Bad Business = Good Business For Debt Collectors

The recession has forced business-to-business debt to rise to nearly 40 percent. But that's good business for debt collection agencies ...

In the state of Texas, If you have a credit card charged off, can a debt collection agency or anyone else for?

Jan 29, 2007 by Steve A | Posted in Credit

that matter freeze your assets?

Listen to Sunbun's answer. Absolutely correct.

Yet another example of why you need to be very careful about listening to responders here who don't supply you with a source. The first two answers are not only wrong, but if you followed their advice you would find yourself in a whole world of hurt!

Just because a debt is charged off does not make it go away. It's a bookkeeping practice that removed your account from their books for tax purposes. The debt can/will be sold to a collection agent.

Once that happens, and if they win a judgment, they can collect from you. Wage Garnishment is illegal in Texas, but there are other ways they can collect.

Be sure to check the age of the debt. Texas has a 4 year Statute of Limitations...debts older then that can NOT be legally collected on.

A collection agency has violated a verbal agreement to settle. Can I sue them in texas?

May 26, 2008 by mike k | Posted in Credit

I made an offer to a representative of a law firm trying to collect a debt for a collection agency. He asked me to hold while he confirmed with the lawyer. He responded that the offer was acceptable and he would send the paperwork the next day. The next day he called and said he did not make an agreement and asked for more. Can I sue them in texas

No i sure hope it wasn't mann bracken they will clean out you bank account if you gave them your info they only way ti sue is if you had it on paper then they went back on it right now it's just he said she said really.

Can a collection agency garnish money from your personal paycheck in the State of Texas?

Jul 24, 2007 by traveler | Posted in Personal Finance

A collection agency has acquired the debt of my daughter who lives in Texas and has threatened my daughter that if she doesn't pay a large amount up front they will garnish her paycheck from where she works. Can they do this? Is this legal?

It depends.

According to the Associate Dean for the Houston Law Center, there are only a few exceptions to the general rule that there is no garnishment of paychecks in Texas:

Wage garnishment is permitted for child support, certain federal taxes and government backed student loans.

a collection agency has sent me a threat of (26 u s c 6050p) what is it and in Texas debt limits what do i do?

Feb 02, 2006 by texan4america2 | Posted in Personal Finance

It is probably a scare tactic to get you to pay. If you do not owe the debt, sent a certified letter to them indicating that you do not owe the debt. If you do owe the money and do not have a dispute on the validity of the debt, then make payment arrangements with them.

A collection agency bought my almost 6 year old debt from another collection agency?

Dec 04, 2008 by cateyes | Posted in Credit

I have not told this company that I would pay them, now on my credit report is the original collection and the bought collection plus their fee's. Statue of limitations is 7 years i think will they have to remove this in a year or will it be on my credit report for another 7 years cause they bought it 04/08 TEXAS

Per the Fair Credit Reporting Act derogatory accounts can only show for 7-years from the date of first delinquency period nothing but nothing resets this date.

If the second collection changes the date this is a violation of the F.C.R.A. and you can not only dispute it with the credit bureaus and have it removed you can sue them in small claims court and collect $1,000.00 per violation.

Now another thing the Statute of limitations in the State of TX is 4-years for all debts so unless you have made a payment on this debt or admitted it's yours there is nothing they can do to you anyway. If they contact you simply send them a certified ;letter return receipt requested demanding validation that this debt is yours and that it's not past the S.O.L., that should be the last you hear from them.

I posted a link in the source box so you can look up the S.O.L. yourself.

Texas Credit Card Debt, if the debt has been charged off and resold can the new collection agency sue you?

Jan 16, 2008 by JoAnn N | Posted in Credit

My husband has cancer and credit card collectors are overwelming us. I settled a few for less than original amout owed but only have so much money and can't pay everyone at the same time. I know they have 4 years to sue but most are charged off and have now been resold. I need to know if the company who bought my debt can now sue me?
Thanks for any help anyone can give.
I am not trying to get out of paying, I just can't pay everyone at the same time and they are so mean.

Thanks for the answer's I have rec'd so far. You guys are great!
I now have terrible credit and I couldn't get a loan if I wanted one. Just need to have them back off while I pay them off one at a time.

Like the first poster said, a collector can sue.
If the accounts are in your husbands name, they can file on him and not you, even if you were an AU on the account.
(the same if the accts were in your name)
If the accounts were in both names, they can file on one or both of you.

If they file suit once the collecting SOL has passed then you have a legal right to file an affirmative defense of SOL in with your answer (as ∞infiniti∞ mentioned - I don't know why she got a thumbs down since she is correct for the most part) AND you have a legal right to include counterclaims for their violation of filing on a time barred debt.

