settled w/creditor - CA still calling.why?

Hi KL

It must be somewhere that the particular CA is not updated about your recent payment. So whenever he tries to contact you then explain the whole matter very nicely to him instead of avoiding it. Otherwise he may have this impression that you are avoiding him. Send him the photocopies of the last payments made in full so that he can also make sure that he is trying to contact you now for no reason.

I hope it will work.

Regards
Roxette

hi KL,

Tell them to stop calling you else they end up in court and pay you for the harassment! do that .

All the best,
Curlycarl

[quote=KL]I settled a (REALLY) old credit card debt direct with the creditor... IN JANUARY!! I have a CA STILL calling me on it... at home, at work, on my cell & I'm still getting letters. I have sent them copies of the settlement letter several times... I don't know what else to do!!![/quote]

OK here is the deal. You have to be 100 percent sure that this debt is settled. Do one more round of your credit report and ask the company what the debt is regarding. If you are correct, this would qualify as a violation of the law. So it is very important that you are 100 percent sure that you don't owe anything.

You did good by sending them the letter showing that you do not owe anything. You followed procedure correctly. Now there is one exception that you have to be aware of. They can resume contact with you if they are able to furnish proof that you still owe debt. So after they send you a letter detailing the debt that you owe, they can resume contact with you even though you say that you cleared all of your debt. So if this back and forth continues, you should look into getting an attorney to help out your case.

Also, if all else fails and you are 100 percent sure that you do not owe anything, then you could write the company a letter stating that their records are in error and you do not wish to be contacted by their offices anymore. they are obligated under law to stop contacting you.

Hi KL,
Welcome to debt consolidation care forums

I read your query, KL. Perhaps it is time that you ask the collection agency to update their information from the creditor. In addition, you have sent a copy of your debt clearance receipt. It should help you to establish your point more strongly.

If, however, the collection agency harassment continues, you can take the help of an attorney.

Besides, you must also know that fdcpa has clearly stated the rights of a debtor and the penalties to be imposed on collection agencies in case they were adopting unfair means to collect debts. Please click on this url to know more about FDCPA.
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/fdcpa.html

Send us a feedback as to your subsequent actions.

Regards,
Peter

if they still call send a cease and disist letter to them

A settlement letter really means nothing. You need a ZERO balance letter stating the debt has been taken care of. Call the company you settled with and ask for one to be faxed over to you. DOn't let them give you the dog and pony dance either, they can send one.

FYI---I don't agree with you that a settlement letter means nothing. In the past I have "settled" several accounts. I got the settlement letters. Of course, years later some of the CA's tried to collect the difference, and I sent them a copy of the settlement letter and the rest is history. Sorry but I disagree with you completely.

It really depends on the company you are dealing with. Some Less scrupulous companies may settle with you, but then turn around and turn the remaining balance over to a collection agency.

I tend to agree with FYI, with the exception that if your settlement letter is from the original creditor, and specifically state you are legally released from any and all legal obligation to repay any remaining balance on the account. Obviously, if you settled in a manner which they forgave in excess of $601 dollars, you should have been issued a 1099(C) and had to report this as income on your taxes. Should a collector come along later trying to collect on the remaing balance after your settlement, then your settlement letter along with copies of your tax records should take car of any remaining issues.

The only thing a settlement letter states is the agreed upon amount and the due date. It doesn't state anywhere that you paid it. A zero balance letter proves that you have made the agreed upon payments and that your account is taken care of. A zero balance letter is an undisputable article that is a very important record anyone should get when paying anyhting, settlement or not, to a collection agency.


If I thought a settlement letter would clear my debt I would have been debt free ages ago.

I guess it depends on what you agree to. I would never agree to a settlement unless it was written in the agreement and finally the settlement letter that the remaining amount is forgiven and noncollectable, and the account is at a zero balance.
However, once the debt is reported to the IRS (and the debtor has to claim it as income) it is no longer legally collectible, and the 1099(C) for that should be legally sufficient to prove the debt is paid or otherwise no longer legally collectible and that the debtor is not responsible for the debt.

