Are bill collectors required to accept $20 a month for payment?

Question

Hi All-

Quick question in regards to bill collectors. I have a bill in collection and when the collection agency called , since i'm not working I can only afford $20 a month for payment she told me " we can't accept a payment lower then 75 a month " so i've not been paying because i can't afford $75 a month .. I sent her a payment for $20 ,she sent it back.. isn't $20 a month still making a payment? Can the reject my payment because its not what they want ?

TIA

Carrie

Answer 1

Hi Tia,i just wanted to say that i'm in a bind right now too.I have 1 credit card that i can't pay the full monthly payment on.I owe over 6 thousand on it.I know,stupid.But i explained it to them a couple of times and they have been accepting my payment of 10 dollars a month.I'm sure they aren't happy about it but they accept it.Good luck.

Answer 2

They do not have to accept it.  Sorry : (

Answer 3

Maybe some states are more pro-debtor, but in my experience of doing collections work (on both sides) the judge NEVER forgives debt just because someone attempted to pay.  A creditor doesn't have to take payment and the court can't deprive them of payment just because they wouldn't accept payment.

Answer 4

Legally, no, they do not have to accept any payment unless you have some kind of agreement with them.

BUT this plays in your favor should you get sued for this debt. If you can document your attempts to pay them and show where they returned your payments, it would put them in a very unfavorable light with the judge to the point where you might get a portion of the debt forgiven and/or a payment plan you can afford rather than the standard garnishment rate, if your state allows wage garnishment.

Again, that isn't spelled out in the law and would totally depend on your judge, but them refusing your payments would not bode well for them.

Answer 5

Collections are in the business of making money. They don’t care whether you have a jib or not. But you need to know your rights: Don’t pay them anything and send them a validation letter. They need to proof that you owe this account or else they can’t collect. Collections Companies buy their accounts from Wall Street. This is called Junk Debt Buy.

They pay cents or a $1, therefore they are making a huge profit. They know if you care about your credit you’ll pay and the operator will earn a bigger commission. See the source and find the help you need against these companies.

To have a good credit you only need to have 4 credit accounts.  These accounts can be 2 credit cards a mortgage or loan. Keep the credit card at 35% this will increase your scores. If you decide not to use the card for longer than six month the account can become inactive and cause a weight on your credit rather than helping you.

Credit scoring software looks at five areas of your credit reports and uses these percentages as a guide:

35% - Your Payment History

30% - Amounts You Owe

15% - Length of Your Credit History

10% - Types of Credit Used

10% - New Credit

Best luck..........