topic Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed in Rebuilding Your Credit

Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

beaglesrule — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:11:17 GMT

Forgive me if this comes across as dumb, I'm at a loss and very embarrassed.

Today at work I got a call from a company called Stoneleigh Recovery ~ the man was named Jacob ~ and he proceeded to tell me that he's been calling my work and will speak to my manager if I do not cooperate. I got a call from the company receptionist a few minutes earlier that some man fro Illinois was calling and could she transfer him (per her, he was rude)...I told her to transfer the call, but he hung up. Then he called me directly.

He said he was calling from Stoneleigh Recovery on behalf of a group of investors called Riverwalk (Associates, I think) about money I owe and was I going to pay it today.

Turns out, it's a Chase account originally. I acknowledge here and acknowledged on the phone that I do owe Chase the money. I do not know this Stoneligh company or how they got my info ~ he told me that Chase turned the debt over to them and I now owe money to Stoneleigh and the group of investors.

He talked and talked and talked, saying that I owed the money, I acknowledged owing the money (I owe Chase, I agree) and that he wanted to know when I'd be paying, when could I make payment. I said that I could pay 1/2 on the 23rd. He said that was fine, but what could I pay by Friday (the 13th)? I needed to make some kind of payment by then. This went back and forth a few times and I also said that, because I was pressed, I could make full payment by the 30th. He said I needed to make some payment now and the rest on the 23rd or the whole thing now.

I'm at work and I couldn't talk freely...I asked him to call my cellphone. He said he leaves at 4pm and therefore can't call me after I leave work at 4pm. Then he told me that I had already been talking to him for 10 minutes and therefore could finish the call by giving him my checking information and he'd make sure the check went through on Friday and the rest on the 23rd.

If I didn't agree to that right now he would call my employer back and get my wages garnished. He said he'd talk to my supervisor. He said that I needed to transfer him to the payroll department so he could get the wages garnished now.

At this point I was freaking out ~ I work in a cubicle, surrounded by other people who are hearing me speak. I told Jacob that I can not take these kinds of calls at work and he needed to try my cellphone. He countered that I was already taking the call, we'd been on the phone for 15 minutes and he needed to get this taken care of for the investors.

How do I know if this company is legit? I do owe Chase the money and had plans of paying them on my next payday (I am taking out a loan against my 401k to make the full payment). But I've never heard of this Stoneleigh Recovery or Riverwalk ~ how do I find out if Chase turned to them for collection? And if Chase did do that, do I have to pay Stoneleigh or can I still pay Chase? I'm scared out of my mind that these people will call my employer again...he was really rude to the receptionist and got really rude with me by the end of the call.

Sorry for the rambling, but this is my first time in collections for anything.

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:58:21 GMT

I had this same company have a collection account with me. Here is what you should do:

Call Chase and verify they sold the account to Stoneleigh recovery.

If so, you need to find the adress of StoneLeigh, (I googled it) and send them a letter to make sure that if you pay the debt it wont go on your credit report. I offered them 50% of the total debt if they would agree to delete the account from my credit report. The first response they didn't agree. I sent another letter with the same offer. They sent me a letter saying they had agreed to delete if I paid 50%.

I paid them what the 50% and one week later it was removed from all 3 reports.

As far as the calls go, Im not sure what you should do. I know they cant legally garnish your wages by talking to the Payroll dept. They would have to take you to court and have a legal order to do so. If they call again, explain you cant have calls at work and give them an alternate number. Hope this helps.

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

ShootingStar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:14:37 GMT

I noticed no one has replied yet -- I'm not the expert around here so I'm hoping others will chime in. But what this CA guy is doing is illegal. He absolutely cannot contact your employer, nor speak to anyone, BUT YOU, about your alleged debt. And he cannot speak to payroll to garnish your wages -- these are all very much illegal junk-debt collection agency tactics meant to threaten you, pressure you, and scare you into handing over money. And under absolutely NO circumstances are you to hand over any checking account nor credit card info when making payments -- they will wipe you clean.

