I'm new! uh.. help?

[ohcrap]

So, I recently moved from my parents' home, to my great relief. The collectors' calls terrified me (I'm sort of extremely shy and hate confrontation), and I had several really bad experiences with collectors. They call and keep calling my parents, even though my parents tell them not to call them anymore. I need to know now what to do. I have about $15k in credit card bills (not to mention student loans & medical bills, but that's another story). Recently I learned my husband would be coming into some money, and I really want to get rid of as much of this debt as possible. I know that usually if you say you'll pay one lump sum, they'll cut down the total dramatically. the question is, how can I get them to cut it down (keeping in mind I'm not very aggressive.. ) substantially? Are there guidelines they follow, or is it just like haggling? If anyone has any tips for me, I'd appreciate it. I'm so bad at dealing with this stuff.

[FilingOnMyOwn]

Usually, if you offer a lump sum payment they will negotiate with you. When doing this, start very low and by no means would you indicate what kind of money you actually have. I'd start with an offer of roughly 30% on each debt. If they say no, say sorry, thats all you have. If they counteroffer you something within 15% or so, then say you might be able to pull it off. Tell them to send it to you in writing, you'll see what you can do, and hang up the phone. Move on to the next debt. After you have gone through them all, go back to the first rejected offer a few days later. Offer them an amount 45% of the balance. And so on. Make sure they send you confirmation of everything in writing. Some places will take the money and simply apply it towards your total balance then try to bill you for the rest later. Getting everything in writing is your only protection. Ultimately, you should be able to settle all of it under 60%. Some creditors will settle for as little as 30%, some won't accept less than 60%. The trick is to drive a hard bargain by stressing that its all the money you have right now. Another thing is that you may be pursued by multiple parties for the same debt. You need to pull all 3 of your credit reports and carefully assess your situation before shelling out any cash, to anyone.

[copper2]

There is a process they follow. Rememer, they don't want you to think you're in control of the situation, and basically, you are. If they can't collect something from you, they will sell your case (debt) to a third party who can spend the necessary time harrassing you. These people will be paid a percentage of what is recovered. Who is contacting you? The original lender or the third party (collection agency)? When your debt is sold, the original creditor has written off your bill and gotten a NICE FAT TAX WRITE-OFF, ie Profit/Loss. What they are hoping to do is get something. , and your debt can be bought and sold over and over in this abyss. I agree with the above advice. Make your offer and if it is not accepted right away, leave it and come back. In the end, if they want it bad enough they will be left to pursue legal action against you, which is very expensive for them. There is lots of information online about this process. It will give you peace of mind to read about the debt recovery cycle. Good luck to you,

[JOSEPHLB]

As others have stated, its important to find out about the ownership of the account
1) Is it still with the original creditor
2) Has it been sold to a 3rd party debt collector
a) The key word here is "Sold". If the debt has been referred, that is a whole different story. The original creditor is most likely using their internal recovery department to collect the debt. So, the original creditor most likely is still reporting a balance, and owns the debt.
b) If the debt truely has been sold, then the agreeement with the original creditor is null and void. This most likely happens after a couple of years. They are most likely reporting a $0 balance, and has it noted as sold/transferred on your credit reports. Its been put in the accounting books as a loss. Its all in the past, and at the present day, the original creditor could care less, because they are still making $$ and still in business.

If it is a debt collector that continues calling your parents, even though your parents informed them to stop calling, that is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. They should have ceased phone communications with your parents. Also, did the debt collector communicate with your parents in reference to what they are truely calling about? Meaning, did they tell you parents that you owe them money and discuss details of the alleged account with them? Another possible violation also. The only other person other than the real debtor that they can talk to about an alleged account is a spouse. In the FDCPA, it gives the guidelines on this in detail.

Now you say you may be coming into a decent sum of money. This is information you need to keep disclosed from any creditor or debt collector. You need to be the one that calls the shots; do not let them manipulate you and lead you to believe you have to pay.
I'm not advocating that debts should be paid or not be paid, but depending on the age of these credit accounts and other various circumstances, there are possibly other avenues of approach you could possibly take, with very little cost to you. Again, I cannot stress enough the age of these accounts are very important.
Take a trip over to www.creditboards.com
You can get alot of good information regarding collections, debts, and how to fix honest mistakes. It will take persistent work though on your part.

[ohcrap]

I'm almost positive that these are the 3rd party bad debt companies calling me. They didn't speak to my parents about the nature of their calls, I'm sure, but we know why they're calling.

Thank you for that forum address, it's very helpful!

[SinkingFast]

If you can, get the mailing address for the Collectors that are calling.

Some States require you to request when and where NOT to call in writing.

Maybe as a CYA for yourself, send a letter, via Certified Mail, telling the Collectors not to call your parents' phone. Any other places and hours you do not want to be called, mention those as well.

Generally speaking, if you request they not contact you at certain times or places via letter, they have to abide by your request.