Right now, our country is facing a great deal of economic trouble. This economic slowdown is affecting every family in the country and many are finding themselves in personal financial difficulty. If you are in a situation where you can no longer pay your minimum payments, you will find this information helpful for dealing with your creditors and debt collectors.
I got a letter in the mail from a collection company regarding a credit card balance. Why do they have my information? Why am I not being called directly by the credit card company? Typically if you have not made a payment on an account for a number of months, the account will be turned over to either an in-house collections department, or sold or assigned to a collection company. Once this happens, the collection company will contact you via phone or mail to attempt to collect on the account. As a consumer, you have a legal right to request a copy of documentation that validates that you are actually the responsible party for the debt.
A collector recently contacted me about an unpaid account that I incurred more than 6 years ago. Do I still owe really old debts? On way to determine if you still owe the debt is to check the statute of limitations for your state. The statute of limitations varies depending on the state and the type of debt. As an example, a collection agency may still be allowed to attempt to collect the debt, but may not be allowed to file a lawsuit against you because too much time has passed. To find out what the statute of limitations are in your state, visit http://www.ncacreditrepair.com. If a collector tries to persuade you to make a payment on an old debt, be sure you understand the consequences you could bring upon yourself by making a payment. If you do make a payment, you may be causing more harm than good since even the smallest payment can reset the statute of limitations for that account. This would inevitably lead to more aggressive collections and possibly lawsuits. In some jurisdictions, even an acknowledgment that the debt is yours is enough to reset the clock on the statute of limitations.
I received a collection letter in the mail on law firm letterhead. Does this mean I am being sued? No. Although the collection agency may be a law firm or attorney, this does not mean you are being sued. It also does not mean that they can do anything to collect the debt that cannot be done by any non-attorney collection agency. Any company or law firm acting as a debt collector has to abide by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). These laws protect you, the consumer, from unfair practices and harassment by debt collectors.
A creditor told me on the phone that my account is going to "Charged Off". What does this mean, and once it is charged off, do I still have to pay it? Charge off is simply a tax and accounting term used to describe when an account has reached a delinquent status and has been written off as a loss and sold or assigned to another department or company for collections. You are still responsible for the debt, and will in most cases see more collection efforts after charge off. At this point, you will also see the account indicated as "charged-off" on your credit reports, and may even see an additional trade line for the collection company that now has the account.
This information will serve you well in all your dealings with collectors.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.jediwealth.com/articles/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites