Demand letter from Collection Agency/Lawyer (NJ)?

Question

A week ago I received a VERY spartan (of information and about 3 sentences) letter from a bill collector/lawyer here in NJ. It gave ZERO information. Just said I owed $1800 to a particular company and I needed to send him a check (made out to this company) "immediately." I called the company I supposedly owed money to, not knowing what it was all about. The bill was from THREE AND A HALF YEARS ago. I told them I never received a bill from them. They claimed - according to what was written on their computer - that they sent a bill in Oct and Nov 2009 (the actual date of service that caused the bill was March 2009). I said that it was great they told me this nearly FOUR years after the fact and how was I supposed to find the information? They told me they have SEVEN years to request the money, which I find ridiculous. Why even wait ONE year if someone owes you money?

Truthfully, I have no idea if I paid it or not. I finally (last night) emailed the lawyer and told him I would need time to find out this information and that he should send INFORMATION about a bill rather than thinking someone is just going to send him nearly $2000.

What are my options? How should I handle this?

Thank you!

Answer 1

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/debt_validation_workflow.shtml



The 1st step you need to do is go to your credit reports per the 1st poster. This if free and can see with all 3 credit reporting agencies, if this debt is listed, which most likely is.



Even though it has been 3 1/2 years since you got this service, you might dispute this if they are not legally able to collect. Read the site attached and it explains how. Due to the length of time, sounds like this debt may have been sold to many collectors over the years. With each collector, they pay less than the one before. Many times to get the "original" contact or bill, they must pay more for that and many prefer to try and collect w/out.



And yes they have up to 7 years to collect. But here is something most people don't understand, that when you pay ANY money, the 7 years start over again to collect. This usually happens after the 7 years has run and they get you to pay "something" to start the clock all over again, since over 7 years, they are barred.



So right now, they want to get this paid and you maybe able to negotiate this, like the other poster for 50%. So say for instance you settle for $900 vs the $1,800, then they will send you at the end of the year, a 1099? which means that you would have to add to your tax returns that you in fact got $800 more in income and pay taxes.



Have you moved a lot, changed telephones a-lot over the last 4 years? My step daughter is an absolute mess with handling money and is constantly being pursued into collections. What has made it difficult for the debt collectors with her, is that she has married twice in 5 years, so had 2 married names, went back to her single name and has also moved to 3 different states, plus has changed her phone number around 6 times during that time. We keep getting phone calls at our house (her father) for these debts, since they have no clue how to find her. They keep hoping we will answer the phone and give them info, which we wont, since many of these knew by her credit it was lousy, but then loaned her the money, so they are the idiots.



Do your research 1st, after you have done so, then you might have to actually pay them, but if you do, try your best to negotiate it. There are sites that tell you how.



good luck

Answer 2

Request a full validation of the debt. Google debt validation letter. If you owe the debt then you need to check the statute of limitations in your state for this type of debt. If the SOL has expired you will have more leverage to negotiate a settlement and a pay for delete contract to salvage your credit. Be careful not to reset the SOL.

Do all communications by mail and keep a copy so you will have everything in writing. Never take a collectors word for it. Read the fair debt collection practices act to know your rights when dealing with collectors.

Answer 3

Bills that large generally leave papertrails a mile long if they are paid. The money would have come out of a bank account most probably. Have your bank check back in their records. They can search an amount/date. Call the company and have them send you copies of the bills. Most probably some collection company bought up this debt from whatever company you did business with.

Answer 4

So you are aware of the service, just not whether you paid $1,800 or not. That seems suspect, you should be able to check your records. You didn't simply hand them $1,800 cash, even if you did pay them, so you should be able to find records.



Now that this bill is in collections, negotiate. They will likely lower the bill so that they can still make a profit. They may have purchased this debt for pennies on the dollar, so 50% might still net them a profit.

Answer 5

Check your credit reports to verify this debt.

All 3 reports are free once a year. Something all adults must do. No charge.

Annual Credit Report.com https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

Do not pay for the score. Useless.

You want to review all 3 reports and look for this collection item to verify it.



Ask here how to negotiate a settlement.

I have seen people settle for almost 1/2 of what they owe if they do it right.

You'll need a lump sum of cash.

They can wait years. Perhaps in the hopes that you will financially recover.

Answer 6

How can you not know if you paid a bill that large? Where is the canceled check?