First National Collection Bureau They offered a settlement on a debt they took over from Cross Country Bank, and now they are asking for more money. Payments were on time. How can they be made to acknowledge the first agreement? McCarran, Nevada

The worst mistake a person can make in dealing with debt collectors is to pay a settlement without getting the terms of the settlement in writing BEFORE you pay them. Debt collectors love to offer settlements over the phone and once they get your money, they come right back and start demanding more.

Sadly, without any documentation of this settlement, they can legally come right back and start demanding more money.

The FTC or BBB cannot help.

First of all, FORGET the BBB! Thay CANNOT do anything for you. The BBB is a corrupt and useless organization. They are a FOR PROFIT business, NOT any sort of consumer protection organization.

Second, the FTC does NOT do "individual" enforcement. Your complaints to the FTC will only be archived for possible future use by other governement agencies, and you will get a generic form letter explaining your rights under the FDCPA and FCRA.

To enforce your rights under any FTC rule, you must bring your own action, at your own expense through the court system.

You say you "made an agreement". But I would bet that the "agreement" you made was over the phone, right? If this is the case, you have no agreement.

This is why it is best never to speak with any third party debt collector on the phone. Doing so will never produce positive results for you, and in most cases will make things worse, as you have found out.

When dealing with any third party debt collector, ALWAYS communicate only in writing, and via certified mail, return reciept requested. Be sure to put the certified# in the body of the letter itself, and keep a copy for your records. NEVER sign anything you send to a third party debt collector. Just print.

Before you agreed to pay this third party debt collector, did you make them "validate" the debt? Was it still within the statute of limitations for legal enforcement action?

FYI...Third party debt collectors CANNOT report your payments to the credit bureaus. Therefore, your payments to them mean absolutely nothing in most cases to your credit score. Only the original creditor can report payments to your account. And, if the payments were "post charge off", they will NOT get reported at all.

Knowledge is power.

Educate yourself BEFORE taking any action or making any agreements.

File a complaint against the collection agency with the AG's office in your state and theirs. Contact the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. They may not be able to help but they have numerous complaints on file. My late mother had a card with Cross Country and it was a battle in dealing with them, but fun as well.

The FTC used to work for the consumer until Bill Clinton changed that before he left office for good.