How to Dispute Debt With Collection Agencies

A debt collection agency is tasked with collecting a debt from a borrower. The company works on behalf of the original lender or may have purchased the debt from the original lender. In either case, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act governs the debt collector. This law helps to protect borrowers from harassment and unfair debt collection acts. The law can help you to dispute a debt with a collection agency, too.

Instructions

1

Advise any debt collection company that contacts you by phone that you wish to see written proof of the debt. The Fair Debt Collection Practice Act requires that any debt collector provide written notice within five days of the first contact detailing why he is calling, the name of the creditor and the amount of the debt.

2

If the creditor's letter is not specific or does not provide enough information for you to familiarize yourself with the debt, send written notice within 30 days of receiving the debt requesting proof of the debt.

3

Write a polite, detailed letter outlining you wishes to dispute the debt. Ask that the collector explain the nature of the debt, how the debt was calculated, who the original creditor was, including their address. Request copies of any contracts or documents showing your agreement to pay the debt.

4

Request that the debt collector contact any credit agencies to which he is reporting the debt to alert them that you are disputing the debt. Further, request that a letter of your dispute be sent to the original creditor.

5

Include a statement within the dispute letter stating that you wish no further communication be sent to you regarding the debt.

6

Submit the dispute letter by certified mail or deliver in person within 30 days of receiving the initial collection notice.

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How to Stop Foreclosure in Tallahassee, Florida

There are a number of ways to stop foreclosure in Tallahassee, Florida. The most critical stage in the foreclosure process in Tallahassee is the scheduling of a court-ordered sale of your property. The order is made by a judge in the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit in Leon County, Florida. Leon is the county seat for Tallahassee. There is still time to save your house after the court order, but you will have to act fast.

Instructions

1

Contact a nonprofit housing counselor in Tallahassee, Florida. Select a counselor certified in foreclosure prevention by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Find a counselor in Tallahassee by visiting the HUD website. Examples of nonprofit counseling agencies in the city as of 2010 include Legal Services of North Florida, Tallahassee Lenders Consortium and the Tallahassee Urban League.

2

Meet with the HUD-certified counselor in Tallahassee to craft a strategy for avoiding foreclosure. Your goal is to prevent the lender from filing a foreclosure lawsuit leading to a court-ordered sale of your property. If the court order has already been granted, you and the counselor must convince the lender to stop the scheduled sale. For the sale to be stopped, the lender must file a legal document called a Motion To Cancel and Reschedule Foreclosure Sale. The document must be filed in the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit. Only the lender, who is referred to in the document as the plaintiff can file the motion.

3

Ask the counselor to contact the lender immediately. Participate in the three-way conversation with the counselor and the lender. Offer the lender solutions for resolving your delinquency, such as more time to sell the property, or a forbearance agreement, which can bring your account current by tacking missed payments onto the end of the loan. Other options are also available, including repayment, which allows you to eventually make up for missed payments by paying a little extra each month.

4

Negotiate with the lender until you have an agreement to stop the foreclosure, including the filing of the "motion to cancel" legal document.

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Quickest Ways to Repair Bad Credit

Credit repair is a frustrating process that involves patience, endurance and perseverance. Many companies advertise the ability to repair your credit overnight, or within a few short days. The reality of their solutions is a temporary fix at best. The problems on your credit report are not truly resolved and they will reoccur later. You can repair your credit yourself, for free, with permanent results.

Dispute

Go over your credit reports thoroughly, identifying any incorrect information. It is possible to find accounts that aren't even yours, or account information that doesn't reflect accurate payments or balances. All information on your reports must be accurate under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Write letters to the credit bureaus disputing any information you believe to be incorrect. Include copies of credit card statements or any proof to back up your claim.

Validate

Debt collectors are required to provide proof that you owe the debt they are trying to collect. Under the FDCPA, any collector who cannot validate a debt must remove it from your credit report. An account may show up on your report that originally belonged to a creditor you had an account with. Even though you're aware that the account likely belongs to you, send a letter requesting validation. Collection agencies should be able to provide you with documentation from the original creditor such as account statements and documentation proving they have the right to collect on the account. Collection agencies often sell accounts to one another after a period of time; it's not unusual for inaccurate information to appear on your reports. Know which collectors are legally allowed to collect the debt, to avoid paying someone with no authority. It is also possible that a collector will be unable to validate and will remove the account to avoid the possibility of legal ramifications.

Negotiate

Debt collectors buy accounts for pennies on the dollar and then attempt to collect the full balance from you. If a collector has properly validated an account, offer a settlement. Paid collections do not increase your credit score, so make your settlement contingent on their removal of the account entirely from all credit reports. Make sure you obtain their agreement in writing prior to sending payment, and never pay over the phone or with a personal check.

Complain

When debt collectors do not respond to your requests for validation, they are violating federal law. For some collection agencies, complaints through the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or your state's Attorney General's office may prove fruitful. File complaints and don't be afraid to follow up. Collectors will be given the opportunity to respond, so it's possible that you may be able to correspond back and forth, especially through the BBB. If the collector has failed to validate the account, the only reasonable remedy is for them to remove it from your reports. Do not back down, even if you have to ask several times. Your persistence will often prevail; just remember to keep copies of all correspondence.

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Credit Freeze Removal

Credit reporting companies usually refer to credit freezes as security freezes. Consumers can place security freezes on their credit files to keep credit reporting companies from releasing their credit histories without their permission. Consumers who want to remove credit freezes from their files need to follow processes outlined by credit reporting companies, which are based on state regulations.

Removal Requests

You may want to temporarily remove a credit freeze from your credit files while you shop for a mortgage, auto loan or credit card. According to the Experian credit reporting company, security freezes can be removed for as little as seven days or as long as 30 days or more. Consumers with credit freezes on their accounts also can authorize the temporary release of their credit reports to a particular company. Experian recommends that people plan ahead and lift a security freeze a few days before applying for credit or a loan to avoid causing delays in a creditor's or lender's approval process.

Removal Process

Consumers can permanently remove a security freeze from their credit files as well. Temporary and permanent credit freeze removals require that consumers supply credit reporting companies with the personal identification number (PIN) they received when they first requested the freeze. All requests to lift credit freezes can be submitted to credit bureaus online, by mail or by phone. People usually submit security freeze requests to the three national credit reporting companies, which are Equifax, Experian and TransUnon. Requests to remove credit freezes have to be sent separately to each company.

Fees

A fee may be charged to remove a credit freeze, depending on where you live. Credit freeze requirements vary from state to state. Experian lists each state's requirements on its website. For example, California residents pay a $10 fee to temporarily or permanently remove a security freeze. The fee drops to $5 for residents who are at least 65 years old. No fees are charged to Californians who request security freezes because they're victims of identity theft if they supply a valid copy of an identity theft report they filed with a law enforcement agency.

Considerations

According to TransUnion, it may take as long as three business days to process consumers' requests to temporarily lift a security freeze if the request was received by mail. The process will take even longer if consumers have misplaced the PINs needed to verify their removal requests. You may remember to lift a security freeze if you're applying for credit or a loan. However, you also may need to lift a freeze to avoid processing delays if you're applying for insurance or a job. For example, auto insurance companies may check credit reports to determine the premiums their customers pay. Some employers also request job applicants' permission to do credit checks on them as part of their hiring process.

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Effects of Car Reposession on Your Credit

Car repossession is often emotionally devastating and also seriously damaging to credit. Auto repossessions are listed on credit reports for seven years, making it difficult to purchase another car on credit at favorable interest rates -- at least over the short term. Other negative effects are possible as well, with the bank allowed to take legal action for any remaining balance on the loan after the car is sold at auction. That information also is placed on credit reports, further harming credit scores.

Credit Scores

Everyone's credit situation is different, and no one can say for sure how much an auto repossession will hurt your score. Credit scores are three-digit numbers ranging from 350 to 850, with a 720 or higher score representing outstanding credit. People with sufficient income and very high scores often qualify for new car purchases with no money down. Scores below 620 are considered poor and lead to higher interest rates and mandatory down payments.

Risk Factors

People with high credit scores have the most to lose in an auto repossession. Someone with a 775 credit score is likely to experience a bigger decline in credit score than someone with a score of 450, for example. The person with the 450 score already has poor credit and the score simply cannot fall much more. However, there isn't a hard and fast rule for predicting credit score changes, although credit score drops of more than 100 points are possible.

Voluntary Repossession

Some people who know they cannot afford their cars arrange for voluntary repossessions. An appointment is made to turn over the car to the bank or credit union. This eliminates the embarrassment of having a repossession agent tow the car away in a forced repossession, but it does not lessen the impact on credit. In most cases the lender will list the the account as a repossession on credit reports even in a voluntary repossession.

Negotiations

Negotiation is sometimes possible to limit damage to credit scores, especially with a voluntary repossession. The lender may agree not to list the repossession on credit reports if the owner turns the car in and agrees to immediately pay any remaining balance on the loan after the car is sold at auction. Cars typically are worth less than the amount remaining on the loan, with the bank wanting full payment. In most states the first move by the bank after voluntary or forced repossession is selling the car at auction or a private sale. That's followed by sending the former owner a bill for the balance remaining on the loan.

Court Judgments

Banks usually file a civil suit if the former owner does not pay the remaining balance or fails to make payment arrangements. The suit is heard by a judge, who almost always rules in favor of the bank and awards a monetary judgment. Judgments also remain on credit reports for seven years and can lead to bank or wage garnishment. The judgment is treated as an unsecured loan, such as a credit card. That allows for the possibility of settling the judgment for less than the full balance.

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How to Determine if a Credit Card Account Is Delinquent

A delinquent credit card account is one on which one or more payments have been missed but the credit card company has yet to charge off the debt. Some individuals may be hesitant to call the credit card company to inquire about the status of the account lest their phone number be recorded. This can result in frustrating telephone calls from the creditor regarding the debt. There are ways, however, to discover whether your credit card debt is delinquent without ever contacting the credit card company.

Instructions

1

Check your most recent bank statement to see if any funds have been allocated to your credit card company over the previous month.

2

Visit your bank and ask for a copy of your account transactions for the past 60 to 90 days. This will give you more information than a recent bank statement. Review your transaction record for evidence of a credit card payment. Occasionally, a timely payment may not appear on your most recent bank statement if the payment was made at the end of the month and did not clear until the beginning of the following month.

3

Sort through any recent unopened mail for correspondence from your credit card company. If your payment is late, your credit card company may have sent you a reminder to pay.

4

Check your email for a payment reminder from your creditor. Most credit card companies include an email address in their applications in order to contact you quickly if they cannot contact you via telephone. If you have not received a written reminder to pay, there may be an electronic one.

5

Pull your credit report. If your account is delinquent, that fact will be reflected by one or more late payment notations reporting within your credit file for the account.

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How to Eliminate Debt Claims

There are two primary ways to eliminate a debt claim. The first method, which is more commonly used, is to declare bankruptcy. The second is to prove the claim is illegal because of the way it was issued or other factors. Both methods take a significant amount of time and effort on your part. However, if either method is successful, the debt claim and all debt judgments associated with that claim will be removed.

Instructions

Remove a Debt Claim through Bankruptcy

1

Determine if you are eligible for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

2

File for Chapter 7 through your local court or with your attorney's assistance.

3

Obtain a record of all debts through a credit report or through the court itself.

4

Work with a judge to have debts settled through the liquidation of assets.

5

Verify all debt claims have been satisfied upon completion of your bankruptcy case.

Remove an Illegal Debt Claim

6

Obtain a current copy of your credit report to locate the legal names and addresses of all lenders with claims against you.

7

Send a letter to each lender requesting they validate the debt listed on your credit report. Save a copy of this letter with the date it was sent. Wait 30 days for a response.

8

Send a second letter stating they have violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) if no response is issued. Wait an additional 20 days.

9

File a complaint in small claims court against the lender for violating the FDCPA.

10

Ask the debt claim be removed by the court. Ensure your credit report is restored upon removal of the claim.

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