Reyna,
Since when is just being RIGHT considered to be "high and mighty"?
I simply corrected you on several levels regarding your post since you were giving "advice" that was seriously flawed and could potentially hurt someone if they followed it.
If you are going to give advice, just be sure to check your facts FIRST, and pay attention to how you word things. Proper wording is essential, especially if the case goes to court. They will use EVERYTHING you ever communicated to them against you in court. Improper wording WILL cause you to lose in court. Guaranteed.
For example: There is NO SUCH THING in the FDCPA called a "cease and desist order".
Using this wording in a "legal" demand letter will cause you to lose any attempt to file suit for damages because the law doesnt allow for "cease and desist".
The EXACT verbage from FEDERAL LAW [FDCPA] is "CEASE COMMUNICATIONS REQUEST".
Also, you will not "recieve papers in the mail" summoning you to court.
ALL "legal process" must be served via process server, IN PERSON.
Then you talk about "any payment except in full" will go to late fees, interest, commission, etc. and you could end up with this debt forever".
TOTALLY FALSE statements of fact. It is ILLEGAL for any collection agency to add ANY FEES to the amount charged to the debtor. Cant do it. The ONLY thing that can be charged are pre charge off items including the default interest rate as allowed in the contract, and late fees. That's it. Then you have post charge off interest ONLY after being reduced to the level federal law allows, all late fees and other fees must cease at this time.
Furthermore, the debt cannot go on forever as you stated. Each state has a Statute of Limitations for legal enforcement of a debt contract. For example here in Florida a defaulted credit card commonly referred to as an "open account" can only be enforced in collections by the courts for 5 years past the first major delinquency, UNLESS a payment or payment arrangement has been made that would restart the SOL clock.
And, regardless of the SOL on the collections enforcement, the credit reporting of the defaulted debt can only be reported for 7 years past the FIRST major default, regardless of how many times it is sold or assigned for collections.
A collection agency CANNOT "trash your credit" as you claimed. Not LEGALLY anyway.
The collection agancy can only report 1 entry on your credit report being the collection account. That's it. This entry will NOT hurt the debtors credit score any more than the initial default on the account.
Finally, ANYONE who would tell people to make a BBB report is a MORON. The BBB has ABSOLUTELY no power at all to do anything. The BBB is an OBSOLETE and corrupt organization that serves NO PURPOSE to the consumer whatsoever. The BBB is a FOR PROFIT company, NOT any form of government agency. ROR is FAR MORE effective than the BBB in reporting bad business practices.
And, the Attorney General DOES NOT represent individuals in these matters. The AG is in place ONLY to represent and advise government agencies, and the people as a whole such as a class action against a debt collector in the name of the people of the state, etc. They WILL NOT represent you individually.
The ONLY way to get enforcement of your rights under the FDCPA and/or FCRA is in a court of law, where you must bring the action yourself, at your expense. Nobody will do it for you. You are on your own.
That is the way it is in the real world.
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I am a Certified Credit Counselor and for four years it was my job to contact creditors to set up payment plans for my clients who had fallen behind in their payments. Capital One was the worst. If Capital One could not get the job done, they sold their accounts to Alliance One. Collection calls can last from 8 am until 9 pm, in Minnesota, they can threaten your lifestyle, harass the client, lie about the consequences if the bill is not paid etc. These reps from collection agencies will stop at nothing to obtain their commission when they get you to pay. If you give them your account number, they can clean out your whole bank account and good luck getting that back.
Filing a cease and desist order will stop the calls but that you have no idea what these collection agencies are going to do to you and your account with out your knowledge. You may receive papers in the mail summoning you to court for this debt or you may receive a judgment that you didn't see coming.
The reps at Alliance One are ruthless and will stop at nothing to obtain a payment even if it means lying, being supportive and manipulative.
Any payment, except in full, will go to their late fees, interest, commission etc. and you could end up with this debt forever. All the while, your credit report is trashed. If you are able to avoid collections and do not offer a payment or even talk to them, after seven years, the statue of limitations will have run out and they cannot collect on this debt. And as far as Alliance One calling your husband who is not on the bill, that is called a go see. They cannot try and obtain information from anyone, except from you. It is a violation. They can call you neighbors to see if you still work there but that is about it. Any private information that they try and obtain is against the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Contant your Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau immediately.
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Why file a report here? Ripoff Report is a permanent record! Other complaint sites copy our content then remove reports for money.
