You Vs a Collection Agency

[putz]

As i sit here waiting for the next board meeting (and hopefully my call up) I decided that I might use my current job to help people out.  I'll admit I don't have the most envious job but hey what can I say.  I'm a professional bill collector been doing it for years and did repos before that!  If anyone is has any sort of collection related questions feel free to PM me or post them.  I can assist you.  However, I WILL NOT help you hide from a debt.  I'll just give you advice. 




PS This isn't a spam post (as I read it its like I'm trying to sell something), and of course this is free and confidental

*Modified for spelling*

 

[JBoyd]

I know this thread was created quite a long time ago, but I have a problem and could use a little advice.

For my application to proceed I must get my debts in order and prove that to the military career counsellor so that I may recieve a waiver on the reliability status.

I have one troublesome collector however, A.R.C., They have a debt of mine that was originally with Midas/Wells Fargo. We have come to a satisfactory payment arrangement/agreement however they refuse to send me written confirmation of such. They suggested I have the MCC call them however being a government agent he cannot illicit information which I have explained to them in detail along with why I require the written confirmation. Their explaination is that if they provide me with written confirmation of a payment arrangement/agreement and then the client (being Midas/Wells Fargo) pulls the account from them, then I may hold them responsible and liable to the aforementioned payment agreement/arrangment. I have had no problems requesting and recieving confirmation letters from any other collection agency I have delt with now or in the past, and am a little concerned that they keep refusing my request. I have even suggested writing a letter and including that if the client pulls the account any previous agreement we have becomes null & void.

Is there anything I can do? without written confirmation of a satisfactory arrangement with them I cannot proceed on my request for a waiver. Kind of stuck at this point.

 

[Nfld Sapper]

You might be waiting awhile for putz to respond: Last Active:  August 19, 2007

But who knows someone else might be able to help you.

 

[Roy Harding]

A couple of sites which may be of assistance to you:

http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/oca-bc.nsf/en/h_ca02149e.html
http://www.gov.on.ca/mgs/en/ConsProt/STEL02_045978.html (Ontario specific - but may be worth reading)
http://www.canadian-money-advisor.ca/truth-about-collection-agencies.html
http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/publications/TipSheets/PDFs/TSCollAgency-eng.pdf

You've GOT to clear this away, and I know you're working on it.  Do what you have to do - that may involve being obsequious and jumping through hoops you don't think you should have to - but do it anyway.

Good luck.

Roy

 

[JBoyd]

Thank you Roy,

Any yes I Know I have to clear this up one way or another, and I am willing to go through as many hoops as I have to. This is the last hurdle (that I know of) of my application process and once this request is approved and processed so will my application.

The links were informational (unfortunatly the one that had specific information about my province was a dead link ), however I found that most of them pointed out what a collector cannot do by law, which for the most part I knew. However there were some tidbits in there that I can utilize, I am going to call the original lender and see if I can find out if they original contract specified they could sell off the account. Althought the original lender has proved unhelpful with this mater thusfar (I am showing two hits from them, one from Midas, the other from Wells Fargo, on my credit report. They are the same debt).  I also plan on calling the Director of Debt Collection in BC and see if there is any information they can provide. If I cannot reason with them to provide a confirmation in writing as to our agreement then the only option I really see left is to eventually settle with them. That may take a few months time, however a career in the CF is what I want and I certainly wont let a collection agency stand in my way.

 

[Roy Harding]

Thank you Roy,

Any yes I Know I have to clear this up one way or another, and I am willing to go through as many hoops as I have to. This is the last hurdle (that I know of) of my application process and once this request is approved and processed so will my application.

The links were informational (unfortunatly the one that had specific information about my province was a dead link ), however I found that most of them pointed out what a collector cannot do by law, which for the most part I knew. However there were some tidbits in there that I can utilize, I am going to call the original lender and see if I can find out if they original contract specified they could sell off the account. Althought the original lender has proved unhelpful with this mater thusfar (I am showing two hits from them, one from Midas, the other from Wells Fargo, on my credit report. They are the same debt).  I also plan on calling the Director of Debt Collection in BC and see if there is any information they can provide. If I cannot reason with them to provide a confirmation in writing as to our agreement then the only option I really see left is to eventually settle with them. That may take a few months time, however a career in the CF is what I want and I certainly wont let a collection agency stand in my way.

I'm glad you found them of use - which one was dead for you? (they all work fine for me).

Given our exchanges on various threads here, I'm confident that you'll clear this away and get on with your pursuit of a career in the CF - good luck to you.

 

[JBoyd]

I'm glad you found them of use - which one was dead for you? (they all work fine for me).

Given our exchanges on various threads here, I'm confident that you'll clear this away and get on with your pursuit of a career in the CF - good luck to you.

Thank you for you confidence, does mean alot 

The link that was dead was on the first one, the link opened but when I clicked on the link under the Heading 'British Columbia' all I got was 'Page Not Found'.

From my searchings today I cannot find anything that states they must provide me with written confirmation, so I guess all I can do with them is plead my case and hope for the best. My wife suggested something to speak to them about though, the fact that I do wish to continue to pay this debt, however by refusing to send me a confirmation they are effectively preventing me from aquiring job/career in which I could quickly and efficiently pay them off, and therefore I would not be able to continue to pay them in the near future (as my current position is seasonal). I do not know what saying this may or may not do, but at this point I really have nothing to lose. I guess I should prepare for the worst and start saving up .

