Consumer Debt Collection: 101

reply to post by JoshNorton


Very good point Josh.

To further that, i forgot to add this:

Even if that debt belongs to your wife (or ex wife)
it depends on when the loan was signed for.

If a loan was agreed upon before you two got married - they CAN NOT come after you for it.

Don't let them trick you into it otherwise.

Originally posted by Gun Totin Gerbil

but one thing I would not do is phone them up. If they didn't know your number before they will now and there'll be no end of them calling you up morning day and night . So if you do phone, use a pay phone or use some way to block the number you are dialling from.

Trust me, with the electronic footprints that you leave in your day to day activities, they will find you. Collection agencies, IRS, credit companies all have access to information that is not available to the average Joe.

In my dealings with these agencies in the past I have demanded that all correspondence be carried out through the mail. You will not say anything incriminating when your guard is down over the phone and you will have a permanent record of all transactions.

Great thread. I will leave a post with a recent experience I had in which I successfully had a debt completely removed below.

Originally posted by 2stepsfromtop

You cannot record them even if they're recording you - unless you obtain verbal permission from them.
[edit on 8/26/2008 by Andrew E. Wiggin]

Sorry Andrew, wrong there ... if you record them without their knowledge the recording cannot be entered as evidence into the court proceeding ... BUT the recording can be played and reviewed by the Judge in their chambers, so while it is not admissable, it can be taken under advisement by the Judge.

Wait a minute. It depends what Sate you live in. You need to check the law in your State. I know when I lived in NY ANYONE could legally record any conversation as long as you were a party to it, whether the other parties were informed or not. Don't know if it's changed since then in NY, but I do know where I live now you can't do that.

Here's a link of State by State summaries, but the date is not current, so just check further once you find the section of the law for your State.

www.rcfp.org...

(NY was so much fun during a politically charged time in my Town where everyone had a recording device in their pockets at all times - LOL)

[edit on 8/28/2008 by Relentless]

It is not all bad news on the US collection front . Are NCO a renowned company there ? They have made a nice loss this first quarter .

NCO

reply to post by Andrew E. Wiggin


I sent the debt validation letter on August 28, certified mail with a return receipt requested. I received the receipt but as of yet, have not heard from the collection agency. Thank you for the info.

The original debt was a credit card that I had cancelled due to both my husband's and my own unemployment and was paying off. Once I cancelled, the credit card company stopped sending monthly bills and it was up to me to remember to send a monthly payment. I was living in OK then ID at the time. In 2002, the account was turned over to a collection agency and the total was paid. I was living in CA at the time. Since then I have lived in NV and LA and am currently residing in TX.

Thank you for you well informed post and advice.