Can I pay the original creditor instead of the collection agency?
You can - however the problem you run into doing this is that your original creditor is under no obligation to notify that the debt has been paid on or off to the collection agency. And since the collection agency is reporting on your credit - you may be doing yourself more harm than good going this route. The collection agency has purchased your debt at a discount most of the time. For example. Say you owe 15,000.00 they will purchase your debt from your creditor for .50 on the dollar, and then go after you for the full amount. So while it would seem to make sense to pay your original creditor....in reality most of the time they have already been paid for it, and just given the debt to someone else. Because the collection agency has purchased your debt at a reduced cost, sometimes this works to your advantage and you are able to make arrangements to pay less than you actually owe, since they are still going to be making money on the deal.
Best way to pay off collection accounts?
I think you need to prioritize. Your Wachovia account is the most important, because bank loans are the worst drag on credit scores. Next might be phone and medical. Next call the collection agency and negotiate! If your accounts are in collections that means the original creditor has sold your bad debt for 10-50 cents on the dollar. Ask them for a better deal Then be quiet. listen to their deal and counter with a request for what you can afford. Example, ask for a payment plan and a reduction in the principal amount. If they say no, say thank and hang up. You can then wait for a call. You have more power than you think! You have their money and they only have the ding on your credit score. If you do nothing (don't contact them for 7-10 years) this will disappear off your credit rating. So, be tough but reasonable.
In the US, the typical process is:30-90 days after you don't pay, the creditor submits negative information to the credit reporting agencies The creditor enlists a collection agency to collect the debt After 6 months or so of non-payment, the creditor will "charge-off" the account. A charge-off is a tax accounting term, which adjusts the taxes owed by the creditor. It doesn't mean anything to the borrower except that their credit score will be hit hard. At this point, the account status on your credit report should go from "delinquent" to "closed by credit grantor/charge off" and a new account for the amount of the debt, with the collection agency as the creditor, appears.Depending on the statute of limitations in your state, the creditor or collection agency can sue you for the debt. (See Why Chat's Credit Confusion for state statutes.) After the SOL expires, the debt collector can still attempt to collect the debt but they have no legal recourse to sue the debtor, unless they restart the SOL by making a payment. After 7 years from the date of first delinquency (the first missed payment), the debt can no longer be reported on your credit report. The reality is that modern life will be much more difficult for people with bad credit - they'll have to do things like pay larger deposits on apartment rentals, have higher loan payments on their cars, need to use cash for just about everything and generally have a rough time when competing for resources (like housing) with people with good credit.
A2AIf I have an eviction that went to collections, but were to pay it off; would the eviction be removed?No on two fronts — as far as your credit goes, the account that landed in collections will still show up, with a note that the account was either paid as agreed or settled for less than the full amount if you cut a deal with the collection agency. They’ll often offer to collect a lesser amount from you in exchange for setting you up on automatic ACH debits or payments in a chunk via credit card. This will show up whether you were evicted with a balance, or simply left at the end of your lease and trashed the place.As far as the eviction itself, that’s part of your public record, as it goes through the Clerk of the Court to be processed. Even if you’re only served an eviction notice that doesn’t go all the way to issuing a writ of possession, that first step that your landlord takes to file for an eviction in the first place will still be part of your record for all time. It doesn’t drop off in a certain amount of years. Some Clerk of Courts are free to do online searches through, and in some states you have to pay a small fee to be able to search, but it’s always there.That all being said, most landlords who do background checks have a reasonable cut off date for when they care about something that pops up during the search. For instance, it will make a difference if the eviction was a few months ago, or 10 years ago.Same thing with the charges that show up on your credit report — big difference between a $2,000 charge from a year ago that you refuse to make payments on, and a charge that shows up from 5 years ago that shows “settled for less than full amount”, which shows you did indeed try to make good on your debt.Prior to having the landlord run your background, ask them what their cut offs are, and be totally truthful about any evictions or blemishes on your record — they’ll show up anyway, but if you try to hide them, it irks people.
