Unethical and harrassing Bill Collector

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slyred

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I am new to this board, I am glad I found it.

I have a debt with Capital One. The balance was $500. Unfortunately, because of financial problems, I wasn't able to keep up the payments and now it is $1056 with the "over limit fees." Last week I learned the account was turned over to Academy Collection Services. These are the most arrogant, abusive people I have ever dealt with. For starters, they call me daily at work. The first time I didn't even know what it was about and this "manager" got on the phone, was abusive, would not let me get a word in edgewise, told me I thought I was above the law, would not even entertain any discussion of smaller payments. Then I get a letter from them on Feb. 24 informing me of a settlement offer that was good until 4-4. Yesterday, I got a phone call from another fine fellow there. He harassed me for a good half hour, telling me I had to resolve this matter in 24 HOURS, telling me they already had a judgment when I know good and well you have to have a lawsuit first (I'm a paralegal). He also advised me to NOT MAKE MY CAR PAYMENT and pay them instead. I find this to be unethical to say the least. I have sent them a C&D letter regarding contacting me at work. My question is, aren't they obligated to get the money for their client, so if I am willing to make arrangements on payments, don't they have to take them? They called again today and we just put them on hold until they hung up. They have been told not to call me at work. I filed a complaint online with the BBB in Philadelphia regarding the unethical suggestion re: not paying one creditor to pay them instead.
 
These people are a pest. But they way big companies often are handliing this is that they get paid by the collection agency a certain percentage of the debt right when they turn it over to them. So for them the case is closed. The collection agency can keep whatever they can collect from the debtor. So Capital One doesn't care anymore about you paying in installments or however. But even if this is not the case and they work on a fee basis for the bank, it is up to them to decide how they want payment. Their client has turned it over to them.

Being a paralegal you know that they have no other legal recourse against you but to file a suit, get a judgment and then collect. So you don't have to deal with them at all until you are being served a summons and complaint. Just hang up the phone.

Have a look at this website here: http://www.cardreport.com/credit-problems/collection-faq.html
 
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The agency called my home tonite and my husband told them they were not to contact me at work. They then made another settlement offer, but it had to be paid NOW, and they would not put the offer in writing.

Understand I am not trying to get out of paying this debt, I can only pay what I can pay. I know I incurred it, but if I had the substantial amount they want me to cough up NOW I wouldn't have gotten behind. They informed me that the account had been charged off in January. So how is it still accruing interest? Is this legal? Sorry, but our firm doesnt' handle this type of law so it is totally foreign to me.
 
You can actually tell them to cease and desist to call you at all! Then they can not legally call you again.

I would definitely insist on something in writing when negotiating a settlement.

If they would ever go to court they could demand interest, because, until the debt is paid, they incur a potential loss. The court would then decide how much interest they are allowed, that doesn't need to be the interest rate that the credit card account was having.

I, too, am of the opinion that debts need to be paid. But you don't need to be harrassed. I would tell them pretty clearly that I know my legal rights and that I don't have to deal with them at all unless they go to court but that I offer to pay off the debt on condition of these terms: here I would offer them installments or whatever is convenient AND the condition that they agree to that in writing and will cease and desist from contacting me as long as I am keeping my side of the bargain.
 
Thank you for your input, it is very helpful ;) Everytime I have spoken with them I have offered to make arrangements to pay bi-monthly (which is how I get paid.) They will not even acknowledge that I have said anything. I found a website that mentions this company and they say "A long history of failing to abide by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act(FDCPA). Academy employs under-educated collectors,lacking in FDCPA
knowledge and use threats of legal actions as a collection tool.... This agency is typical of the standard complainst heard daily such as threats of legal actions, intimidation, threats of wage garnishment, obtaining judgments, contacting a third party, using a telephone to oppress and harass. Academy is an operation of low-lifes that should be avoided."

At this point, would trying to talk to Capital One help, if I tell them how I want to make arrangements but that the collection agency refuses to even listen? The bill collectors keep saying their "client" will sue, blah blah, but if the bill collector bought the account, that isn't true is it? Also, when they called last night, they lied about who they were. They said they were Capital One but after a few minutes of my husband speaking with them they admitted they were Academy.

The person that was told last night not to contact me at work has called me at work this morning. Can I do anything about that?
 
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You have to give them notice in writiing that they are not to call you anymore. Go to the website of which I have posted the link above, there the section of the law is quoted.


You surely can try to contact Capital One, it won't hurt to see what they say. But as I said before, it could be that they have already written it off and sold it to the collection agency, then they are out of the picture.

You can also file a complaint with the FTC about the misrepresentation on the phone.
 
What the collections agency did may be illegal but the key is you still have a debt which will cause you more problems if you don't pay. Perhaps this is the time to start negotiating with them and putting them against the wall for a good settlement. Be prepared, though, that it might still be more than you are willing to pay. The bottom line is that if you don't take care of this soon, you will have a summons on your doorstep and ruined credit as well.

Originally posted by slyred
I am new to this board, I am glad I found it.

