Can a collections agency sue me if I am making payments towards my debt?
OK, here is the deal. There is a lot of incorrect information given to you here. Don’t take a chance of ruining your credit or having your wages attached or your bank accounts emptied after being sued because you took bad advice. Contact a Consumer Credit Counseling Agency in your area to find out what is/is not legal. Different states have different laws and they vary WIDELY. Texas is a debtors haven and collectors have almost no power there while other states are less debtor friendly. Contrary to popular belief all collection agencies are not scum, they are simply trying to recover a debt that you incurred and failed to pay. I am sympathetic to your plight, everyone has difficulties in life, but you did agree to pay this back and you have already failed to do that once, the collection agency has no reason to believe you will do so now. Do yourself a favor and get some professional advise. Soon!
Collection agencies are often smarmy companies that will do anything, say anything, to scare you into paying. The amount they are paid is based on how much they get from you. They get a percentage of the money you pay them. There are, believe it or not, some honest agencies that can help you with this kind of stuff. The Consumer Credit Counselling Agency is one. They will negotiate on your behalf to reduce payments to your creditors. They will have you close down your existing credit card accounts and work out a low monthly payment that you will pay to them and they will ensure that the other companies are paid. They can often get the companies to waive finance charges and things like that. In many cases they can help you avoid bankruptcy. However, there are cases where bankruptcy is the best bet, and those counsellors will help you make that decision. You’ll need to reveal your debts to them and talk honestly with them about it, but they can really help. You can tell the creditors not
This question would really depend on where you live. It’s a sobering thought, but even if you’ve never missed a payment and have a decent APR of 9.99%, $100 a month in payments would still take 293 months to pay off your debt (that’s over 24 years). If you’ve missed a payment and your APR has gone up to something like 24%, you will NEVER pay off your debt. With an $11000 balance and $100/month payments, my guess is that you’re not coming up with enough for the minimum monthly payment right now. That is likely why the company is hounding you for the $3000. I would HIGHLY recommend finding a local debt counseling agency. Alternatively, you may want to contact a debt consolidation company (find a not-for-profit agency) to help you out. They will negotiate with your credit card company/the collectors to get you a more manageable payment schedule.
I dont pay the collection agencies. I dont owe them money- i write a letter to the company that I do owe money to and send off a monthly amount- it is up to them to pass it on to the collection agencies or not. I add in a balance sheet each month to show them what is left. The collection agencies usually take on unnecessary fees so avoid them if all possible. Dont contact them- contact the comapny you owe money to and above all else… KEEP DETAILED RECORDS!!! of all telephone, mail or email contacts, checks paid, money orders and receipts so if they do try to screw you then you have prrof you have been making payments.
