How to fight back against Credit Card companies

[NerosNuts]

I just opened my Chase credit card statement due 1/21/10, my interest rate went from 12.99% to 29.89% from the previous month. I am so damn mad I can not see straight, and to think my FICO score is just over 800 and within the top 99% of the population.

You know the greedy SOB's are out to destroy the USA when they deliberately attempt to sabotage a good customers credit.

Yes, I know, tear it up but in my case I will pay it off and not charge another damn thing on it again. If they ever try to add on a yearly membership fee (tax) they will receive the pieces in the mail with their next statement.

I feel absolutely violated, the damn, dirty, bastards!

[Erin]

excop95, APMEX accepts credit cards for transactions up to $5,000 -- I haven't tried that, but it's listed on their FAQ page.

http://www.apmex.com/FAQ/Default.aspx

Back in the days of 0% interest and credit offers out the yang, my bro took out a bunch of cards, took out cash, and bought oodles of gold.  Paid off the cards before any interest accrued.  Smart fellow, he is.  He now has a hefty chunk of change, no debt aside from a mortgage, and is able to live on just his salary while the wifey is home with the kids.

[chili_in_a_can]

Hello all,

I have been a lurker on this forum for two years, but have really never felt compelled to post before. I just wanted to let everyone know a personal experience I have had attempting to use the methods described in this thread.

Right after the economy tanked my wife and I both lost our jobs. I was offered a lower paying position while she started her own business and got a part time job making minimum wage. We were making less than half of what we were making previously, so some bills were not going to be paid. I had four credit cards that I let go into collections because when I called the CC companies they told me that what I offered to pay ($25) was not enough to keep me out of collections. I thought, hey, if they are going into default anyway, why give them any money at all and sort everything out in collections.

Fast forward to the past six months. I of course have been receiving notices from collection agencies and I have sent letters based on the template posted in this thread. One company sued me. I went to court on Monday, and they had everything they needed. The attorney from the company was very, very nice to me, and even let me drag things out a bit (make a request for additional paperwork) since I am unemployed and really can't pay.

I am not saying that things people here have said won't work, since I have only had one take any action against me, but I just thought that I would let everyone know my experience so hopefully they will not have to go through the same thing. If someone is going to court, they probably have what they need, so unless you like having a judge talk down to you about not being responsible, take care of it out of court. 

[dam]

Do you mind my asking what cc co gave you such a hard time, I am wondering if it is a specific co that is so aggressive because I have spoken to several that have just stopped paying, thanks

[Tinfoil Hattie]

.

[chili_in_a_can]

It was Capital One and the amount was around $1600 (over 600 of that is due to various fees). Plus $215 court fees, plus $160 attorney fee.

[ArmaGoof]

22 years ago, I abandoned an apartment in Cincinnati with 10 months still remaining on the lease.  During the next year, I filed bankruptcy and included the debt in the filing.  Ever since, and most recently yesterday, I've been getting collection letters - about 18 months apart.  The one that came yesterday was from yet a different collection company and claimed I still owed $9600, but offered a settlement for 30% of the balance.  They send letters, I ignore them.  I guess that's all they can do.

[golddust]

Arma brought up a good point.

Check statutes of limitation in your state on revolving credit accounts. From the moment your account defaults to a set number of years (it's 6 in Colorado for credit cards and other types of personal bank loans so I'll use that) they have to collect legally. At 6 years and 1 day, they cannot legally collect anymore. They can TRY, they have the right to do that you owe it on a technical level. But they can longer take you to court, it's not enforceable anymore. Send them a cease and desist letter (you can find a template on the internet) and if you want, you can cite the SOL. But you don't have to, because you still have the right to tell third party collectors to STFU at any time from the moment the debt is turned over to them.

SOL is also an acronym for Shit Out of Luck, so remember that.  They are SOL if the SOL is up. 

Keep in mind ANY payments after you defaulted resets the clock. If you send in a payment after 5 years, the clock just reset itself and they won another 6 years after that date to try and collect. So make up your mind what you're going to do within the first year after defaulting. If you get sued and want to settle out of court, fine. Or you just want to pay it off once and for all, fine. Your choice. But don't send in random small amounts. The fees they'll keep tacking onto your account over the years will eat those little payments quickly.

And another reminder... the SOL is not the same as the 7 years that bad debts can remain on your credit report. That's a separate issue entirely and in many states the SOL expires before the debt will come off the credit report. And in a few states, the debt will come off the credit report before the SOL is up. So, it's 7 years across the board that the debts are SUPPOSED to fall off your credit report. I say "suppose" because in practice, you often will have about 1/4 of them try to illegally re-age the account and make it appear newer than it is just to piss you off. If you or any of us for that matter still give a shit about credit reports by then, you have to dispute it with the bureaus and send a Debt Validation letter to the collection agency. Usually they will have to drop it then, because they certainly will not have the supporting documents if you know this is an account that defaulted more than 7 years ago. Again, you can search online for Debt Validation Letter and find a template.

P.S. I know your case isn't exactly the same Arma since they can't collect from you on the grounds of a BK. But I thought I'd use that to bring up another common issue.

[Tinfoil Hattie]

22 years ago, I abandoned an apartment in Cincinnati with 10 months still remaining on the lease.  During the next year, I filed bankruptcy and included the debt in the filing.  Ever since, and most recently yesterday, I've been getting collection letters - about 18 months apart.  The one that came yesterday was from yet a different collection company and claimed I still owed $9600, but offered a settlement for 30% of the balance.  They send letters, I ignore them.  I guess that's all they can do.

You may be able to sue them for violating both the automatic bankruptcy stay and the SOL.  The whole point of filing bankruptcy, along with discharging debt, is to put this kind of harassment behind you.

I'm not endorsing these sites, but they may give you an idea of your options to get these assholes off your back:

http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs27-debtcoll.htm

http://www.stayviolation.com/violations/

http://www.bankruptcylawnetwork.com/2009/09/25/you-mean-i-can-actually-sue-my-creditors-in-bankruptcy/

http://houstonbankruptcyattorney.com/2009/05/27/creditors-debt-collectors-violating-stay-and-discharge-injunctions/

http://www.budhibbs.com/consumer_news.htm#Zombie_

[paracelsus]

You may be able to sue them for violating both the automatic bankruptcy stay and the SOL.  The whole point of filing bankruptcy, along with discharging debt, is to put this kind of harassment behind you.

That's a good point. The attorney general in my state is sueing a couple of a collection agencies nationwide that do exactly what you have described--harassing people about old debts, even ones that have been discharged. You might want to contact your attorney general's office. Usually they have a place where you can file a complaint online. I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't the same bunch of skeevs and cretins I have dealt with in the past.

[ArmaGoof]

Thanks guys for the suggestion!  But I really don't think one collection letter every 18 months is "harassment".  I take a measure in glee knowing that THEY are still spending time and money on me while I simply don't give a shit. 

[paracelsus]

Thanks guys for the suggestion!  But I really don't think one collection letter every 18 months is "harassment".  I take a measure in glee knowing that THEY are still spending time and money on me while I simply don't give a shit. 

Lol, that's good that you don't care. I personally enjoy giving them the hardest possible time I can. I do report them to the attorney general's office and also to the Better Business Bureau. You can do both these things online. You would be surprised, but they actually do respond to the BBB. This is how I got one of them to stop bothering me about some bogus Verizon debt.

[Tinfoil Hattie]

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[ArmaGoof]

Coincidentally, after I finished my post above the phone rang.  It was a collection agency calling about a debt my son has (he's in Afghanistan and I have Power of Attorney for him, so they call me).  A different person calls about three times a week.  Here's how today's conversation went:

Caller:  I'm calling about Mr. ___'s debt of $2000.
Me:     What a surprise.
Caller:  Do you have any plans to pay this off?
Me:  No, after my conversation with your colleague Monday, she indicated you would be forwarding the debt to your legal department, so I was waiting on them.
Caller:  Um...er.... (mouseclick, mouseclick)...um well, we are still interested in working out something with you.
Me:  She also said you'd be willing to settle for $1000.  Now we're back to $2000?
Caller:  Would you be willing to settle for $1000?
Me:  Hell no.  Sooner or later, you'll sell the debt for even less to some other collection agency and I'll get a lower offer.
Caller:  Aren't you worried about your moral obligation to pay back what your son borrowed?
Me:  Not at all.  You had no moral obligation to tell me the offer was half of what you initially asked for and your colleague lied about starting legal action.  Morality is not an element of this exchange.
Caller:    Er....ok....I guess we'll talk again soon.
Me:  I doubt it, bud.  The same person never calls back twice.  But you can hang up now until you want to waste another 10 minutes of your time next week.  Good bye.

 

[de jure]

Every separarate element that violates the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is worth $1K. Just sue these buggers. Bill Hicks, when they demand money from you from 22 years ago, take them to small claims and make them pay you. It is so worth it!

You can stop the calls by asking the caller for a physical address, write to them, tell them to stop calling you. Send a copy to your attorney general. Who knows, your letter could be the one that makes the Ag yank their license. Oh, wait . .  are they licensed to collect in your state? That's another violation.

Bud Hibbs, mentioned above, is one of my faves. Elizabeth