okay so... a little background: had a card with capital one, forgot about it (yeah, i know, my bad), and now it's super delinquent. i owe like $800 on it, and it's 141 days past due.

this company called NCO financial systems calls me today and wants me to pay the whole thing, the woman was being a bitch to me. i told her i haven't received anything in writing from either them or capital one, and until such time that i receive such an item, i would do no such thing, as i have no way to verify the debt.

then she said that she was from the collections department at capital one. i said "no, you're from nco financial systems." her response: "OKAY... nco financial systems on behalf of capital one." i said "okay, just wanted to make sure, don't misrepresent yourself, that's also illegal."

this went on and on, she gave me a number to call to verify the debt, i asked if it was capital one, she said yes... i call it, and guess what? nco financial systems.

so yeah.

let's skip the whole "omg you are behind on paying bills you suck" part of this and cut to the chase:

my understanding of the protection act thing is they have to provide you with verification of the debt, if they can't do this, then they can't do shit. this has to come in writing.

what is my best course of action? i'd be more than happy to pay the principal (around $515, the rest is in fees), but only to capital one, i don't want to pay a debt collection agency.

10/10/2007 4:49:37 PM

I'd call Clark Howard.

10/10/2007 4:52:48 PM

so why haven't you called capital one...do you not even have the card anymore (typically the # to call is on the card) - or at least it's online and they can look it up via your ssn or some other information

there is no way they didn't send out notices in writing - maybe your address is wrong?

Quote :

"i'd be more than happy to pay the principal (around $515, the rest is in fees), but only to capital one,"

anyone would be happy to pay only the principal on an interest loan that you wish was interest free

10/10/2007 4:56:02 PM

Capital One may have sold your debt to NCO Financial Systems.

and

http://clarkhoward.com/

10/10/2007 4:56:22 PM

Capital One may have sold your debt to NCO Financial Systems.

10/10/2007 4:57:14 PM

Yep, if NCO is calling then your debt has been sold to them. Technically you don't owe anything to Capital One any more, only to NCO . . . . and you'll have to pay not only the principal, but whatever collection fees they've added.


Call them again, make sure they have your correct address, and demand verification in writing of the debt. Tell them you'll be happy to pay it as soon as you receive that, that will usually get their attention.

10/10/2007 4:59:23 PM

Quote :

"i'd be more than happy to pay the principal (around $515, the rest is in fees), but only to capital one, i don't want to pay a debt collection agency."

Tough shit. Capital One may have sold your debt to NCO Financial Systems. Just call Capital One to verify they sold your debt and then pay NCO the $800 you now owe them.

10/10/2007 4:59:38 PM

Quote :

"Tell them you'll be happy to pay it as soon as you receive that, that will usually get their attention."

that's almost exactly what i said to her, and she basically said i had to pay it whether i got that or not.

10/10/2007 5:04:25 PM

Tough shit. Capital One may have sold your debt to NCO Financial Systems.

10/10/2007 5:06:12 PM

Quote :

"Tough shit. Capital One may have sold your debt to NCO Financial Systems."

yeah i know

that's what i was asking for verification of
how am i supposed to know that they are acting on behalf of capital one? i have nothing to prove that...

10/10/2007 5:07:25 PM

What are the odds that a company is going to randomly say you owe them $800, and happen to claim they're representing a credit card you KNOW you're delinquent on?

10/10/2007 5:08:23 PM

well YEAH i know :\

i'm just trying to be a dick to them because i hate owing money

also i'm new to this :\ never had a collection agency call before... they're quite belligerent...

10/10/2007 5:10:41 PM

In that case...



Call NCO and fight with them on the phone. It could turn out to be a great way to relieve stress.


Then pay at the last possible second.

10/10/2007 5:14:06 PM

have you checked your credit report
it will tell you

and yes, they HAVE TO and MUST provide PROOF of Debt

10/10/2007 5:15:42 PM

Google doesn't have too many nice things to say about NCO.

10/10/2007 5:16:46 PM

I had a collector also call me that was a total dick because they did not receive my Reed's payment and it had gone to collections... for being one month late.

