Who knows the REAL answer to this question?

Question

I've tried this three times and people still don't, A: read my entire question and B: understand what I am talking about, so I'll try again. I have 4 credit cards (Chase, Target, Bank of America, and Macys) that have ALL gone to collections. I have 2 cell phone bills (T-mobile and Verizon Wireless), one I paid off in a settlement and am still waiting for the letter that I can fax to the credit bureau to get taken off of my report. Right now the company that is giving me the most grief is a company called National action financial services. Apparently, Chase hired them to get the money I owe and NAFS added a bunch of their fees making the whole amount $1051.00. I refused to pay that. My credit card bill was nowhere near that. I asked for a settlement and the company said they would do $648.00. The reason I haven't been able to pay anyone was that I was in and out of retail jobs and I couldn't afford to take money away from my monthly bills and paying $200 a month in rent to my mother. So, the company has threatened many times to get a judgment on me and that in the end instead of paying the $1,000 I would pay $3,000 in THEIR lawyer fees. When I told this to a Budget counselor, he laughed and said they have bigger bills to deal with and they won’t waste their time with one measly $1000 account. It's been a little over a year now and I haven't made a single payment, but I now have a job where I will be able to pay them at the end of September. I will have enough to pay them and be done with them. Along with all of my other debts. So, my question to all of you people is, will this company take a judgment out on me and how long would this account have had to be opened? Like it's been opened for more than a year, so why haven't they done it yet? AND what do I have to do to get rid of them? Besides payment, how do I end it? Should I get everything in writing first or make a payment plan where they take money out of my account? Also, are money orders a safe way to pay off a debt and how do you get proof if you paid and that company denies that you ever sent them anything. I'm trying to get my credit back to normal and do the right thing. I just want to make sure that I do it correctly and get my credit back to a good state. Please, only serious answers!

Answer 1

Check out Suze Orman and ask your question online or her call into the show line. Every young person has to learn how to handle credit cards, mostly the hard way.  It's a necessity in this day and age. You have a good head and have learned a lesson. Pay off debt to credit cartd companies with a check, money order or anything that you have a record of payment in case of a dispute.  Check out what Suze has to say about closing credit accounts. When your cards are paid off. leave them home. Don't use them unless it's an emergency or you know you can pay off the balance. Don't buy something because you think you deserve it. You don't deserve it unless you can afford to pay cash. Writing out the check every month and seeing the balance go down, sinks in better than having a creditor remove it from your checking account. It seems to remove you some from accountablilty. Pardon the pun.

Answer 2

Will they pursue a judgment on you? That's up to them if they want to pursue legal action for this debt. I've been told that debts $1000 and over often make their way into court. Also, take a look at your state's statute of limitations. Depending on where you are, they may have between 5 and 10 years to take legal action against you. So my advice would be to pay it if you can. It will take time to come off your credit report. But at least it's paid.

GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING. DO NOT LET THEM TAKE ANYTHING OUT OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. SEND WRITTEN CORRESPONDENCE BY CERTIFIED MAIL AND REQUIRE A SIGNATURE AND PROOF OF DELIVERY.

I have paid things by money orders. They have a receipt with them. Money orders have a traceable serial # on them. And if the company says you didn't send it or they didn't get it, you can have the postal service do an inquiry on this money order. Other retailers who sell money orders probably have a similar policy.  

WHEN YOU HAVE SOMETHING SETTLED OR PAID IN FULL, REQUEST A PAID IN FULL/SETTLED/CLOSED LETTER. GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING.

Hope this gives you some answers.

Answer 3

Jessica, I have already answered your question and I gave you ideas on how to do everything you asked about. You actually chose a non-responsive answer as the best response the last time you asked about this.

Nobody can sit here and hold your hand through the process and nobody is able to tell you with any certainty whether the collection agencies will sue you or not. Likewise, nobody can answer the question about why they haven't tried to sue you yet or whether they will sue you in the future.

The only new part of your question seems to be the part about whether paying with a money order is a good idea. I would say that you should use a certified check from a bank that you do not bank at instead.  

Answer 4

To answer your question about the judgement.....Will they take a judgement against you? That is completely up to them. They haven't done it yet because they would rather you just pay the debt. They are probably just threatening you to see if you will pay them. However, legally, they DO have the right to sue you for the amount owed at the time, any interest that has accrued, as well as filing fees. That does not include any of the extreme fees they have added. I believe the time frame they can do this is 3 years from the default date.

Getting rid of them: I would start a payment plan. Ask for a settlement, ALWAYS GET THIS IN WRITING, and make your payments. I do NOT reccommend paying with anything that you cannot keep a copy of. Paying by check you can always get a copy of the cashed check.  If there is ever a problem you need to be able to prove you paid and they recieved your funds.  Stay away from money orders.

If you want to get your credit back on track, start paying them back. Don't ignore it any longer. My company will wait about 9 months before we take you to court and we WILL take you to court, sue you, get our judgement (Which will ruin your credit more) and then garnish your wages. It's an ugly alternative.  

Answer 5

OK I will spare you the lecture as it sounds like you have had many of them.

The Chase card has you in collections because you owe them money. If I were you, I would make a payment, any amount you can afford. Then contact them and tell them you want to settle with them but cannot afford the entire amount including the fees and tacked on late charges. Ask them what can they do for you. By making a payment or two now you will show them you are willing to work with them and you are not a deadbeat. To not pay them anything for this long only puts you further down the list of people they are willing to help. Sure they have bigger accounts that in in collections. But it doesn't mean that your account isn't important to them