Can a collection agency refuse to negotiate, and hang up on you!?

Question

ok, that sounds funny, but heres what happened. i had a cell phone account which i closed without paying the fee of 250. its been over a year and this has now been stated as a "writeoff" on my credit report, which affected a car loan i was not able to get. upon calling the agency to settle ,they refused to negotiate, and insisted i pay the full amout. i proposed 170 of the 250 and asked for paperwork to be sent stating that "any negative information on my credit report be removed". the agency replied, "ill put you down as a refusal to pay" and hung up the phone. ha! now what?!

Answer 1

A charge off is absolutely not somehting you want on your credit report.  A charge off means your debt was sold to these collectors for a portion of it's value. They in turn come to you for the full amount.  A collection company usually will not negotiate a charge off. The best outcome is you pay it but not before getting something in writing from them which will attest they will report the charge off as paid.  Although a little better, it is still a charge off and will require years to repair.

Answer 2

You needed to negotiate that pay for delete in a different manner. Of course they're not going to negotiate...they want as much money as possible. What you've now done is acknowledged the debt which re-starts the 7 year statute of limitations. Just send them what you can, if they accept it they are by defaulted agreeing to a payment arrangement. This does't mean you don't owe the full $250..just pay the rest when you can. If they're really serious they'll send the payment back (not gonna happen). Make sure you pay by money order only and keep a copy.

Answer 3

First of all, collection agencies have rules they have to abide by.  If you have time, spend the 30 min it will take to read over the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and read what they can and can't do (like call you names).

Secondly, the CAN hang up on you.  It's part of the hard ball tactic.   A paid collection will hurt your FICO score just as bad as an unpaid one.  The difference is, as you found out with your car loan, that many times credit will not be extended to you if you have unpaid collections.

I would mail or fax them a letter stating that you will pay in full ONLY in exchange for a complete removal of the collection from any and all credit reporting agencies they are reporting to.

They don't have to do this, and in fact, will probably refuse.... but since you're going to have to pay it anyway, it is better to try and get it removed from  your report.

I would try that tactic 4 or 5 times before giving in.

I hope that helps!

Answer 4

Refusing to negotiate is a negotiating tactic. Wait a few weeks and see what happens next.

on edit:

Stay off the phone with them. Negotiate in writing.

on second edit:

Anyone telling you that a collection agency will not remove negative information from your account is wrong. Some agencies will, some will not.

Answer 5

Of course they can refuse to negotiate.  You own them $250, and no collection agency is ever going to remove anything from your credit report.  They will show it as paid, but it will still hang out on your report for seven years.  I suggest you call them back and offer them $170 again.  It will report to the bureau as "settled for less than full amount" but at least when you try to get credit, they will know that the agency is not trying to collect anything else from you. Good luck.

Answer 6

I was in a similar situation.I paid my cell bill in full and Verizon refused to restart my phone service.My husband was seriously ill & money was very tight and that was the only time I fell behind in my bill. I was 2 months away from the end of the contract.They demanded that I pay almost $400.00 for breach of contract on 2 phones,which was more than the actual bills would have been. They were not willing to give me a break.I never paid the contract fee & it is still with a collection agency.That was about 8 years ago.It is no longer on my credit report,and my credit is very good. They will never see the money .

Answer 7

Of course they have the right to refuse a settlement for anything less than the full amount.

If they are going to accept nothing less than the full amount, then you should absolutely request a written agreement from them that they will pull this off your credit report upon receipt of your money. Get this agreement PRIOR to paying....if you don't they won't help you.     If they refuse to give you this written agreement, it's pointless paying them.  Never trust verbal promises...if it's not in writing it's worthless.