He said I had to pay it over the phone, with a late payment fee, and they would also process 7 dollars from my checking account (which he said he had open right in front of him to take out the payment) to do it over the phone at that time.... Of course I said I did not recall missing a payment and do it the same time every month, and he was not to touch my money. He said I better hope I have a receipt... I said that I would find it and I am hanging up now.

Hung up and called Reeds... Turns out some new guy with their new fancy computer system made 3 accounts for me in their system because he rang my payment up wrong. They had my payment information and apologized, called the dbag collectors and told them they fucked up.... Anyway... Collectors suck. Then Reed's fucked up again the next month... different story though./

[Edited on October 10, 2007 at 5:22 PM. Reason : sorry for sticking my story in here for no real reason]

10/10/2007 5:22:12 PM

Quote :

"have you checked your credit report it will tell you and yes, they HAVE TO and MUST provide PROOF of Debt"

yeah, just checked it. that (obviously) dropped my score quite a bit... i'm right under 700 now

and it's the only "derogatory mark" on there

and yeahhh, that's what i thought too. thx2u, gunzz.

10/10/2007 5:22:40 PM

better work on it.

Quote :

"In terms of interest rates, on average, a person with a credit score of 520 will get interest rates on loans that are three to four percentage points higher than rates given to a person with a credit score of 720."

http://www.creditreport.com/info/credit-scores/average-credit-scores.asp

10/10/2007 5:24:48 PM

Quote :

"the woman was being a bitch to me"

You would be one also if someone owed you money and was 141 days past due on payment.

Oh and see ya credit score

[Edited on October 10, 2007 at 5:26 PM. Reason : .]

10/10/2007 5:24:55 PM

who loans to a person with a 520 anyways?

10/10/2007 5:26:27 PM

loanshark

10/10/2007 5:27:27 PM

"lois's rainy day fund"

10/10/2007 5:27:52 PM

if its on your credit report then its legit
but they still have to provide you with written proof

10/10/2007 5:30:54 PM

Volcano insurance?

10/10/2007 5:30:59 PM

how do you just happen to forget about your $800 credit card debt???

10/10/2007 5:47:31 PM

Had one call me one time looking for my sister (who through extenuating circumstances was using my ph # for like a month a while back). I told the woman that this was no longer her number and the bitch started swearing at me and calling me a liar and saying I needed to own up and pay my debt. Then the bastards were calling me like 10 times a day. After many tries I finally talked to a sane person that listened to me and fixed teh shit in their computer. Debt collectors are real assholes . . . although what would you do if you were them. Most everyone is gonna lie and say it's not their debt, yada, yada, yada.

I would be inclined to say get it taken care of as soon as possible so it doesn't screw with yoru credit more; however, since you already have it on your record that debt collectors are after you, would it screw it up that much more? I'd def make them send me something on paper and mail them payment (prolly have to be a certified check or money order or some bullshit).

10/10/2007 5:50:15 PM

if they HAVE sold your debt to NCO (which it sounds like they did), you can normally negotiate with them on a pay-off amount of much less than you owe. the princepal would be a good payoff amount.

this may not be possible, but i'd inquire/research into the possibility of having any negative marks on your credit report erased as a condition of your pay-off payment. otherwise what are you getting out of paying this debt off if its already jacked up your credit (and can't jack it up any more)? Anyone know if his credit can get any worse from this incident, or is the effect as bad as its going to be?

Quote :

"You would be one also if someone owed you money and was 141 days past due on payment. "

whatever, the collections lady is just a bitch who happens to be a collector. Its not like evan borrowed the money from her or something, grow up.

Quote :

"how do you just happen to forget about your $800 credit card debt???"

that is a good question...

also keep in mind there are tons of regulations governing where and how often these people can contact you.

10/10/2007 6:01:53 PM

For anyone reading who may also be dealing with this, or for future reference (I'm sure at some point, this thread will be bumped), I've posted some helpful links below. I'll also help you with anything you wanna PM me about, in this respect. My parents have been in some really hard times for over four years now, so I'm entirely too well-versed in this stuff for being 22

Collectors rely on debtors being entirely unaware of their rights and the law. When they know you know anything about these, they typically mark you as uncollectible, and sell your debt (again). And send all communication via certified mail. Get everything in writing. If someone won't agree to putting something in writing, it's a good sign that they're full of shit.

