Question:
I've been reading the posts here and find them interesting and
informative, well written and thought out. Thus my question.
About 12 years ago I got into credit card hell, lots of debt, very
little income. Since then I've been paying off the debt, slowly but
paying it off. This past year I've had some financial problems during
which two of my credit card bills were sent to collection agencies.
Agency 1
Contacted me in March and after 10 minutes on the phone with them I
had set up a payment plan to repay the entire debt (approx. $1800.00) at
$50 per month. I've been paying them each month since then, no
problems.
Agency 2
Contacted me in September. I wrote a letter to the agency advising
them that I couldn't pay the full amount (approx. $1800.00) at that time
and that I would be able to pay them $35 per month (minimum payment,
possible more depending on overtime worked) towards the full repayment
of the debt. Approximately 30 days later I wrote them another letter
stating that I had received no reply from them and that if they were
pursuing the debt that I would like to hear from them.
Two days after sending this letter I got a phone message to call the
company. The agent I spoke to advised that I owed "her client" over
$1800 and that they wanted the money. I advised her that I had written
twice and received no reply. She looked at "my file" and laughed at the
$35 per month offer and said that I would need to pay the full amount.
She suggested that I sell all the merchandise and send her the money.
When I advised her that most, if not all, the merchandise was gone
because it didn't even last as long as the bills, she accused me of
pawning the merchandise. I then told her that I didn't appreciate her
"abusive and antagonistic attitude" she suggested that I contact an
attorney as she would "advise her clients" to take me to court and then
hung up on me.
Since then I have talked to the "general manager" of the local branch of
this collection agency and advised him that I will be getting an annual
pay raise in Oct that would allow me to pay $75 per month. But I am
still getting the "we want all the money now" routine, followed by the
"well, let me contact the person I deal with at the credit card
company(Best Buy, now HSA,USA) and see what they'll do". Spoke with
another person after this and they advised me that the credit card
company does not want to accept payments and for some reason they are
running a second credit check on me at this time.
Here are the questions I have (thank you for your patience):
1) If you offer in good faith to repay a debt by making payments, is
the collection agency in any way legally required to work with you?
(I've heard that in the state of Florida they are required to accept
monthly payments.)
2) I may need to seek legal counsel, but I live from paycheck to
paycheck. I've always heard about "Legal Aide" and understood it to be
free legal advice/help for those that can't afford an attorney. Is this
true? Just what is "Legal Aide"?
Any "opinions" you may have about my dilemma would be greatly
appreciated! If any of you have suggestions as to actions I may take
that would make this situation less stressful, I would appreciate those
also.
Answer:
Q: 1) If you offer in good faith to repay a debt by making payments, is
the collection agency in any way legally required to work with you?
A: No. It is perfectly legal for it to insist on payment in full.
Q: 2) I may need to seek legal counsel, but I live from paycheck to
paycheck. I've always heard about "Legal Aide" and understood it to be
free legal advice/help for those that can't afford an attorney. Is this
true? Just what is "Legal Aide"?
A: Legal Aid is a federal program that has been severely cut back under GOP
control of the legislature. You may want to call your local bar association
and see if you can find a pro bono (free) or reduced fee attorney to help.
It sounds as if an initial consultation may be sufficient.
