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Expert: Creditwrench - 1/21/2010


Question
My wife received a call about our charged-off credit card. The collector apparently used bullying tactics to force my wife to agree to a settlement which has to be paid by 1/29/2010. I called and informed the collector I could get the money, but didn't know when (borrowing from my 401k). He suggested we go ahead and let him submit the check info my wife gave over the phone, and when it gets returned, that will give us a little more time to come up with the money. I believe my wife has forfeited the right to request verification of the debt because the collector called with her to the original creditor, and verified the debt to her over the phone, and he told her it was recorded.

My question is, do I still have any grounds to negotiate? He claims if we renig on the deal my wife made, and go beyond the 29th deadline they will sue, because the bank he is dealing with wants to "close their books" of the deal. If I am showing willingness to pay, does that give me any leverage negotiating, or leverage if we get sued?

Answer

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You never forfeit the right to demand validation of the alleged debt. Verification of a debt can never be accomplished over the phone. It must be done in writing and it must be a complete accounting of the debt. Nothing the debt collector has on their computer system can constitute verification of the debt. All verifications must come from the original creditor in the form of copies of statements showing all the information on the account.

Your question is whether or not you have any grounds to negotiate. Yes, but you are not approaching the negotiation in the proper way. The way you are going at it you will either have to pay or get sued. If you get sued they will get a judgment and go after you from there.

That debt collector gave you false and misleading information and that is the standpoint you should negotiate from and you should do your negotiating in a federal court lawsuit against them. Then when they turn it over to an attorney that attorney will also be a 3rd party debt collector and you can sue the attorney too if you are provided with any false and misleading information from the attorney.

Don't let them trample on your rights.

Creditwrench

Expertise

Debt Collections law, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), federal law, how to properly answer court summons for collection cases, how to prepare federal cases against debt collectors, how to deal with debt collection phone calls.

Experience

I've been an active consumer advocate for more than 40 years and have helped hundreds of people win cases against debt collectors as well as helping them defeat demands for summary judgment lodged against them by banks, debt collectors and defeat mortgage foreclosures and keep their homes.

Education/Credentials
Paralegal courses for the most part.
I have been teaching people how to deal with judgments, mortgage foreclosures and other such problems both on and off the internet for many, many years. I am a Richard Cornforth information provider ever since 2000 and worked with many other organizations and causes since 1980. I was Oklahoma State Chairman for the nationwide drive to defeat the Constitutional Convention which was proposed by various factions within our federal government such as the Council of State Governments and the National Organization of State Governors who were working hard to organize a Constitutional Convention to be held in 1995 for the purpose of rewriting our American Constitution to be more acceptable to the United Nations. I worked with Senator Charles Duke of Colorado and Senator Don Rogers of California and many others across the nation to keep them from getting the number of delegate states required to lawfully hold a Con-Con and we were successful. I have worked with many other legislative issues in Oklahoma and have always been very successful.

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