Kay Jewlers...Serious Issue

[jsucool76]

Alright myfico...friend of mine is having a serious issue, they just told me about it. I'd love some advice....

Apparently they were buying a ring at Kay's...Applied for the credit card, got approved, and used the card to pay. They said that they made cash payments in the store, paying slightly more than the minimum every month. Finished that like 3-4 months ago. Got a call today from a collection agency saying that they had purchased the debt and they now own the CA money...Kay's (or sterling whatever they are) said they never received any payments, and my friend never got any statements. 

Does kay accept payments in store? The first thing i thought of in this situation was that the person they did payments with was just pocketing the money. They said they dealt with the same person every time. 

Friend said they set up a payment plan with a PFD with the CA...but it kinda sucks, paying twice. Any help with what they could do would be awesome. Thanks!!

[09Lexie]

And your friend didn't receive any receipts?

[CreditCrusader]

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@jsucool76 wrote:

Alright myfico...friend of mine is having a serious issue, they just told me about it. I'd love some advice....

Apparently they were buying a ring at Kay's...Applied for the credit card, got approved, and used the card to pay. They said that they made cash payments in the store, paying slightly more than the minimum every month. Finished that like 3-4 months ago. Got a call today from a collection agency saying that they had purchased the debt and they now own the CA money...Kay's (or sterling whatever they are) said they never received any payments, and my friend never got any statements. 

Does kay accept payments in store? The first thing i thought of in this situation was that the person they did payments with was just pocketing the money. They said they dealt with the same person every time. 

Friend said they set up a payment plan with a PFD with the CA...but it kinda sucks, paying twice. Any help with what they could do would be awesome. Thanks!!

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Good rule of thumb...always, ALWAYS pay online and screen shot the confirmaation with the date on your screen and the confirmation page. I do this every time I make credit card payments...and in one case (Barclay), it saved me a gigantic headache when the creditor told me they never received the payment. I forwarded the screen shot and my bank statement showing the money as having been taken out of my account...and all was well.

Paying cash is always a risky proposition. I wouldn't advise it under any circumstances.

[hutchj]

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@09Lexie wrote:
And your friend didn't receive any receipts?

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+1

And since your friend was never received statements, how did they know they were done with the payments? Does Kay have an online system your friend was using to track payments?

[EaglesFan2006]

I've always payed the Kay bill in store...never cash though, always with a debit card.  In any case, he should've gotten a receipt with his payment.  Should've also gotten statements with the new balance, and you can also check online.  If Kay had a mimimum payment each time he came in, then they must've been processing something...otherwise that amount would be higher each and every time.  I'd contact the store.

[longtimelurker]

And your friend is telling this straight (as far as you can tell)?  He wasn't worried about not getting statements or receipts?

If this was just 3-4 months ago, is the person they paid still in the store?  If not, can they describe the person to current employees and track that way? 

[EaglesFan2006]

Also...is he sure this CA is legitimate? 

[CreditCrusader]

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@EaglesFan2006 wrote:

Also...is he sure this CA is legitimate? 

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+1...lot of bottom-feeders out there who try to collect on debts that are out of SOL and/or not able to be validated, and thus legally collected.

[enharu]

If he really did pay, first find out if the CA and debt is legitimate. If it is, tell your friend to file a police report.

[bahbahd]

Totally call Kay's first and make sure the account was or was not paid.  I mean, it could simply be bad bought debt matching to the CR with a similar name and amount or however else these JDB try to match bad debts with creditors.