Debt collector horror stories

Bankrate.com ^ | 08-04-03

[fawn796]

I can think of a couple reasons. Deposit on Friday, write check on Monday - bank did not process deposit yet. I keep my checkbook balance at its minimum and put any extra (???) in savings account. Check from deposit you made bounced - now not only don't you have that money - you were charged $25 for the bounced check.

[Movemout]

I do a lot of consulting for the Feds. I have to say that they are slow to pay. If you paid your bills on the same timeline you would be in deep Kimshee.

[kellynla]

If you find yourself in a bind the creditor even the IRS will negotiate the debt. Because collectors are notorious for lying find out your legal rights. http://www.ftc.gov Why deal with some pinhead over the phone, find a third party to represent you.

[Straight Vermonter]

How soon must an tenant leave after receiving an eviction notice?

Here in VT a tenant has 30 days after an eviction notice. Sort of.... You can NOT evict anyone betwen November and March. The thinking here is that you can't put anyone out in the cold. Also there is lanlord-tenant mediation that a tenant can drag you through. If they lose in mediation they will take you to court. A real operator can live rent free for 18 months and then leave you with an unusable apartment.

[Movemout]

Two guys I have known for years specialize in affordable housing for poor folks. They tell me that it is virtually impossible to evict for non-payment of rent.

[kellynla]

DO NOT OBTAIN A HOME LOAN FROM "PRINICPAL RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE" OR "HOUSEHOLD FINANCE CORPORATION AKA H.F.C."... YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

[tob2]

My experience with a collection agency is that they do and will tell you to "go live on the street and give us all your money!" All this for a bill I was making payments on, never missing a payment, but the creditor thought I wasn't making them rich enough fast enough! I didn't think it was possible to take someone to collections when payments are on time and never missed.

[shiva]

Deposit on Friday, write check on Monday

Last Friday's check is down to less than twelve dollars? Unbelievable!!!

My sister worked in a bank way back when you could 'float' a check. These days of technology you can't do that anymore. The check I write to my church on Sunday is already processed and cleared by Tuesday.The preacher once told me we'd be surprised how many people write rubber checks to the church.They raise their hands and promise to give to a special cause and then write a hot check. They call it "giving in faith" LOL!

[chris1]

Some General Contractors figure it this way - 10 million dollar job. If they can squeeze 10% out of the subcontractors with retainage and other back charges, they just made a million dollars! Talk about stealing!

[Arthalion]

Maybe these people should pay their bils???

What about people who never owed the bills in the first place? Ever heard of identity theft? I've always maintained a flawless credit record, and haven't so much as paid a bill late in over a decade. Still, when my ex-employer found himself in a financial sinkhole and used the contact info for several ex-employees (including myself) to "go out in a bang" (he's now in jail), about six of us found ourselves holding the bag for more than $120,000 worth of debt that wasn't ours. I had to deal with these subhuman collectors for more than TWO YEARS before I finally got everything cleared off my credit records, and even then it took a pair of lawsuits to get two of the companies to back off.

These people were vicious, attacking my personal credibility, my family, calling and harrassing my employers and family, and threatening me with everything from financial ruin to reposession of my house and cars. When I sent them evidence that the bills weren't mine, including the original court certified papers from my ex-employers case, they ignored them or denounced them as fakes. In one case, the original debtor on one bill did an internal investigation, determined that the bill wasn't mine, and sent me a letter apologizing for the inconvenience. A third party collector trying to collect on that bill REFUSED to accept the letter, called it fake, and repeatedly threatened to have me arrested for "forging fake documents in the companies name" if I didn't pay the bill. I repeatedly asked them to re-verify the bill with the original creditor and even sent them the original letter I received (thinking that it might be more convincing than the photocopy), but the collector refused to verify the debt and kept stating that I was "going to jail" if I didn't pay up. It took a second letter from the original creditor, accompanied by a letter from my lawyer, to shut them up.

The most entertaining conversation I had was with a collections rep from SBC/Pacific Bell when I announced that I was about to sue them. The rep informed me that it was my right to do so, but that I'd spend more money on lawyers than I could hope to gain. When I informed her that I had plenty of money to pay lawyers with, she asked why I didn't just pay her the $1,050 I "owed". My response? "I'd rather spend $5,000 to prove I'm right than pay a $1000 bill I don't owe". The stunned silence on the other end of the line was priceless. When they were served five days later, I promptly received a fax informing me that they had "reviewed" my case and were expunging the bill and removing it from my credit record.