You also have a legal right to file counterclaims (or file your own suit against them) for "any" violation the collector commits that is against the laws of the FCRA, FDCPA "and" the Texas Finance Code (the TFC is Tx's own version of the FDCPA)
Violations could consist of - verbal violations (if you have proof), violations in the letters they send and violations on the credit reports.


In Texas the collecting SOL starts from the last time a charge or payment was made on the account before the account was charged off.

In Texas the collecting SOL cannot be reset unless acknowledgment of the debt is in writing and is signed by the debtor. (making a payment by check is a written acknowledgment - making a payment in cash and getting a receipt from them that does not contain your signature is not a written acknowledgment)

In Texas, wage garnishment is not allowed for credit card debt judgments.

In Texas, collectors "must" be bonded to collect in that state (they do not have to be licensed)

In Texas if you request validation/verification from a collector "at any time", the collector "must" cease all collections (including filing suit) until validation/verification is provided
(the FTC FDCPA only states ceasing collections when validation/verification is requested within the first 30 days from the collectors first contact)

Validation/verification must come from the files of the original creditor and not simply on the collectors own letterhead.
(though requesting validation while still well within SOL can be a two-edged sword)

The TFC has alot of teeth to it. You might do some reading in it to see what the collector can or cannot do in Tx.
TFC debt collection laws
http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/FI/content/htm/fi.005.00.000392.00.htm

If a collector violates the TFC, that can mean not only civil charges against the collector but criminal charges as well.

You might also click on my profile and do some reading in the FTC links I've provided to the FDCPA, FCRA, etc.
You might also click on the last link listed to the free credit discussion board and do some reading in the newbie forum and then in the credit forum

I'm sorry your husband and you are dealing with that health issue along with the financial problems.

is it true that i don't owe a collection agency anything because they are not the originators of my debt?

Jan 31, 2008 by mm66 | Posted in Credit

i am in texas. i had some bad luck and now have a charge off with b of america for about 13000.00. i have been contacted by a collection agency who is posing as a lawyer threatening with a summons...am losing sleep over what to do. any advice is appreciated.
i'm responding to an answer by creditanswers.com; it is no longer b of america calling it is another agency. does this make a difference?

This use to be the case, but not any more. BOA sends thousands of people through litigation everyday, (translation judgment/lien) If you are able to work out payment arrangements or a settlement I would do it if I where you.

Also in Texas the statute of limitations is 4 years. So if by some chance its been over 4 years your in the clear and have all the leverage.

If you do work out a payment plan request once the loan is paid in full they remove it from your credit (this will not be done unless pre negotiated)

And there's nothing they can do other than apply a judgment/lien there not able to garnish your wadges or have you arrested in Texas.


Edit----------------------

I'm not sure why I got a negative mark all my information is 100% ccorrect, and now days most company's such as BOA and capital one don't sell there charged off debt they have departments to Handel it for them.

Edit-----------------------------

The company calling you is representing BOA it dose not matter who is calling you. They have 4 years to collect the money. After that they can still try to harassing you but can not take any legal action.

Are these violations of fair debt collection practices act?

Apr 26, 2007 by jenvoigts | Posted in Credit

My husband fell 6 months behind on a credet card bill. The account was turned over to a collection agency in Texas.After repeated phone calls to both my husband and his employer. My husband called the CA and asked them to stop contacting third parties. He tried to make arrangements to pay the debt. He was not able to come up with the sum that they wanted so the calls continued. They called us numerous times. Sometimes 10 or more times in one hour. They continued to call his employer even when the employer asked them to stop calling. They called our neighbor, parents, and siblings. I contacted them and made arrangements to pay the bill in monthly enstallments. Two payments have been made as agreed. We have not missed a payment. Yesterday I was contacted by them stating that if I couldn't settle the debt that day they would send a 1099C form to the IRS. Claiming that my unpaid debt was considered nonwage income even though I was paying on it. they also called a third party this same da
We still are not sure how they got our neighbors address. We hardly ever even talk to him. I don't even know his last name. All that we can figure is that they looked up our address and then did a search on our neighbors address to get his contact information.

What really gets me is that they are continuing the harrassment even though we are paying on the debt. I could see if we had missed payments or something but we haven't.
The 1099 C form doesn't even apply to my debt. They were not offering to eliminate the debt. The lady who I spoke to on the phone tried telling me that if I didn't pay the debt that day she would file the form. When I spoke to the manager and asked him about the form he told me that it was used if part of the debt was written off and did not apply to a debt that I was paying. He is looking into the matter to find out why she would tell me this. It felt to me that she was just trying to bully me into paying it that day.
We have the payment details in writting and have made payments as agreed. We are sending a certified letter tommorow to stop contacting third parties as they are not doing so with any intentions of finding out contact information about us. They already have our information.