 

[Roy Harding]

Seen on the link - naturally I have no idea what's going on there.

It seems to me that you're following this thing up as well as you can - don't stop, it HAS to be cleared away.

It also seems to me that you've got a smart wife who's on your side - she'll be an invaluable asset for the rest of your life (CF or no CF) - treasure her.

I came across a couple of sites specifically dealing with student debt - is this applicable to your case?  (My guess is that it isn't, given the company involved - but you never know until you ask).

I'm going to be extremely rude and ask the amount of the debt (feel free to either tell me to go to hell, or PM me - I won't take offense either way, and I'd ask that you not take offense at the question - it's well intentioned).

 

[kas]

The link that was dead was on the first one, the link opened but when I clicked on the link under the Heading 'British Columbia' all I got was 'Page Not Found'.

I played around with the search function on that site's home page and found the current URL for the page you wanted. Hope this helps.

http://www.bpcpa.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=145&Itemid=75

kas.

 

[JBoyd]

Kas thank you for the link, it opened for me

and Roy, PM incoming

 

[Roy Harding]

Kas thank you for the link, it opened for me

and Roy, PM incoming

Received and replied to.

If you DO come across anything which may help others in similar circumstances, I'd encourage you to post it here.

 

[JBoyd]

Received and replied to.

If you DO come across anything which may help others in similar circumstances, I'd encourage you to post it here.

Unfortunately A.R.C. continues to refuse to send any confirmation quite adamantly saying they cannot and willnot. My advice is if you deal with this company settle with them as fast as possible as they seem to be quite unresponsive to your needs no matter the situation, they also seem to bend the truth, as I called the original client and they said they no longer have the account and cannot rescind it (as A.R.C. has said they could and which is the reason they cannot send the letter), they have also said the contacted the collection agency the previously held the account, saying they own the account and employ A.R.C. to collect it, which I find hard to believe as I have another debt being held by the collection agency they say owns the account and they have been nothing more then willing to help. I have contacted them and asked about these discrepancies and yet they still insist they are under contract saying they cannot send an agreement letter. They also refused to send me a letter stating why they cannot send an agreement letter (which I find completely appalling). If you can help it deal with this company as little as possible, as they do not seem to have very good customer service skills (from my experience that is).

 

[stealthylizard]

Sounds like the predicament I am in with FDR from an old loan.  I called them, emailed them, and spoke with the officer in charge of my military application.  The officer said he can't do anything for me, except for give me advice on how to deal with them.  I will be getting a hold of the collection agency again tomorrow, and I won't take no for an answer.  I was even kind of threatened by the agent.  They kept calling my cell phone number, and I have asked them repeatedly not to call that number.  Apparently that is the only number I provided them with, which I know it isn't.  I left my cell number on my land line voice mail in case someone needed to get a hold of me in an emergency.  Anyways, I asked/told them to quit calling my cell number.  The agent said that he would rather have me shot and collect the full amount owing than putting up with my attitude.  I told him he could talk to my lawyer from now on (don't have a lawyer).  I waited a few seconds to see if he had changed his mind, but I heard nothing, and hung up.  So I know what you are going through.  At least the request for medical records wasn't a problem.

 

[geo]

JB & SL,
Obviously you are both saddled with debts that you can't settle immediately & will need time to clear away.

You have or should have a letter from your agency stating how much you owe.
You have or should have cancelled cheques or some other proof that you have made payments towards settling your debt.

Assembling a "schedule" that shows where you started, where you are and where you're going might satisfy the CFRC that you have a handle on things and that the CF does not have to worry that an agency will be knocking on their door in order to impose a garnishee of your wages.

The other alternative is for you to get a new loan (with co-signer) in order to pay off your old debt.

Just a couple of ideas for you guys to mull over.

 

[tomahawk6]

I would recomend visitng with a lawyer. I suspect the collection agency would fax the required document to the attorney in short order. A small price to pay to move your application forward.

 

[stealthylizard]

Only thing I received that showed the amount owing was a legal notice signalling their intent to take me to court to recover the amount owing.  They can't serve me a legal notice like that through regular mail.  It has to be through registered mail to confirm that I received it.  It was just a scare tactic.  I haven't been using cheques to pay them either, but rather telephone banking (I do keep my statements), and my payments have been irregular due to a severe lack of work this past year.  I did just send them 6 postdated cheques as per their request to start a payment schedule.  Anyways, time to start bugging them on the phone.

 

[tomahawk6]

Schedule a meeting with a lawyer. Here in the US the first half hour is free maybe its the same in Canada. Why mess around ? If a lawyer can get you an agreement between you and the collection agency today why not do it ?

 

[Roy Harding]

Just a side note - and in reference to an earlier post.  It's NEVER a good idea to threaten someone with "your Lawyer" if you haven't actually retained one.  Your bluff tends to get called pretty fast.

 

[geo]

Just a side note - and in reference to an earlier post.  It's NEVER a good idea to threaten someone with "your Lawyer" if you haven't actually retained one.  Your bluff tends to get called pretty fast.

Oh so true!

A long time ago, in another lifetime when I was a credit manager, I had many dealings with lawyers, collection agencies, bankruptcy trustees AND all sorts of people who, for various reasons weren't meeting their obligations.  I managed to work out alternate payment arrangements for my customers.... sometimes in spite of their complete lack of common sense.

 

[mover1]

GO see the financial counsellor at SISIP. The one here in Greenwood is a shark when it comes to dealing with collection agencies and they may even help you out with a loan if need be to clear things up.