All in all, between filing fees, service agencies, long distance bills, antacids, increased credit card interest rates, and attorneys fees, the whole thing ended up costing me about $3,000 to get cleared. A drop in the bucket next to the nearly $60,000 I supposedly owed, but still a lot of money to spend on absolutely nothing.

[I still care]

I remember once mailing a mortgage check from Florida to Michigan. It cleared within TWO DAYS after I put in my mailbox here in Florida (not the next day after mailing, but the next it was out of my account).

I still can't figure out how they did that.

[Hatteras]

An old roommate of mine bought a car years ago that was a little beyond his means (Brand new '82 TA). After a year or so, he was falling behind on his bills and was starting to get later and later with his car payment. He finally got a call from a collection agency who said they were hired by the bank to collect on his overdue car payment. The agency tried to use a little intimidation and told him that they could send someone out to repossess the car any time they felt like it. He said not to bother and he'll take care of it. He got in his car and drove down to the bank. He talked to the bank manager about his problem and told him that he didn't appreciate the bank handing him off to a collection agency without trying to work something out first. The manager told him that his hands were tied and that was the procedure.

My friend promptly stood up and took out his keys and dropped them on the manager's desk. He said the bank could have the car, he didn't need to be driving a car like that around anyway and turned to walk out. The bank manager followed him out asking him not to be too hasty, that things can be arranged. He ended up calling off the dogs, they arranged some kind of extension deal and cleaned up a couple of late payments on his credit report due to the car.

[John123]

Here in VT a tenant has 30 days after an eviction notice. Sort of.... You can NOT evict anyone betwen November and March. The thinking here is that you can't put anyone out in the cold. Also there is lanlord-tenant mediation that a tenant can drag you through. If they lose in mediation they will take you to court. A real operator can live rent free for 18 months and then leave you with an unusable apartment.

I'm not saying "You're wrong" but that can't be right. Otherwise, the rent market would dry up and leave the state. Rental laws can change from town to town. Are you a landlord?

Also, I notice many people have quotes in parentheses after their screen name including you. I can't figure out how it is done. Can you tell me?

[MineralMan]

"I can think of a couple reasons. Deposit on Friday, write check on Monday - bank did not process deposit yet. I keep my checkbook balance at its minimum and put any extra (???) in savings account. Check from deposit you made bounced - now not only don't you have that money - you were charged $25 for the bounced check."

Change banks. I bank with a small, community-based bank, and keep large balances in my savings account and minimum funds in my checking account, transferring from savings to checking online when needed.

A couple of times the bank hasn't recorded the transfer properly, causing a bounced check. I went to the bank and explained that I kept a large balance in my savings account and did not want to ever see a bounced check again. We arranged a process that automatically transferred from savings in the event the checking account was overdrawn. That way, if an opportunity arises for me, on a weekend, say, I can write a check, knowing that the bank will move the necessary funds and not bounce the check.

If you're using a major chain bank, you are a number. If you patronize a local bank, you need not be a number, as long as you are a substantial customer.

[Hatteras]

"My sister worked in a bank way back when you could 'float' a check."

We used to take a pin and jab holes in the routing numbers along the bottom of the check to trip up the bank scanners.

[MineralMan]

"I do a lot of consulting for the Feds. I have to say that they are slow to pay. If you paid your bills on the same timeline you would be in deep Kimshee."

Slow? Try never. I used to own a small software company. I got a P.O. from a federal agency for 100 copies of one of my products. I followed all their procedures, shipped the software, along with the required triplicate invoices, etc., following every procedure to the letter. I never was paid for the software, despite a long series of written communications. I finally wrote the debt off.

[fawn796]

Okay, so $12 is a little small. It just reminded me of a time over 15 years ago when I was raising two small children on my own, money was tight, and support check bounced.... ouch! Thank God those days are long gone!

[activationproducts]

An intersting MCI related story. A couple of years ago my brother and I had MCI as our long distance provider. Within a few months we had switched back to AT&T.

