Collection Agency Wants Automatic Payments Only

Rosalina · #1 10-01-2008, 01:09 AM

My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: New York

My CC account has been turned over to collections. I am trying to work out a payment plan with them, but they are telling me that the only way it will happen is through monthly automatic withdrawals from my bank account. I am uncomfortable giving them this personal information, seeing as they have a reputation for getting bank accounts frozen for unauthorized withdrawals. How can I negotiate with them so they can take my payments by mail, through money order?

LawResearcherMissy · #2 10-05-2008, 04:04 PM

There is no law requiring you to consent to automatic withdrawals for the purpose of debt collection. You are not required to give a collector your bank account information, no matter how many times s/he tells you that it is required.

Tell the collector that you will be paying by money order, and that if s/he continues to demand automatic payment, you will file a complaint with the state Attorney General. Then do so.

ashman165 · #3 10-05-2008, 04:29 PM

Indeed, you're not even required to deal with any collections agency if you don't want to.

You're free to tell them, in writing of course, that you don't wish to be contacted again about this debt. At which time, they can either eat it, or send it back to the original debtor to be farmed out to another collections agency, which might be friendlier. Or not.

divemedic · #4 10-06-2008, 08:47 AM

Quote:

You're free to tell them, in writing of course, that you don't wish to be contacted again about this debt. At which time, they can either eat it, or send it back to the original debtor to be farmed out to another collections agency, which might be friendlier. Or not.

That depends. If the debt collector bought the debt, they can also sue at that point. Also, sending a "cease and desist letter," as this is known, does not prevent the debt collector from placing a collection tradeline on your credit report if they have not already done so.

ashman165 · #5 10-06-2008, 09:46 AM

Quoting divemedic

That depends. If the debt collector bought the debt, they can also sue at that point. Also, sending a "cease and desist letter," as this is known, does not prevent the debt collector from placing a collection tradeline on your credit report if they have not already done so.

They can do that. But what they can't do is contact you again on that debt. Of course, they still have all of their legal remedies available. But unless the debt is large, it's not highly likely they'll sue. Perhaps someone with poor credit can chime in and give us the skinny as they've experienced it. ^_^

divemedic · #6 10-06-2008, 01:25 PM

Don't bet the farm on a CA not suing over small amounts. That alone is not a bar to being sued.

CA attorneys generally work for dozens of CA's, OC's, hospitals, etc. Accordingly, on any given week, they can have dozens of cases in a single community. They batch their cases by date and location so that on a given day in court, they are litigating a number of claims; not just yours.

If you look at the court docket, you'll likely find that attorney's name on it for a dozen or so cases, possibly for that many different clients.

Your first appearance in court is usually an answer hearing, though in some instances you may have filed a written answer and not need to appear in person (check your rules).

The judge will begin with the first case on the docket "#CV 026 Asset v. Mr. Smith" The plaintiff's attorney will make their presence known and the judge will ask if Mr. Smith is present. (Unless you've filed a written answer, in which case the plaintiff's attorney will notify the judge that an answer has been filed and request a conference or trial date.) If you're answering in person, you acknowledge your presence. The judge will ask you if you wish to deny the allegations or confess judgment.

If you deny the allegations, the judge will let you know you have x number of days to file a written answer. He may or may not set a pre-trial conference date at that time. If you confess judgment, a judgment will be entered and likely the judge will request you stay until after he completes the docket call so you can meet with plaintiff's counsel to make payment arrangements. Usually it's no more than 30 minutes to an hour that you have to wait.

Your answer hearing takes all of about a minute. So, in 15-30 minutes that one CA attorney will have made an appearance for 10-20 claims. 95% of which the defendant doesn't appear for or ever answer, and a default judgment is entered. Of the 5% that do appear, 90% of those will confess judgment.

Afterwards, the attorney will make the hour drive to the next county and repeat the process. Believe it or not, many county courts stagger the days and times for these types of cases to accommodate these "road show" attorneys.

So never consider the distance or the amount of the claim as a hindrance to the plaintiff. They're probably going to be there anyway, and since they count on the default judgment, it doesn't really matter if it's for $100 or $10,000.

This is also why it's a good idea to fight a claim. They don't want to eventually waste an hour appearing at trial for a $500 suit when they could spend that hour getting 10 default judgments. If you put up any kind of a defense, even a frivolous one, the odds are in your favor they will simply dismiss their claim.

The actual procedures will vary by state, but it's generally along these lines.

These "road show" attorneys are usually fresh out of law school and have limited or no trial experience. For the most part they are paid a salary, not a percentage (the firm gets the percentage). They are often only in it for a year or two until they have gained some courtroom experience and can get a real job. Though there are exceptions and those that get a percentage can make some big bucks.