I have a debt with Capital One. The balance was $500. Unfortunately, because of financial problems, I wasn't able to keep up the payments and now it is $1056 with the "over limit fees." Last week I learned the account was turned over to Academy Collection Services. These are the most arrogant, abusive people I have ever dealt with. For starters, they call me daily at work. The first time I didn't even know what it was about and this "manager" got on the phone, was abusive, would not let me get a word in edgewise, told me I thought I was above the law, would not even entertain any discussion of smaller payments. Then I get a letter from them on Feb. 24 informing me of a settlement offer that was good until 4-4. Yesterday, I got a phone call from another fine fellow there. He harassed me for a good half hour, telling me I had to resolve this matter in 24 HOURS, telling me they already had a judgment when I know good and well you have to have a lawsuit first (I'm a paralegal). He also advised me to NOT MAKE MY CAR PAYMENT and pay them instead. I find this to be unethical to say the least. I have sent them a C&D letter regarding contacting me at work. My question is, aren't they obligated to get the money for their client, so if I am willing to make arrangements on payments, don't they have to take them? They called again today and we just put them on hold until they hung up. They have been told not to call me at work. I filed a complaint online with the BBB in Philadelphia regarding the unethical suggestion re: not paying one creditor to pay them instead.
 
This is true as well as the other comments about the creditor not caring much about the debt which has been sold to a collection agency. While you can prevent the calls from coming to you and can report the agency for their bad acts, you still have a debt that you need to deal with and you shouldn't lose site of it.

Originally posted by NYClex
You have to give them notice in writiing that they are not to call you anymore. Go to the website of which I have posted the link above, there the section of the law is quoted.


You surely can try to contact Capital One, it won't hurt to see what they say. But as I said before, it could be that they have already written it off and sold it to the collection agency, then they are out of the picture.

You can also file a complaint with the FTC about the misrepresentation on the phone.
 
I have tried to negotiate with them but they will only take a "settlement" of $800 and it has to be paid NOW like that day, send it western union or check by phone. If I had that kind of money just sitting around idly I wouldn't be in this predictment. I tried to get them to take smaller payments but it was like I was speaking a foreign language. They wouldn't even put the "settlement" in writing.

I received my green return receipt requested card back more than a week ago and the other day one of these fine folks called at work again saying they were from capital one (not to me either but to the secretary." I thought they weren't supposed to divulge who they were to anyone else. So not only were they calling after they had received written notice, they were using the name of a creditor and it wasn't even their name! I want to get this paid off, but I don't have the $800 they are saying. They told my husband that even paying the "settlement" would not resolve the matter, as there would still be a balance. Can they refuse to take smaller payments?
 
capital one is evil- long reply

i have a similar situation to yours. i just recently received a copy of my credit report and my Cap1 debt was listed at $976. this was a $300 card that was "charged off" three years ago. this weekend, i ordered another copy of my TU credit report, and the Cap1 balance was now at $998, and was considered open debt, even though the account was listed as charged off! i called capital one, and the jerk over there wouldn't even talk to me, and told me to call FMS since they "were handling the account now". FMS, thankfully, is a whole lot nicer than the schmucks you're dealing with right now. The reason i hadn't received any correspondence was because they have a very, very old address for me. she told me that my balance as of today (3/29) was 1,009! i didnt understand how it could change in the matter of two days. how this girl explained it to me was basically this: they are collecting FOR capital one, they didnt actually BUY the account from them like normal collections agencies. Since the account is STILL in Cap1's name, they can still charge interest every month DEPENDING ON the contract you signed when you got your card. (damn fine print!) they are charging me $10.20 a month in interest, and as far as i can tell, would continue doing so until either i paid it or cap1 fell off the face of the earth. like a previous poster stated, they still consider this a "loss", so interest can accrue until the debt is paid.
back when i had this card, i fell behind in my payments, and since Cap1 does that $25 late fee, THEN the $25 overdraft fee, it didnt take long for me to have a $600 balance on a $300 card. every payment i made just wasnt enough. FMS told me that Cap1 (NOT FMS, but Cap1 since it is still their account) will settle it for 50%, so about $505. i took it. after all, like i said, it was still less than what it was before they "closed it" at $600.

as far as your collection problems go, if they call you again, call or complain online to the FTC. period. they have no legal right to bother you after you sent them a certified letter. NONE. i had a problem with one my husband's creditors calling ME for HIS and his EXWIFES's debt twice a day. they used that same "we'll garnish your wages" good luck buddy, i'm a stay at home mom. "well then we'll take your tax refund" HAH good luck doing that without taking us to court moron! anyway, after my C&D letter, we haven't heard from them since. hopefully you can resolve your problem. creditors really screw up using pushy people like that. it is so much easier to gets flies with honey than with vinegar. if the girl at FMS was nasty to me, i would have hung up on her most likely. but she was pleasant and understanding, and we took care of business. even if i didnt have the money right now, she said they could make arrangements for monthly payments. too bad Cap1 couldnt have used them for you!
i suggest you try calling Cap1 to see if you can settle with them, or if anything if they can turn your account over to someone else. if you dont settle this soon, the interest will continue to grow until you have a 325% debt ratio like i do/did!
good luck!
 
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