If you end up paying this debt, you also shouldn't be borrowing against your 401k in order to do so. This debt collector -- unless the government collecting taxes, child support, or student loans -- cannot garnish your wages. A judgment by a court would need to be awarded them in order for them to proceed.

Hopefully you'll get some much needed help here -- advice on the required dunning notices, cease and desist orders, etc. Don't react too quickly, and most importantly, STAY CALM and start reading these forums! You can be helped!

Message Edited by ShootingStar on 11-11-2009 12:12 PM

Message Edited by ShootingStar on 11-11-2009 12:14 PM

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

beaglesrule — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:06:18 GMT

Thank you for your reply ~ I will contact them via certified letter (or maybe a Fedex?) after I verify with Chase that they no longer have my account.

I was just called down to our company security office regarding this company ~ apparently they were extremely rude to our receptionist, for no reaon, and they were also extremely rude and lied flat out to 2 of the security people who called back via the Caller ID number.

This is mortifying. I thought I had a dispute going with Chase and all of a sudden I've got a company that deals in 'recovery' calling me at work. I sincerely hope someone at Chase jumped the gun and I can get this resolved through them. Either way, I'm sending out a letter to Stoneleigh and I will also contact the BBB about this company.

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

beaglesrule — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:09:07 GMT

Shooting Star, thank you for your reply also! You're right ~ I need to calm down and approach this with reason in my head.

I will do more reading of the forums when I get home from work ~ my lunch hour is actually only an hour and I've already got to make up a little time I spent on this mess today.

I appreciate the advise from both of you and will do my best to be methodical.

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

ShootingStar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:17:46 GMT

You are so welcome! I would hold off on sending any sort of a letter to the collection agency. They need to send you a dunning notice within five days of initial contact via your phone call (look up dunning notices/letters on this site) -- and I would wait until you receive that before responding to them. Most definitely stop taking their calls, and instruct your work to disconnect any future calls immediately.

I would take a deep breath -- and empower yourself by learning all you can through this forum this evening when you get home. You'll feel much better about the situation.

Best of luck and looking forward to positive updates!

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

BungalowMo — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:30:59 GMT

Hold on a second! I need to finish reading what others said, but that guy was TOTALLY in the wrong! Give me a minute to finish reading this.

Do you have current credit reports??? If not, you can get the 3 free BY LAW from the link in my sig block.

See if Chase is reporting on your CR's. Are they reporting a balance???? That is a huge deal. You need to check that first.

Also...see if the scumbag collector is reporting too.

You will need to draft a "C & D" letter. *check the abbreviation link in my sig too...you'll need it here! Thatwill make it impossible for them to legally call you at home, at work or call any friend or co-worker.

Message Edited by BungalowMo on 11-11-2009 02:30 PM

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

BungalowMo — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:43:16 GMT

Ok...here's what you do.....NEVER speaak to them on the phone again!!! EVER. If you see their # coming in at work...turn the ringer down...pick up hang up, whatever you need to do.

Second...shooting star had GREAT advice...never ever give them your banking info. They ARE using every dirty scumbag tactic to scare you.

GET THOSE REPORTS! You need to know who is the owner of the debt. If it is still chase....you will want to call them when you get your duckies in a row!!

How old is this debt? What you want to find on your reports is the Date of First Delinquincy (youll see this on EQ) or look for drop off date on the other 2.

Read this post! What steps do I take??

Better beginner info can't be found!

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:18:05 GMT

How old is this debt, and what state are you in?

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

beaglesrule — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:14:11 GMT

I am going to read the links ~ thank for them. This is overwhelming for me ~ I am ignorant about financial matters.

I've checked my credit report (only TransUnion for now) and Chase shows a bad debt ~ so I presume that they decided to give up on me and turned me over to the collections agency. I suppose I can't blame them for that.

I am alternately steaming mad at this Jacob who called me and I'm guessing he's the same one who talked to our company receptionist (who called me later this afternoon and apologized for turning the call over to security, but per her this man was rude and demanded to speak both to my supervisor and to payroll, which is what he told me too) and to the security people.