Turn them in to the better business bureau. Also tell them you will contact your attorney(you don't have to have one) if they don't stop calling your family and his employer. They legally can't contact the IRS about your debt, so don't worry about that. Make sure you tell the BBB about all of the threats that they have made, this is wrong and against the LAW! personally I would contact an attorney and sue them for harassment and breech in privacy if they are telling other people any info about how much you owe.

Is a verbal promise to pay a collection agency binding in Texas?

Apr 18, 2008 by wayku00 | Posted in Credit

I found out that I have 2 collections on my credit report. I stupidly contacted the collection agency and verbally promised to pay them before I did my research and learned that there were other options open to me. I still fully intend to pay the debt but I want to send a Pay For Delete letter so I can do my best to get this off my credit report. I'm wondering if that verbal promise to pay is binding in Texas. The following is the statute that I've found for Texas and I'm hoping that it means that verbal commitments are not binding in this case:

THE FOLLOWING STATUTE PROHIBITS "RE-AGING" OF SOL WITHOUT A WRITTEN CONTRACT

§ 16.065. Acknowledgment of Claim An acknowledgment of the justness of a claim that appears to be barred by limitations is not admissible in evidence to defeat the law of limitations if made after the time that the claim is due unless the acknowledgment is in writing and is signed by the party to be charged.

Thanks for any advice

You can always deny that any arrangement was ever made...without a written agreement or legal phone recording of the conversation, they can't contest it.

Debt collectors trick people all the time with verbal promises that they have no intention of carrying out once that get your money....so don't shed any tears for the collection agency.

Being sued by collection agency. I was served to appear in 2 weeks. I live in the Texas. Any advice?

Dec 31, 2008 by tyingtobenice | Posted in Law & Ethics

I am supposed to appear at the Justice of the Peace for my prescient in two weeks. The amount is for $2400 that I owed on a credit card that I last payed on in 2005. The credit card wrote off my debt at the end of 2005. I don't think I need to pay the collection agency because I did not incur the dept with them.

You are correct - you did NOT incur the debt with the collection agency. HOWEVER, your credit card company (herein referred to as “Creditor”) has hired an outside collection agency to collect for them because they have exhausted all their internal collection processes to get you to pay or whatever.

In my company, if a customer defaults in payment then after so many days (usually 90, but sometimes sooner) we will refer the account to a collection agency if our own internal collection process is unsuccessful.

In your situation, the collection agency that is contacting you was hired by the creditor you owe the debt to.

If the county Sheriff’s Office served you with papers then yes you should appear in court. If you don’t show up in court, then you would be in default of a court order and a judgment is put against you. And from there can collect any known assets you might have like a car or something. They can’t come to your house and take things out but I think they could take your car. For example, if you have a car parked in the street or something, and they know its your car, the collection agency people cannot take it just like that. They are REQUIRED to call the sheriff’s office and have a deputy come out on site or whatever. Keep you car in a garage or something if you fear of them taking it. Keep in mind this is only a civil matter, not a criminal matter so you it’s not an arrest able offense or anything if that is what you are worried about.

Another option for you is to declare bankruptcy. That will hurt your credit and will stay on your credit report for 7 to 10 years. If you file bankruptcy it will clear you of any debts you owe I believe and in some states it is quite simple to do. Your attorney should be able to assist with this.

Do you have any questions or anything else you need to know?

Texas Debt collection Laws

Discover How To Protect Yourself From Debt Collection Services

In today’s current economy, there are a lot of people that are forced to deal with collection agencies. As much as everyone hates dealing with these agencies, they are needed to help collect on delinquent accounts that original creditors simply could not obtain the funds for. Obviously, if every person in the world paid their bills on time there would be no need for these agencies at all. It is important to know how to protect yourself from debt collection services that are not legitimate.

No one likes bill collectors, however before passing judgment on these individuals it is important to understand that there are some companies that deal in these financial matters that are not considered to be bad companies. Before you begin paying a collection agency any of your money it is important to determine if the company that is attempting to collect your funds from you is legitimate or not.

The government has set forth a plethora of laws that help protect consumers and lenders from illegitimate debt collection practices. However, even though there are laws set aside to protect consumers and creditors there are still some companies that see it fit to take matters into their own hands when it comes to collecting money that is owed.

There are so many people that do not have a general understanding of what their rights are when it comes to dealing with aggressive creditors. One thing is evident, ever since the economic recession hit a lot of collectors have begun to take a more aggressive approach towards collecting on delinquent accounts that are overdue.

Whenever a collection agency begins to call your home phone or your work phone, this means that the original agency that you were dealing with has sold your debt to this agency. Whenever unpaid bills are sold off to these agencies, they are able to take a small percentage of money out of the money that they collect in order to fund their companies.

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