old debts are hard to pay

[2stroke]

I am in the process of trying to buy a house, and I have to clean up some items on my credit reports from about 5 years ago. Ive had some good luck getting a hold of the original creditors, and most of them have even settled for percentages of the original amounts.

Except, one creditor referred me to a collection agency, and this agency doesnt answer the phone! Ive been trying for 2 weeks to get a live person! Ive left 4 messages and no call backs! I got one person last week, and they told me they dont have any info in my file and I would have to call back on Monday. (Today) Well, Ive been trying all day, and of course, I cant get a live person. TO make matters worse, I cant even leave a voice mail message because the answering system they use gives me an error that tells me the mailbox is full and I cant leave a message at this time!

I called the original creditor and left a message that their agancy of choice was a waste, and that I wouldnt exactly give them any more business if they cant even bother to answer the phone. (Havent heard back from that one yet)

I guess its a sick payback Im into here. Now I am the one harassing the agencies, so I can PAY my debts....weird twist huh?

 

[Senior KX Rider]

moved

 

[Jeff Gilbert]

They may not have answered today because it was a holiday

 

[Zerotact]

I've never paid colloection agencies... My debtors have told me that was the only way. There is no reason to pay a 3rd party, especially when the collection agency hasn't done anything and you are the one doing alll the tracking down work. Of course my credit isn't the greatest..

 

[Rooster]

2stroke - I know your pain, oh so well. In 1997 my wife and I decided it was time to buy a house. I had to pay for damages to a rental property from a party I threw in 1986!!! :eek: :p The good thing was, it was listed as a judgement against me and I just had to pay the district court. Hope you get things straightened out, first time house buying can be a stressful thing.

 

[Okiewan]

Go to the credit agency (Equifax, TRW, etc) websites and dispute EVERYTHING negative on your reports(s). The listing company has 30 days to respond/prove to the credit agencies that you actually owe it, in writing, or BY LAW, the agency HAS TO REMOVE it... completely. You'd be surprised how many never bother to respond.

You do need a copy of your file to know what is there, most of them let you get the info and file the dispute online.

 

[funktree]

that must have been a hell of a party

 

[berudd]

Definitely dsipute it with the credit agencies. What the above post says is true, the must respond in writing or remove it. If it is not removed for some reason then by law you must be given the contact information for the people that confirmed this is a debt you need pay. Then you can hoepfully get them to straighten it out.

I had a similar thing with Verizon. Note that I have NEVER had ANY service with Verizon. I had a $90 charge off from them. I think that is odd, especially in light of the "never having any Verizon services" thing. I dispute it and they say it is valid so I call the people to get the details. I sit on hold for 2 hours listening to David Bowie (UGH!) and then the system says "we are now closed, call again tomorrow", click, *dial tone*. I call again the next day, same story. I call again and push buttons until I get a human. I try to tell them I need info on this and before I can finish, I get routed back to David Bowie. See above for results. I try again. By now, I am willing to just pay the 90 bucks even if it is bogus so I can buy a house. I get lucky and speak to some form mammalian life form and say, "Look, I just need to know where to send a check for this........" Back to David Bowie. DAMN!

Well, before I figure it out, I get the mortgage and the house anyway. As far as I know it is still there.

 

[KC10Chief]

Haha! David Bowie. I used to be really irresponsible credit wise. I didn't give a crap. At first, I got in over my head and couldn't afford to pay. After that, I could afford to pay, but I was just too lazy. A bill would come due, but since I hate going to the post ofice, I would just wait until they called me and I would pay over the phone. Not good. Fortunately for me, I can pay everything on the computer now! And I pay on time. I've been good for about 4 or 5 years now, but that old crap still shows up. My wife and I financed a car this year and got a good interest rate. So I guess it's not all bad. I went through the same thing when i went to buy a house too. I had to pay a lot of crap off! Matt

 

[evenslower]

You don't have to pay the collection agency. You can tell company that you owe that you will only deal with them and if they refuse there are ways to have the indebted account removed from your report and basically its gone. There's a book by a guy named Benjamin Dover (yep, BenDover, poor guy) that goes into all of the details if you want to do a little research.