The security man in our office told me the same thing you all are telling me: this person 1. lied 2. is not supposed to call back because I told him I can't take these calls at work. Security also told me that if this man or someone else from the company calls me at work again, I should transfer the call to the head of security. Also, security told me that the man might try and call my work again, use the directory to get to talk to someone who, trying to be helpful will transfer the call to me. Just what I need, someone else at work knowing how stupid I am.

I've never been so embarrassed in my life. I guess this is the price I pay for being foolish and slow.

Again, thank you all for the advice. I will read the links and I will try and make a plan of action based on what I read.

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:14:15 GMT

Hi beaglesrule! (although I would disagree and say Jack Russells rule...hee! )

Please stop being so harsh on yourself about this.

We all make mistakes, nobody is perfect and you shouldn't beat yourself up over it.

Anyway, I am a newbie here, so I don't know the ins and outs of credit yet, but I can tell you that this forum will be a Godsend to you.

If you look at my sig you will see my credit scores from August to now. The increases you see are all from information I got here in this forum.

All I did was read and ask questions and the wonderful people here were so helpful I am now able to refinance my mortgage in my name only (going through a separation/divorce).

I would definitely take a deep breath and proceed slowly and carefully with this. It is better to be thorough and do your homework here before proceeding with anything.

You will hopefully get a lot of good responses to this post - but if you have other questions, ask. Everyone here is so helpful and knowledgeable.

You WILL get through this!!!

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

BungalowMo — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:54:39 GMT

@beaglesrule wrote:
I am going to read the links ~ thank for them. This is overwhelming for me ~ I am ignorant about financial matters.

I've checked my credit report (only TransUnion for now) and Chase shows a bad debt ~ so I presume that they decided to give up on me and turned me over to the collections agency. I suppose I can't blame them for that.

But...does Chase show a balance??? This is a huge deal here. That will tell you if they have simply assigned this acct for collection or if it is actually SOLD.

I am alternately steaming mad at this Jacob who called me and I'm guessing he's the same one who talked to our company receptionist (who called me later this afternoon and apologized for turning the call over to security, but per her this man was rude and demanded to speak both to my supervisor and to payroll, which is what he told me too) and to the security people.

The security man in our office told me the same thing you all are telling me: this person 1. lied 2. is not supposed to call back because I told him I can't take these calls at work. Security also told me that if this man or someone else from the company calls me at work again, I should transfer the call to the head of security. Also, security told me that the man might try and call my work again, use the directory to get to talk to someone who, trying to be helpful will transfer the call to me. Just what I need, someone else at work knowing how stupid I am.

I've never been so embarrassed in my life. I guess this is the price I pay for being foolish and slow.

Again, thank you all for the advice. I will read the links and I will try and make a plan of action based on what I read.

Also....when you get those 3 reports...DO NOT pay for their scores. More on that later. You have other fish to fry!

Get those reports & come back & let us know what they say...minus any personal info like acct #'s & such.

I tried searching yesterday for an example of a cease & desist letter here & the site is having search function issues. Google will likely get some results.

Also...circe is right...DO NOT beat yourself up for this. More than likely, either security or the receptionist may have been thinking..."wow...I'm not the only one in this boat". These days, more people than ever are going through financial issues. Believe me, you have lots of company.

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

beaglesrule — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:35:06 GMT

Sorry for the long gap in replying. I have pulled all 3 of my credit reports and, while I have some other issues I'd love to discuss, I'd like to take care of this one since it is the most pressing.

Yes, Chase shows "charged off as bad debt" (I'll use wording, dates from TransUnion altho I have all 3). Balance therefore is "0."

Date opened: 6/2002

Date closed: 5/2005

Date paid: 1/2009

Estimated date that this item will be removed: 8/2012

This account was first a Providian account, then it became WaMu and then Chase. This is where I started having a problem. This has blown up from $372 to over $700. I offered Chase, in writing (e-mail), to settle for $500 as I felt that was fair ~ the difference between the $372 and the $700+ is fees and interest on an account that I, not the credit grantor, closed when the account was Providian.

In any case, what's done is done and Chase evidently decided I wasn't worth any more time or money and charged it off and now I'm going to have to deal with these awful people at Stoneleigh. SOL in Florida is 4 years and I'm well within that.

