help- (sorry)a non-immigration issue

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gc_dec

Registered Users (C)
I remember a thread sometime ago about collection agent. It happened to me now.

I bought some furniture from a store 2 years ago, this store used Citifinantial gave me 0% interest for 1 year. I moved my home after 2 months and I payed to citifinantial in full in Jan, 2001 but past due date 3 days.(I did not notify citifinantial of the address change).

Since then I never heard them for one year. 2 days ago I got a letter from aceademy collection sevice, they said I owe citifinantial $270. I called citifinantial then, they said because I delayed 3 days they charged me $36. But they kept sending the bill to my old address for one year without my reply, then it accumulted to $270. They could do nothing now because they transfered it to aceademy collection sevice and I need to negotiate with them. I called the collection agents. they are blood sucker, they asked at least $220 otherwise go to court.

I really hate them. I can donate $200 to charity but not a penny more to them.

Are there some legal actions I can take to avoid the too much penalty pay? please share your thoughts and experience.
 
I have called consumer affair with similar problem. They said that if we have proof of change of address which we mail to them then only we can fight.
Mine pending bill is over $2000.00 :eek:
But i am going to court, thats wat i told them last yr and they still call me regarding this issue.
 
Sort out with CitiFinancials

Gc_dec - I would suggest you to sort out with CitiFinancials. Talk to them and get the thing resolved. One thumb rule here in the US is "DONT DELAY PAYING YOUR BILLS" and you have done that. 3 days past the due date. So try to talk to them and sort it out. I was scammed a year ago by some company that sent me a package and charged me nearly $400.00. I called them and asked me to return the charges on my Credit Card and they said that a mandatory fee of $50.00 would be not be refunded and that i agreed to it (They played a tape). But finally after dozens of calls and explanation i got every penny back from them.

My 2 cents advice
 
The best way for not missing out any mails to your old address is mail forwarding, it is free and all you have to do is fill out a form at the post office and for one year your mails will be forwarded to your new address and you can extend after a year.

gc_dec, In your case negotiation is the best weapon, but be careful have every thing in writing, this type of problems will effect you credit history. Play Safe don’t go to court it is waste of your time and money as in this case its your fault not to mention about the address change or have mail forwarding.

These companies depend on the interest, that is the bread and butter for them, so they don’t let go even a penny that is the reason $36 is very important for them.

Hope this will help every one. It is very quick and easy.
 
Citi

I had a similar experience with Citi as well. I enrolled for the online statement and nowhere did it mention that thay will stop mailing physical statements. Well, they stopped sending physical billing statements to me and I very convietly overlooked that. I used to recieve emails, however I was so used to recieving physical statements like I do for all others I have an web access with, that it never occured to me that I had bills to pay. One fine day, after 5 months of delinqueny, I get a mail (physical) mailed to my current address threating reporting it to a Credit agency, boy was I furious, I called them up gve them a piece of my mind and all the SOB had to say was don't pay and prepare for a bad credit report. Not a very helpful attitude towards comeone who has been a member for over 3 years. I hate this company and guys please stay away from these leaches if you can.
BTW, I paid almost a 100 $ in late fees, they never sent me a reminder about being late for 5 months and then all of a sudden the big letter threatening me of collection agencies et al.
 
Yes, Citibank are a bunch of crooks

I used their c2it service for international money transfer. After one month of initiating the transaction my family in India still did not receive the money. I called Citibank and was told "postal delays in your country is not our problem". I explained to them that they should have some way to track the check and they said their responsibility ends with mailing out a check. I was given an option of cancelling the check if I did not want to wait anymore. I said yes go ahead and cancel the check. The SOB's then charged me the transaction fee, the check cancellation fee and took another amount for currency exchange rate. They have a different rate when receiving your money and a different rate when reimbursing the same. When I called up and tried to get them to waive the exchange rate charge I was told that I should have read the terms and conditions.
I have decided never to do business with these crooks again..
 
Similar thing happened with us

while changing addresses, with a stores credit card. I didn't know about it, until I applied for a auto loan for a second vehicle and my loan was rejected(even though I had an excellent credit record !!) due to a delinquincy in my credit report. I had to call for the equifax credit agency and filed an investigation with them (you can do that for $10 on the internet) with this stores. Finally it was resolved and they removed the bad credit from my credit report. It was a huge mental distress !! We learnt a lesson a very hard way !!
 
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Thank you for your inputs

Just called citifinantial again. they are binding with Collection Agent. It seems that the only one I can negotiate now is Collection Agent. Maybe I wll pay this lesson cause I do not want to put too much energy and time on it.

I have taken a lot of paid lessions willingful and unwillingful since I came to this country. parking ticket, speedy ticket ... this time maybe I will take the new one.

I like this forum. All good ones here. we can share info and take unpaid lessons.

Any more input?
 
gc_dec,

Don't have a clear answer for your situation. But, I can warn you of other hidden things in this dealing with the collection agency.

The original creditor (citi) has basically sold this "bad debt" to the blood suckers (collection agency). If the amount you owed, actual finance charge + penalty, say is $270, citi must have sold this to the collector for roughly half the price. So, instead of losing $270, they have only lost (not exactly) $135. That is the reason why they say that you will have to deal with the collection agency.

The collection agency wants to turn a profit on the $135 and so is giving you a "concession" of $220. But, the original creditor (citi) might have already written $135 off as a bad debt! That is not necessarily a good thing for you. They might have reported that, independently, to the credit reporting bureau. If you only deal with the collection agency, you might still be on the hook for $135!! Watch out!

If you really want to put this behind you and not fight on the basis of a principle, please do get a letter from BOTH citi and the collector that they WILL NOT report this to the credit bureau.

This is from personal experience which is still haunting me but I'm still fighting it as a matter of principle (may not be a very prudent thing). This tried to affect my mortgage rates and my project with a government agency but fought them off.
 
Best thing is to bargain with the collection agency the max you can and then pay it off ASAP. Atleast you can get your credit report fixed soon. They will be reporting every month and it will be showing as past due and with collection agency. Earlier you
resolve the issue, the better.
 
just got it solved

just solved it in $200 after bargaining with the collection agency. After they cash out the check they will clear my records and send me a letter in 45 days.

I feel some release now but what is the time that I can release on 485?

thank you all again.
 
gc_dec,

this may be being extra cautious... but something you might want to think about.

Have them send (better yet.. fax) you a letter saying that they would consider the matter closed and the case never reported to the credit bureau, with a payment of $200 from you. Do this before you send the check out.

These collection agencies act like best friends before they get the money and once they do, in the absence of a written agreement, they tend to forget the pact.

I had the collector fax me a letter stating the above before I sent him any money! And despite that, I received a notice from his office asking for the balance!!! Then I had to have him send another letter that showed the balance owed as zero dollars.

So, be careful and good luck.
 
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