SETTLING and COLLECTION AGENCIES

[Anonymous]

My husband had a situation a couple of years ago that screwed up all of our credit!!

We had about 5 credit cards and paid ontime for years. One summer we went away to Greece  for 2 months informing all of our creditors that we would be away. They had said that it should not be a problem but when we got back  all of our accounts were closed and sent to collections! Major irreversable damage Ok we screwed up....LOL!

With all the accounts now in collections I'm wondering how to approach the situation. We can't afford to wait 7 years! Should we settle with each creditor or collection company?? Will they be able to remove the negativity if we do settle?? If so ... how can I get them to do that???

What I'm trying to say is I NEED HELP!

Thanks

Sophie

PS: A couple of collection companies did break the law by calling my husband's place of work which got him fired. I was thinking of taking it to court and self representing. All of these accounts are less than $3,000 so I would assume it wouldn't be in thier best interest to pay a lawyer  in this case ;-)

[jbh]

"A couple of collection companies did break the law by calling my husband's place of work which got him fired"

Consult BBB/Attorney. See if you can get CRA to delete and send a goodwill letter to the original creditors. Also try to talk to a higher up and explain that the delinquencies are due to an error not not irresponsibility (as it seems to be the case)

I would not give up and I would do everything in my power to have people in the original cc company review this and re-establish ties with them and have them remove it. And I would cause major problems to the CA who broke the law. I've had issues removed that were erroneous. I cannot guarantee they will remove the charges but I would bet the CRA would be hard pressed to keep harassing you if you have evidence of law breaking.

[guiness56]

SophieGR says: PS: A couple of collection companies did break the law by calling my husband's place of work which got him fired. I was thinking of taking it to court and self representing. All of these accounts are less than $3,000 so I would assume it wouldn't be in thier best interest to pay a lawyer in this case ;-)


It is not illegal for them to call you at work unless 1.) They know or has reason to know that the employer prohibits it 2.) You have specifically told them not to contact you at work

[Anonymous]

Yep. What Guiness said!

To expand a tiny bit: If the CA called your hubby's employer/boss (versus simply calling hubby's office phone), that's legal, too, as long as the CA only asked if hubby was employed there. CAs ARE allowed to verify employment.

CAs are not allowed to divulge any info on the "Whys" or Hows" when calling ANYONE other than the debtor.

Now, though, they often do ... so I gather.

Personally, I keep hubby's office contact info on a strict "need-to-know" basis. No creditor has that information (other than our CU) and certainly no CA!!