Is this par for the course?

[DYLAN150]

I received a summons from a debt collection attorney in Oct 2011.(Seattle) I sent them a declaration stating that I am collection's proof immediately after receiving the summons. I never heard anything from them since that time. Now, I received a letter from Phoenix, another debt collections attorney, stating that they have this same account and demanding payment. This is pretty normal, kicking this account all around?

[tobee43]

i would think these places sell them over and over and over and attempt to re-collect the debt.

[PANSYFACE]

I have some that were sold three times already and some that were supposedly given to 2 or 3 debt collectors for the same debt!

[GoingDown]

In first few years after you stop paying them it is very common for the accounts to be bounced around to A LOT of different third party collection agencies (and some of them are debt collection attorneys), and it is also common for the debts to be sold over and over again to several different junk debt buyers.

It appears that when the first one found out about you being judgment proof, they lost interest in suing you and just sold it off to someone else.

I would just keep on sending each one a cease and desist communications letter and include the judgment proof information so they know that even if they sue, they still aren't going to get anything from you. And by taking away their ability to call you on the phone, you have taken away their main weapon of choice-- the main way they get paid is by calling debtors on the phone. Everything else is much more time consuming and costly for them. They mainly seem to go for the low hanging fruit. You have to remember, they have bills to pay themselves, and if they spend all their time spinning their wheels on someone who either can't pay, doesn't want to pay, or who will be very difficult to get anything out of, they will go broke themselves.

[debtprison]

I think the way it works (percentages just made up) is:

1. Original Creditor holds on to debt for X months.
2. O.C. Sells debt to Collection Company #1 for 15% of debt value.
3. Collection Company #1 tries to collect for X months.
4. Collection Company #1 sells debt to Collection Company #2 for 10% of debt value.
5. Collection Company #2 tries to collect for X months.
6. Collection Company #2 sells debt to Collection Company #3 for 5% of debt value.

etc. etc.

Until the account is basically no longer profitable for anyone to even attempt to buy because there is very little chance of it being collectible. They probably buy thousands of accounts in bulk, evaluate each using a formula after first getting the account, and sell off the ones which don't look to be collectible while focusing on those which do.

When they sell off to the next collector they are recovering some of their investment so they don't lose it all. This is why it's like a game of hot potato. If they didn't sell off your debt then they would be stuck with the loss of what they paid for it assuming you never pay them.

[DYLAN150]

I know this is a crystal ball type question but how long does these debt collection companies persue the debt. 6 years?

[tobee43]

I know this is a crystal ball type question but how long does these debt collection companies persue the debt. 6 years?

until the end of time! some of them anyway really try to get blood from a rock. they simply don't care that you have nothing to pay. many of them just enjoy calling and nagging people. (one truly knows there is a special place in hell for those). i know of stories of how they harass and harass for as long as possible.

if it continues i would change phone numbers, (cell and house). also send back all letters etc.

[GoingDown]

I know this is a crystal ball type question but how long does these debt collection companies persue the debt. 6 years?

It varies from junk debt buyer to junk debt buyer, and don't forget those collection triggers. Collection triggers may cause what seemed to be a very silent and dormant debt to suddenly come back to life and the junk debt buyer bumps the account back up to an active status again and sends the account to a new collection agency to start calling again. But if it is 6 years old, it is probably beyond the statute of limitations for most states, and so they generally will do nothing but call, and of course, you can get them to stop calling again by sending a new cease and desist letter to the new collection agency.

Arrow Financial and Regional Adjustment Bureau are some of the worst zombie junk debt buyers and zombie debt collectors I have ever had any experience with. They came after me for debts which were so old, they had already fallen off my credit report. More than 7 years old. In fact, I think they were about 10 years old. And what prompted them to come after me again after all those years? I bought a new truck with a car loan (which I later lost to repossession, but that's another story for another day). It was about a month after that when they started calling me and sending me letters.

They were very tricky on the phone. They first told me they were recording the call, and then they tried to verify my name and S.S. #, and even my date of birth, and then they wanted me to admit to owing the debt, and to make a small payment ($25) over the phone and agree to start making monthly payments again. I hung up on them when I realized what they were trying to do, and they called back immediately and left an angry message threatening "legal" action. A hallow threat, obviously, but it might scare some people.

I immediately sent them a cease and desist letter, and never heard from them again.

The old debt never reappeared on my credit report, fortunately, but the zombie debt collectors did appear on my report as "hard pulls" in the inquiry section of my report for 2 years. And then they fell off. I did see a "soft" pull from Arrow once again after that, about 6 months later. But nothing came of it. They didn't call me, they didn't send me a letter, and they didn't bounce the account to new collection agency.

My guess is that once the debts get that old, it becomes difficult to keep selling them to new junk debt buyers.

But to break it down for you... only two of my college credit card debts did this sort of thing after such a long time of silence. So, only 2 out of 7 did it. Most of them just didn't bother with me after such a long period of time.

[DYLAN150]

Next month will be a year since I stopped paying my credit cards. My biggest debt is to BOA and I have not heard a word from them in 7 months. Dell computer is the biggest pain in the rear.

[shark66]

Our biggest single debt (well over $30K), also to BOA, went past the SOL several months ago.

Haven't heard from them in years prior to that.

YMMV.

Good luck to us all.

[CCM620]

Wow, I have two for around $20,000 each. I figured those two, or another party who buys the debt from them would be sure to sue since the amounts are so large. A smaller debt for around $9,000 has been the first of 7 to sue after about a year and a half.

[shark66]

Wow, I have two for around $20,000 each. I figured those two, or another party who buys the debt from them would be sure to sue since the amounts are so large. A smaller debt for around $9,000 has been the first of 7 to sue after about a year and a half.

I'd tend to believe that in collective experience of this forum you'll find that people get sued for debts under $10K a lot more than they do for the larger ones...

Good luck to us all.

[GoingDown]

I'd tend to believe that in collective experience of this forum you'll find that people get sued for debts under $10K a lot more than they do for the larger ones...

Good luck to us all.

Yes, that seems to be true.

I think there are several reasons for that...

1. Debts below $10,000 are often handled in small claims court or something similar, so it is cheaper for the creditor in terms of court costs and legal fees.

2. Judgments for debts over $10,000 are usually a tipping point which causes the debtor to go ahead and file bankruptcy, so the judgment becomes worthless.

[bellessima]

An attorney from FIA services filed a complaint against me which I answered in the 20 day response time frame. I have now received a notice of service of Disclosure statement filed 25 days later. Why would I receive this? The claim is around 15K listed.
This Attorney previously filed a notice to dismiss just prior to my response. What is the sequence here. This disclosure is listed as Rule 26.1 (b) (1) the state is Arizona.
Thanks