Pay off Collection?

[Anonymous]

And your debit card falls under that same Federal Protection Law as Personal checks.

Money order is among the worst ways to pay Collection Agency's.

[Anonymous]

I gotta hear this bit of sage advice. Why is it a bad idea to pay a CA with a money order?

[Anonymous]

One possible solution to the payment problem:  open a separate checking account solely for the purpose of making payments to one creditor/CA.  Leave no more on deposit than the amount of the monthly payment.  Use a different bank than your current one.

[Anonymous]

Problem is, once they have the routing number and checking account number, there's nothing to stop 'em from overdrawing the account.

[Anonymous]

A money order "might" make it to your account? No disrespect, but you guys sound like amateurs. You're giving the CA's way too much credit for being trustworthy and honest in negotiations. But....I can only speak from my personal experience which is lengthy. First, I never send a dime until I have a settlement offer in my hand, signed, stating the account is PIF, closed and settled, no longer subject to any collection activity once $XXX is received. I've done this many times. CA's have tried to be crafty by doing things like "forgetting" to notate the account number. I scrutinize any settlement letter down to the last detail. If you pay by money order, it's not like you stick it in a corked bottle and float it out to sea. You send it Certified, return receipt requested. If you're smart, there's no "if" involved, ever. And sure, technically they can't take more than you authorize. But I've been in 2 different situations where CA's have done exactly that. Read the fine print. Many times they can debit your account at will if you nullify the original contract by defaulting, which surely you have done at this point or you wouldn't be in this situation.

[Anonymous]

Boswd wrote "I'll bet you are leaving out some stuff about the whole collection process, which I know all too well about."

As I said before, shill for the CAs. Now you've admitted it.

Boswd wrote "No collection agency is going to enter into a payment plan without some lump sum down payment."

Depends how bad they wanna get paid. As I stated, the payment agreement I reached is $200 a month, nothing upfront. Go back to the phones. You only have until 10 PM to call.

[Anonymous]

I don't see what the problem is with using a check to pay a CA. Paying by check leaves a clear, verifiable paper trail. The CA can't deny having received payment. And if they do try and access my checking account without my authorization, that's a felony. Think about it...if I write a check to the grocer, and a week later he somehow uses the information to go into my checking account and grab a couple hundred bucks, he's going to prison for forgery (if he writes paper checks with my account information) or wire fraud (if he does it electronically).

Why should a CA be any different?

[Neblett]

Is all this bad will and name-calling necessary?

Isn't it bad enough fighting to get credit back on track without the extra stress of fighting each other, when we are just trying to share advice?

I'm done with this thread.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Problem is, once they have the routing number and checking account number, there's nothing to stop 'em from overdrawing the account.

---

Altering a check to take more than the specified amount, or accessing a checking account without the owner's permission, are both felonies. Not going to say it could never happen...but I wish it would happen to me, because I could get a lawyer and probably clean that CA's financial clock and get someone sent to prison.

[Anonymous]

---

@Neblett wrote:

Think about it...if I write a check to the grocer, and a week later he somehow uses the information to go into my checking account and grab a couple hundred bucks, he's going to prison for forgery (if he writes paper checks with my account information) or wire fraud (if he does it electronically).

---

The difference is....you didn't sign an installment agreement with your grocer at one time. I agree it's bad, but it happens. Again, read the fine print. They build provisions into contracts that create loopholes. It's happened to me....twice. Why even create the possibility? "The law is on your side" sounds great on paper. While you're out suing a CA for double-dipping I'll continue to use money orders, bank wires and payment services (Western Union, etc.) to pay my collection accounts.