Collection Companies Suck.

O

okusooner

100+ Posts
I currently have a credit score that is 786. I pay to monitor it. I recently recieved a collection notice on a Capital One card i had in 1996. My credit card debt was probably bought for pennies on the dollar and now that company is calling me and sending me collections notices. Did I owe that money? probably. Capital One gave a me a credit card even though i had no job and was a poor student. They knew the risk and they prey on college students. I was stupid and ran it up to the limit of 300-500 cant remember. Now a collection company is telling me the balance is 2700. I'm not paying Capital One or this collection company a nickel.

Even if the collection hits my credit it really won't hurt it too much because all of the established accounts i currently have on there. My question is , Is it legal for a collection company to call me on a debt from 1996. I thought there was a statue of limitation on this stuff.

Also if they are trying to collect from me, i'm sure they are trying to collect from others. If this illegal, one of you lawyer needs to file a Class Action Suit against them.
 
If they bought the debt, I think they also have the right to sue you for collection. Then it becomes a little more than just a credit ding. Not positive on the law though, and it may vary from state to state.
 
No you should get free credit They didn't hold a gun to your head, did they? Then man up and be accountable.
 
If you haven't paid in more than 7 year's it won't affect your credit rating...unless you start paying in which case it will hurt your credit.

Throw the notice away.
 
Not sure what state you're in, but in Texas, the SOL is 4 years (for credit card debt) from the date of last activity. If you have not paid within that time, you no longer have a legal obligation to pay. If they try and sue you, you can always have the lawsuit dismissed. In the case of your credit file, I believe it will still be reported even with an expired SOL because it still is your debt. However, your score will likely still stay above 700, and it should stop reporting at 7 years.

Regarding the collection attempts, it may still happen regardless of the SOL, but you just need to tell them to cease calling and just throw away the letters.
 
Those guys are scummy. Debt older than 7 years is supposed to be retired from your file. Just because they 'bought' the debt doesn't mean they get to restart the timeline. However, if you get a letter, you must respond or they'll sue & get a default judgement against you.

Call them up to demand that they cease & desist attempts to recover per the Fair Debt Collections Act (or something like that). Threaten to take legal action against them otherwise. Then do it. I heard about this shady practice on talk radio. See clarkhoward.com for details.
 
It's obvious the people losing their homes in the subprime mortgage mess also have poor moral character.
 
You are the victim in all of this. They made you spend the money. They made you disavow your obligation. They are the bad guys. You were weak. You are what you are. We got the picture.
 
No victim here. I was extremely stupid. They offered credit to me when i was a poor credit risk. They predictably didn't get paid. After 12 years a company they sold the debt to a company that is trying to collect even though statute of Limitations regarding collections has run out. I can pay but choose not to because think i would be contributing to them offering more credit to people who have no ability to pay. The company that bought the debt probably paid about .003 on the dollar which is the going rate for this type of debt. My account will all the late fees and collection charges is about 2700 they probably paid about $8.00 for my account. If i settle for say 1200 all the debt collection company is going to do is buy more debt from companies like capital one which will keep the process going. My original post was just my opinion after being surprised that i got a collection call on an account that was 12 years old.

Just like no victims in the current sub prime crisis. People took out mortgages they couldn't afford. they should lose their houses. They aren't victims. Investors gave mortgages to people who were high risk and now their mortgage back securities are worth practically nothing. The investor is not blameless. Both sides should suffer the consquences.
 
I'm glad a Sooner posted this. And since the "statue" was referenced more than once, I don't want to hear any typo claims.

Statue_of_Limitations.jpg


While many (most?) (all?) credit card companies have shady practices, that doesn't excuse your obligation to pay a debt. You are trying to rationalize the situation. You may have a great credit rating now, but that just shows that you have learned how the system works. One's credit score is not related to one's morality or ethics. Debt collectors are scum. So are people who are capable of paying their debts but choose not to. If everyone paid back what they borrowed, perhaps these lenders wouldn't have to resort to risky and deceptive tactics.
 
sooner,

You can explain until the cows come home that you were young, stupid, weak, preyed upon, whatever. I get that. You can compare yourself to subprime lendings and mortgages and the unscrupulous tactics of the lending/financial industry. You can do this.