Being taken to court by a debt collection agency.?
If you fail to show up for court, they win and will get approval from the court to garnish your paycheck. If you show up, they may offer you payments again....only THIS time, if you don't pay as agreed, they automatically have the court's approval to garnish your wages. It took a very long time of IGNORING your obligation to get here. You have pretty much run out of options. All it takes for most people to avoid this is a reasonable sized payment every month or two. You could not even do that. So, I have little sympathy, The garnishment will take 25% of your gross income before taxes or any deductions. So, if you make $300, they will take $75 per week...or 25% of however you get paid. ($150 if you get paid every 2 weeks) The fact that you are a single mom or were unemployed for 7 months does not matter whatsoever. Show up for court, and hope for an acceptable deal withOUT them garnishing but understand this is your last chance and this time, garnishment is automatic. You miss a payment garnishment is automatic. You are leasing a 2018 car and can't pay a lousy $1800? SMH. How did you even get approved for the car? I don't know how much you earn but any deal that's less than 25% is a good deal. But, miss one payment, your next paycheck will be reduced and it will continue until the entire amount is paid.
How to payoff AT&T Bill that was sent to ERC collections?
You do not owe ERC.They purchased your debt from AT&T. In most states these type of debts would not longer be listed on your credit report after 2-4 years depending on the state in which you reside.These type debts are considered unsecured debts. You would want to google unsecured debts followed by the state in which you reside to find out when this would drop off your credit report. You have options with this collection debt. #1. You may agree to pay this debt in full according to the amount they inform you that is due. #2. You might try and make a deal with this collection agency , and pay as little as possible. The collection agency probably paid about 50% of the face value of the balance of the debt they purchased from AT&T. You might also want to see if you are able to negotiate with them and have them post on your credit report paid as agreed as oppose to paid collection. #3 Never pay this debt and allow it to be dropped from your credit report as an noncollectable debt. It will drop off your credit report in 2-4 years based on the state laws of your state covering unsecured debts. It would depend on how long the debt has been in collections as to if I would pay this debt or not. You might want to learn more about your rights in this situation, there are may on Your tube that might be of assistance to you. You might want to try and see if you are able to get any help. You would want to place in the bar unsecured collection debts. You would need to also google unsecured debts followed by the state in which you reside to find out your rights in this situation. I hope this has been of some benefit to you,good luck. "FIGHT ON"
Can a collections agency sue me if I am making payments towards my debt?
I know that you are trying to do the honorable thing, but these collectors are scum and they really like to scare young ladies, they will do every thing in their power to scare you. The fact is if you gave them the 3,000. tomorrow, next week they would call you back with the same BS and scare you some more, then attempt to get another 3,000. out of you. I think that you are learning a valueable lesson here, CUT UP ALL OF YOUR CREDIT CARDS, you will never get out of dept. They just keep compiling interest on a daily rate. What I would do, send them 10.00 a month, yes, I said 10.00 a month, then file bankruptcy. Your credit is already screwed, at least with bankruptcy, in seven years, you will be able to have credit again, they way it is going now, you will be paying this debt for the next 20 to 25 years and your credit will be screwed up for life. It is better to file now, than to go through all that. Stop answering there phone calls, monitor your calls, send them 10.00 a month, and find a bankruptcy lawyer. Plead the fifth, tell them you cannot afford this dept, that you now understand the problems with credit card use. You are allowed one car and even a home, not a vacation home though. Check with the bankruptcy laws and see what you are allowed to own, and what expenditures are allowed. You will have to show what all of your money goes towards. Just remember, this valueable lesson and remember if you don't have the cash, then you really don't need the item. Or you could move to a small tropical island, drive a moped to a little tropical restraunt and wait tables I guarntee, it's a much better way of life than living in the rat race. Come to the Florida Keys, where all the beautiful people live and the water is crystal clear, your life will be changed FOREVER. Good Luck No, it's not a fairy tale, the good life awaits you.