.

I'm sure that lady gets hung up on by other people on purpose, which is why she was so quick to be angry at you, even though you didn't mean it! I've had freind who did that kind of job, and while some people were perfectly nice to them, others swore at them, slammed the phone down on them, and did worse ... not a job I'd want, but one guy in particular was doing it as a second job to help pay off HIS college debts!

[Rachel]

I agree with what the others have said, contact the credit card company directly. Think of it this way, at least the lady did you a favor by alerting you to this outstanding bill. Congratulations on your getting your financial situation back on track early in life. Having *bad credit* has many ramifications that most people are not even aware of.

[moosmom]

Lovemyshiba,

Don't worry, they WILL call back! If they want the money that bad, believe me, you won't get rid of them that easily. Besides, according to the rules, they HAVE to give you a reasonable amount of time to make good on it.

I'm just waiting to get my income tax refund so I can file bankruptcy. It's the first time in my 50 years of life that I've had to do this. It'll be the last too.

Good luck.

[lovemyshiba]

Thanks everyone.
I contacted the credit card company yesterday, and they are to get back in touch with me today. I understand that she must get treated horribly all the time, I just didn't appreciate her smarty message on the machine.
And Karen, I did *69, and it said the number was unknown
I'm not sure what you guys think is a huge sum of money, but I don't think that it is--it's under $4,000.

[Logan]

I know if someone owed me $4000, I'd think it was a lot of money, but I don't know about credit card companies! I'm glad you called them. I'm sure you can work out something. I've been in collections before with a bank. It is not an easy job, but neither is being on the other end, when you are the one that owes the money! I always used to tell people that being late wasn't good, but it was much better if they could let me know if their payment was going to be late.....that way, I wouldn't call and harass them!

I feel certain that they will work with you, Emily. Good luck!

[lovemyshiba]

Ok, I think I posted that wrong. It is under $4000, and I do think that is a lot (I don't have it in my pocket right now), but to them, I don't think it is. I'm paying back my student loans right now, which are triple that, I suppose that's why I said it wasn't a lot of money.

[Logan]

I can completely sympathize! I don't have any student loans, but we're paying a house payment on a house that no one has lived in for the past four months! Ouch!!!

I know you will get it worked out, Emily. Best of luck! Just tell them what you can pay and be forceful. Of course, that doesn't help your credit rating, so if you can do something that would protect it, that would be best.

Logan

[Cataholic]

Yikes, I hate to be the unpopular one, but, from my perspective...you were the one in the wrong...not the lady on the phone. While it is possible to make a mistake and push the hang up button instead of the hold buttom, the other person had no clue that was what you did. Then, to not answer when she called back...well, I don't blame her for the message.

I don't know how one overlooks a credit card bill for around 4k. Not even a college student. I find it hard to believe this is the first notice that you had that you owed this debt....if it goes to collections, you are talking about a bit of time...probably four late notices sent to your last known address.

As to filing suit, it is completely within their rights to do so. You are in breach, not them. And, people/companies sue for ALOT less every day. I routinely file suit over debts around 12-1500. Why not? You get a judgment, and then move to collect at some other point.

The consumer sales protection act/fair debt collection act governs the companies rights as to collection. I think you might be able to find that with a internet search.

I am sorry you are in this mess. BUT, to shift the blame is one sign that you aren't in a position to accept responsibility. That won't get you very far with the credit card company, or its attorney.

[lovemyshiba]

I was simply posting about the fact that she left me that message. I thought it was a bit weird, and unprofessional of her.
Yes, I had received notices in the past, and they worked with me to pay them back, but to me paying my student loans, my car insurance, car payments, and rent or mortgage payments is a lot more important that a stupid credit card.
I believe I am in a position to accept responsibility, I am an adult, I have a job, bills to pay every month (mortgage, insurance, utilities, things of that nature), and 3 dogs to take care of.
I am aware that it is within their rights to file suit, and will be doing everything I can to make sure that does not happen. If it does, I will just have to accept the responsibilty that I screwed up in the past, and take care of it.

Again, I wasn't looking for any sympathy or anything, I was merely posting about the message that I recieved, and that I thought it was a bit rude.