I should be getting a letter from them now, demanding the money, correct? They're supposed to send it out within a week of contacting me? Or, because I admitted that I owed the money (to Chase), can they skip that step?

Many thanks for all the help.

Message Edited by beaglesrule on 11-16-2009 09:34 AM

Message Edited by beaglesrule on 11-16-2009 09:35 AM

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

IOBA — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:17:42 GMT

The CA must still provide the letter to you. Doesn't mean that they will, but they are legally suppose to within five days of starting contact/collection efforts.

Do you have your old statements?

Do you know what the date was of first default?

Usually, cc's will "charge off" after eight months of no payments.

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

RobertEG — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:02:22 GMT

WOW!

I just tripped upon this thread, so have some late comments.

It is totally illegal, under FDCPA 807(4), for a collection agency to ever represent that nonpayment of debt will result in immediate garnishment of any property or wages without their prior legal action. They cannot garnish anything without a court order. Askiing to talk to your payroll department was abvuse to the max. Their threat was a clear violation of the false and misleading provisions of FDCPA 807. I would file an immediate complaint to the FTC under the provisions of FDCPA 814.

Shut them down, now. Doint ever talk to them again.

Send them the following:

"This is a formal request under FDCPA 805(c) that you cease any further communication with me regarding the alleged debt.

"This is also a formal request under FDCPA 805(b) that you additionally desist from any communication with any third party regarding this debt"

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:50:04 GMT

Date closed: 5/2005

When was the last time you made a payment on this account? SOL is 4 years from the last payment or charge you made. It doesn't matter that they kept adding finance and late fees. It looks like you are past the SOL and legally are no longer reasonsible for the debt. This CA probably just bought it for .01 per dollar.

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

beaglesrule — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:37:52 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Date closed: 5/2005

When was the last time you made a payment on this account? SOL is 4 years from the last payment or charge you made. It doesn't matter that they kept adding finance and late fees. It looks like you are past the SOL and legally are no longer reasonsible for the debt. This CA probably just bought it for .01 per dollar.

Last payment I made was 1/09, I do believe. I was arguing fees and interest ~ and the account had switched because of mergers/takeovers. Not very smart of me, I agree.

I did receive the letter from Stoneleigh today ~ I believe, from reading the referenced threads that my step is to now reply to their demand for payment with:

1. A CMRRR letter asking for verification of the debt.

2. Include in the same letter ~ or a second letter? ~ that I request any and all communciation to be in writing. Should I mention in their representative's rudeness and lying/threatening to talk to my payroll department? Or should I just forget about that?

This company is not yet showing up on my credit reports ~ is it likely that it will in December? Is there something I can/should do to prevent that? It's bad enough to have the 'charge off', but I don't know if a CA reporting would be worse somehow.

Many thanks again. (I should make that my tag line, eh?)

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

BungalowMo — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:05:09 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Date closed: 5/2005

When was the last time you made a payment on this account? SOL is 4 years from the last payment or charge you made. It doesn't matter that they kept adding finance and late fees. It looks like you are past the SOL and legally are no longer reasonsible for the debt. This CA probably just bought it for .01 per dollar.

To the OP....Check YOUR state SOL. They are not all alike!

Being beyond SOL only means they can no longer sue for the $$. You are still responsible for debt and they can still report & attempt collections.

Message Edited by BungalowMo on 11-17-2009 10:05 AM

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

IOBA — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:52:45 GMT

Beaglesrule -- my suggestion is to include the debt verification in the same letter along with the cease and desist request. Please specify in your letter to them that can contact you through mail ONLY.

From what I have read, it appears that your SOL began in 02/09 -- since there was activity (on your part, a payment) in 01/09.

You can probably still work with the cc.

Re: Got a call from collection agency, not sure how to proceed

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:42:24 GMT

what RobertEG said. I also think you should speak to an attorney. That collector broke every rule that ever existed. If he calls back, advise him he does not have permission to call you at work and hang up. I know you are embarassed but his behavior is unexcusible. You owe money but that doens't mean you deserve that kind of treatment. Also file a complaint with the FTC today.