Please don't mistake what I am saying here.

If you are going to settle an account I would definately get it in writting before you pay anyhting.

When it's all said and done however getting a zero balance letter is an important record that many people do not believe they need to have when they do especialy if they settle an account.

Well in my case the settlement letter worked. Just because it may not have for you. I was just letting you know my situation. Sorry for even sharing.

No need to get antsy. I was just trying to help you cover all of the basis. If someone were to fax me a settlement letter as proof of payment I would laugh and call them right back and ask for some sort of reciept, which a zero balance letter would provide.

Which aparently the collection agency is doing as you stated in your origional post. You asked for help and I'm not the hand holding type I deal strictly with the facts of the situation.

Fact: A settlement letter is an agreement from a collection agency stating that your account will close provided you make said payment on said due date. It does not prove payment has been bade.

Fact: A zero balance letter is a form that will state that your account has been paid in full or it has a zero balance therfore making futher collection efforts on any remaning portion unvalid.

FYI--- I did not ask for you help. I simply added my comments about my situation. Fact: You seem to have issue with anyone with an opinion other than you own. So antsy that.

i have to agree a lil bit with FYI a sif letter only says a sif was offered on the account when we send them out, but a zero bal letter, should show that the account has been satisfied. but it all depends on when you request the document, if you request it before making the payment, that is no problem for a sif letter, it should show that the account has been approved for settlement, this does not however reflect that the payment was received.... see what i mean?

a zero bal letter shows that payment to close the account has been received.

try your luck, request the zero bal letter from creditor, but be sure to dispute it with the CA, and req cease contact if it is becoming bothersome.

What kind of collector would LAUGH at someone who provided them with a letter of settlement and then come to this website pretending to be all sincere and helpful? The kind of collector who likes to intimidate people and make them feel stupid that's what kind. LAUGH??? That is just not nice.
You are the reason people don't want to talk to collectors. LAUGH??? Something is wrong here.

I wouldn't go so far as to laugh at them when I had them on the phone but I would find it humerous that a settlement letter was being given to me as proof of payment when I know that the only thing a settlement is that it is just a contract not a reciept. Opinion still doesn't change fact.

Also fortunatly for me I don't deal with any accounts like this. I deal with pre-charge off only and settlements are rare for me in that form when it isn't tax season. I always encourage my debtors to call back when payment has been processed to get their zero balance letter by instructing them to write it on their calanders.

Most collection agency's systems aren't set up to deal with accounts that have been paid after payment has been recieved. There is no flag that clicks on after thirty days. When the account is paid it moves into a hold or cancle queue and stays there until the origional creditor recalls the file or it ages out into oblivion.

The unfortunate few, and what I mean by few is that out of three or four million debtors who settle about 500,000 end up some how making their way to another agency for collection. I don't know how it works or why it happens but it does, who get contacted again and hassled by another agency for somehting they believed paid about 1/4 of them will a zero balance letter and are able to get the matter taken care of quickly leaving 3/4 to send in money order reciepts, bank records, wu mtcn's, ect....

marlee j--after reading your post, I see exactly what you mean. I have just re-read my settlement letter(and perhaps I am calling the wrong thing) and it does in fact say that
"CA on behcalf of Creditor is authorized to accept $00.00 as full and final SETTLEMENT of account. Your payment in the amount of $00.00 was received by us on 00-00-00." Marlee j--am I wrong to assume that this is a settlement letter? When I sent it as proof of payment, I never heard back from the company that was trying to collect on the difference between the settlement amount and what the original balance was. PHEW!

I think there is a mis understanding also between a settlement letter and a zero balance letter. You may receive a letter offering to settle a account for less than is owed. If you choose to accept the settlement offer, once the payment has cleared your account, you should request a ZERO Balance letter from the creditor or collections agency to make it definite the account has been fully paid or otherwise resolved.

What right does a collection agency have to SELL your personal information?!?

Often the collectors are trying to collect on a bill that doesnt belong to the person they are harrassing. Now we find out that they still profit wether or not they scammed you?

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