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
FAQ on the FDCP
Sample Letter (consumerist is GREAT)
Different one
General consumerist debt collection posts. Most link to resources.
Your rights as a debtor
Added fees - Just cause they say you owe it doesn't mean you do.

Quote :

"if they HAVE sold your debt to NCO (which it sounds like they did), you can normally negotiate with them on a pay-off amount of much less than you owe. the princepal would be a good payoff amount. this may not be possible, but i'd inquire/research into the possibility of having any negative marks on your credit report erased as a condition of your pay-off payment."

1) You definitely can negotiate. They're happy to take %ages. He could probably get away with less than the original debt, actually.
2) You're sometimes able to get negative information removed from your credit report. Dunno if evan can do that here, though, as it seems Citi would have that power, and he's dealing with NCO now.

But if he were able to, that's a prime example of getting everything in writing.

10/10/2007 6:09:24 PM

Quote :

"How do you just happen to forget about your $800 credit card debt???"

10/10/2007 8:29:48 PM

i really want to do this, haha

10/11/2007 12:34:14 AM

I'd suggest getting in touch with the NC Department of Insurance and filing a complaint, and also filing one with the NC Department of Justice.

NCO has never been licensed in North Carolina so technically it's illegal for them to conduct business here but they do it anyway. They won't file a suit against you, but they will keep the debt on your credit report until it's paid in full -- including if they offer, and you pay, a "settlement" at a reduced amount (they will never put anything in writing, including settlement agreements, so any offers you get will be verbal and they will ultimately not honor them)

I'd also strongly suggest attaching a recording device to your phone and recording all your conversations with them. They breach the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act quite regularly and they generally don't care. If you can ever find the $$$ for a lawyer who can sue them in their home state, you'd have a field day. 

10/11/2007 12:07:17 PM

Quote :

"who loans to a person with a 520 anyways?"

if they don't want to get sued.....

10/11/2007 12:08:43 PM

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/05/ncogroup.shtm

10/11/2007 2:10:39 PM

^^^^ That was pretty sweet go for it

[Edited on October 11, 2007 at 2:16 PM. Reason : ^^^^]

10/11/2007 2:16:05 PM

Quote :

"who loans to a person with a 520 anyways?"

it's not easy, but some places do. my score wasn't much better, and i was able to get a loan for my house. i did the whole run up credit cards in college thing, closed them out, and had no other credit history. i didn't budget well for my last year of school and wasn't able to work as much as i thought, and made a stupid decision to cover some exspenses on two cards.

one of my cards the lady was really nice and willing to work with me on payments, etc. the other was a complete bitch, calling me and my work constantly, and even showed up at my office looking for me! how the hell they expected me to pay if i got fired for debt collectors showing up at my office, who knows. this was all over about $1200.

be careful how you settle it. i believe that it shows better on your credit report if you pay the entire amount vs. negotiating a settlement.

10/11/2007 2:25:34 PM

Quote :

"NCO has never been licensed in North Carolina so technically it's illegal for them to conduct business here but they do it anyway."

are you for real?

i think it's time to call dad's lawyers.

10/11/2007 7:23:46 PM

not to say he's not a reputable source - but i would think twice before calling "dad's lawyers" based on any information from tww...

10/11/2007 7:45:18 PM

you owe the money, just pay it up


cut your losses

10/11/2007 7:46:43 PM

^^^
not sure if it's changed in the last few years, but I worked for the State Bar back in 2002 and they weren't licensed in NC then. I'm assuming they're still not -- it's fairly common practice for a number of collection agencies. the upside is that they typically can't file suit against you b/c they'd have to file in NC

10/12/2007 2:00:38 AM

they're dickheads but they'll be all on your credit report.

I'd definately call capital one, confirm if they sold the shit to nco, ask capital one if you can pay it anyway, if so; they'll get nco off your back; if not; call nco and pay them.

10/12/2007 2:37:40 AM

I am pretty damned sure they (Capital One) called you many many times as well as sent you letters in the mail. I dont know how you miss 10+ notifications. This is piss poor on your part, and you probably deserve a wake-up call.

With that aside, if this is already on your credit record, then their one trump card, short of taking you to court, is already played. Like others, I would agree to pay the sum you owed, plus some interest. You owe most of the money, so man up and pay off your responsibilities.

10/12/2007 10:08:38 AM

Quote :

"otherwise what are you getting out of paying this debt off if its already jacked up your credit"

can it jack up his credit more if he doesn't pay it?

10/12/2007 10:30:20 AM

It wouldnt necessarily hurt his credit score already more than it already has, but if he doesnt settle, when he wants that house or new car, they are going to be hard pressed to give him a loan. One of the few exceptions to this is medical debt, but I doubt many will feel sympathy over this/

10/12/2007 10:50:04 AM

Quote :

"I am pretty damned sure they (Capital One) called you many many times as well as sent you letters in the mail. I dont know how you miss 10+ notifications. This is piss poor on your part, and you probably deserve a wake-up call. "

no, i changed addresses 2 or 3 times in this process and apparently i forgot to change my capital one billing address
i never use that card, so it fell by the wayside

maybe it would be nice to ask about someone's situation before being a dick about it, huh?

10/12/2007 12:10:14 PM

You never used the card? Well, apparently you did. Did you never bother to put any mail forwards on during that time?

I'm not being a dick. You spent the money on credit, and you owe the money. with the penalties and interest, you deserve to pay a hefty penalty. the fact that you have so many credit cards that you lose track of them is also your fault.

For the record, I HATE the credit card companies that will jack your intereste rate up 10% and charge you $40 for a a day or 2 late payment, but almost half a year went by. If you can do anything, you might BEG Capital One or someone to fix your credit records if you pay up. They CAN do it, but its a pain (I once had a computer error say I was 60 days late when I paid early, bringing by 800 credit score down. it took 6 months to fix).

[Edited on October 12, 2007 at 12:45 PM. Reason : .]

10/12/2007 12:41:38 PM

There are some really good credit repair forums out there where people give really good advice on these manners. I may be giving some misinformation, but from what I gathered, it's not necessarily the best case to just pay them off immediately, even if you know you owe the money. There are certain measures you can take to try to avoid points on your credit history. They have to verify the debt. I believe there is a form you send off, and they have to respond back within a given amount of time. I believe there is also another form where you can basically agree to pay the debt off if they guarantee they'll remove any marks from your credit history. There's a whole procedure you can go through. I'm sure someone will link it if it hasn't been linked already.

10/12/2007 1:09:32 PM

Quote :

"I'm not being a dick. You spent the money on credit, and you owe the money. with the penalties and interest, you deserve to pay a hefty penalty. the fact that you have so many credit cards that you lose track of them is also your fault."

actually, that's only 1 of 2 cards i have, i keep the cards in a filing cabinet at home and only use them for large purchases - in all the commotion of moving and new jobs and whatnot, i completely forgot that i had that card.

10/12/2007 1:26:03 PM

I know what you're goin thru, I kinda did the same thing when I was younger, but instead of paying the collection agency, I paid the full amount ot the people I orignally owed. They told the collection agency to stop everything, which they did.

then I filed an investigation with the credit bureau and they removed it off my report, b/c it said I owed the collection agency money, which after paying the original people, I didn't.



you should really take care of this quickly. even if you don't have the entire amount to pay, they'll be willing to take monthly payments. shit like this could really f-up your credit score if not taken care of.


I'd be wary of those "credit repair" agencies, most of them are full of shit (according to the various things I"ve read over the years) and pretty much everything \ they do are the same things you can do, with just a bit of work.

10/12/2007 2:27:28 PM

Oh man.

A letter arrived today for my bf's ex (we've been together >2.5yrs; I don't know just when they broke up. In that time, my bf has bought a house, and moved from the apartment the two used to share).

...For a debt that the original creditor sold to NCO

10/19/2007 10:14:22 PM