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Collections Law/paying collection agency vs original debtor
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Question
I have a credit card debt that has been turned over to collections. The bank is telling me i have to pay the agency. Is this a fact? I would prefer to pay the bank. I am correct in assuming that it is better to pay the bank vs paying the credit agency?
The person at the bank that told you that has been trained to tell you that you must pay the bank. They do that so that it covers themselves insofar as any contractual arrangement or assignment that they have with the collection agency. Under these circumstances, whether you should pay at all is another question. If they have already sent it to collections, chances are that any damage to your credit has already been done and it will stay negative whetehr you pay or not. The collection agencies don't give you much of an incentive to pay them.
If you insist on paying the bill back, what you might do is to send a letter to the collection agency cutting them off (say that you are giving them notice under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not to contact you further regarding this debt) and then pay the bank (because unless the collection agency sues, which they probably won't, the collection agency will be out of the picture and the primary creditor will be the only one left to pay). Just a thought.
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Answers by Expert:
John Hall
Expertise
Law school graduate, Juris Doctorate (J.D.) Degree; Over 25 years of experience throughout the United States in bankruptcy law matters (Chapters 7, 11, and 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code) primarily representing individual debtors with consumer debt or small businesses; Experience has included all aspects of debtor/creditor relations.
Experience
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