A year or so after cancelling with MCI we received an invoice for $1.00. We decided to ignore it as we felt they had been paid in full. The $1.00 invoice was not itemized. I really felt that it was some sort of accounting scheme to generate a "sale" thus improving their pathetic stock price.

They would call and try and collect on the $1.00 invoice. I would act like an idiot just to keep them on the phone for at least 15 minutes.

In the end they credited the invoice as they could not explain what it was for. I must say that I really got a kick out of their having to spend what was surely more than $1.00 on closing this invoice.

[I still care]

My father rents apartments. Even a novice can get an apartment judge to give him an apartment for six months free once he takes you to court - and then the judge, who is usually convinced if you are a landlord you must also be a slumlord (the type that exploits the poor/black/hispanic/disabled person), will make you pay him back his security.

Of course, once you have been to landlord-tenant court, it can follow you around the way a bankruptcy does. The woman across the street couldn't get a mortgage for a house because she ended up not paying her landlord. When she told me that, I smiled all the way walking back across the street. (Thinking that maybe the tenant that scammed me hundreds of dollars was perhaps paying for it somehow, somewhere.)

[FreeInWV]

How soon must an tenant leave after receiving an eviction notice?

If an tenant doesn't pay by a certain date, ie: the first of the month, do you proceed with the eviction notice right away?

I usually charge a daily late fee ($20 + $5/Day) after a 7 day grace period. After that I usually give them a couple weeks just in case they have problems (cause I'm a nice guy, and don't want to give eviction notices for people a week late). Then I give them a eviction notice telling them to either pay up or move out within the next 2 weeks. This isn't legal since only a magistate can evict. Come 2 weeks, I show up and tell them pay up immediately or get taken to court. If they have a really plausible story, I might give them a few extra days. If not, I get their info together and take it to the magistrate. The magistrate clerk charges me $50-$75 and sets up a hearing 10 days later. She gets the tenants served with notice. Then if the tenant has dodged the process server, then they will reschedule it in another 10 days. At the hearing, the tenant will show up or not. If he does, he will tell all kind of horrible lies about you, saying that everyhing is your fault, that you made all kinds of verbal commitments and that nothing was their fault. They tell the magistrate that if they can have just another month or two, they can get caught up and pay in full. The magistrate will calmly ask you if this is acceptable to you? You know it is BS and say absolutely not. Then the magistrate will tell the tenant that they must move. He will ask them when they can be out by. They give him some kind of sob story. He may give them as long as he wants. The most I've got has been a month. At that date, they are either gone or not. If not, its back to the magistates office where the magistrate will file an order with the Sheriff. Once the sheriff receives the order, he will wait 10 days and then send a deputy to move them out.

At the magistrate hearing, the magistrate will also award you damages if you can prove that you deserve them. You can get awarded damages for back rent and fees. This is why I charge $5/day. You cannot get damages if they have destroyed your place. For that you need to file a separate action and have another hearing. If they don't pay what the court tells them to, you can garnish their wages (if you can find them and they have a job), put a hold on their checking account (if you can find them and you know their checking account number and they haven't closed the account), or attach their personal property (if you can find them and they are dumb enough to leave their personal property there for 90 days). All cost a fee and give very little hope of getting any $$ back. They do blemish their credit for 10 years though.

Of course this doesn't take into account the occasional tenant who is a good liar. They can string you out for a little while with a story about a big check that they will be receiving from the IRS, the insurance co, the financial aid office or whoever. I used to believe some of these stories if the person sounded sincere, but no more. Also, right before going in to the magistrate, they will often offer to pay you in full with a check if you withdraw the complaint. You can just see their faces drop when you smile at them and say, "Sure, but it has to be a money order."

Is the rental market very soft in your area?

I think so. For the last couple of years anyway.

Do you collect a last month rent or a cleaning deposit when you first rent the place out?

Yes, a security deposit. If they stay for the full year of their lease, they usually don't pay their last month or 2 of rent though. They know they'll be out before they can be evicted. Then they leave the place trashed. You can threaten legal action, but they have to care.

What do you rent, apartments or single family homes?

Apartments. Typically to college students, but I haven't had any better luck with town folk or HUDies.