If you offered these unscrupulous people $200 cash to settle and go away, they would take it and this would disappear.

But, if you're expecting sympathy for such rationalization of your conduct and philosophy of ethics, you're wasting as much time as me and dog are. Regardless if you were young, you voluntarily and legally entered a contract when you used the card. Your credit score today, your upstanding and commendable actions and generosity in your current life are of no consequence, except that it should guide you on what is right and wrong. Right and wrong as it pertains to you, not as it pertains to a faceless corporation.
 
Seriously, guy. People make bad business decisions all the time. A majority of these people learn from their mistakes and pay the consequences. Instead of using the credit card to buy or pay for things. You should have just stolen them and cut out the middle man.
 
So what about the people who struggle to make their credit card payments, but pay the minimum for a decade before finally deciding it would be best for their financial future if they kept the money...do they have poor moral character?

What if the credit card company has more than made back the amount they originally lent, but the borrower will have to pay another decade to eliminate the debt at the current rate...do they still have poor moral character?

What if they only struggled to make the payments to the credit card company because it raised their interest rate to 26% under "universal default" because they were late on a utility payment...do they still have poor moral character?

What if they were going to declare bankruptcy, but just quit making payments after learning the credit card companies had the laws changed to make it harder to declare bankruptcy...despite record profits...do they still have poor moral character?
 
Don't get me started on credit card companies.

I doubt it's illegal for them to try to collect the debt, because it's still owed. And if they were to sue you, you would have to plead and prove that it's time-barred or else you'd waive that argument. In other words, if you get sued and there's a default judgment against you, you're probably screwed.

But I seem to recall that it's a deceptive practice to sue on a time-barred debt. However, I may be making that up.
 
lots of two wrongs make a right rationalizations on this thread

you could add to the moral calculus on the poor that in many instances and as a result of the fees and interest, the poor have already paid the debt at a reasonable rate of interest many times over by the time they default

the real shames are the elimination of usury laws, the addition of unilateral arbitration provisions, the South Dakota choice of law, and pre-emption of state consumer protection laws

none of this excuses someone from not paying the original debt particularly when he claims to have good credit and the resources to do it

and OU sucks btw
 
Not that I have any feelings for collection agencies or credit card companies, but it's funny how everyone who does something wrong feels they are morally above the fray because of some irrelevant reason.
Go ahead and disavow the debt with the excuses available under the legal system, but save your holier than thou selfpimpage for your sooner brethren who think such things are just fine if you can get away with them.
 
I've never said never said i was morally above the fray or thought that I wasn't at fault. If i get sued or taken to court i'll deal with it. Some of you love to be so judgemental on message boards. Same people that i'm sure fudge numbers on their tax returns or take no responsiblity of their kids or family. Glass houses everyone.

Thats i guess the beauty or drawbacks of message boards. It allows some ******* to be judgemental without knowing anything about who their judging,or what gives them such a moral high ground. I suspect most that judge probably have such pathetic lives that it makes them feel better to slam someone on a message board.

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Mods please just end this thread. These I'm so much better then you post are becoming too predictable.
 
First, some of these companies, call even when they have never purchased the debt, and try and rip you off.

If the debt is from 1996, you should not pay it back, unless you buy into these moral arguments, which I do not.
If you do pay them it will hurt your credit, not help it, because it would make the transaction appear in the current year as a paid chargeoff.
If you live in Texas, there is absolutely no way they can do anything to you after that length of time.

You have to send them a certified letter stating not to contact you again, and then legally they cannot call you.

I worked for a Mortgage Bank for 7 years, and am very familiar with this.
 
DallasHorn, you must be an evil morally bankrupt person like me. Before you get bombarded with negative post, edit it and tell me how terrible of a person i am.
 
I don't think anyone was saying he should pay it back at this time. I think most people take issue with the cavalier attititude of the OP for taking out credit when he had no business doing so, nor from what it seems, any intention on paying for the credit charges. At the end of the day, the honest consumer pays (and no I don't mean literally, but in some form) for these poor practices (either on the banking or consumer side).
 
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