I have a debt that was "charged off" 2 yrs ago, it was sold to a collector and they are harrasing me. Options?
924525
Send a validation demand: \n\nhttp://www.expert-credit-advice.com/Letters/Letter17.htm
185128
check your credit report and dispute whatever you can on it.  if credit companies cant prove you owe this amount or if the report is past 7 years, then they have to remove it.  experian is the easiest to dispute online...i wiped out 13/24 debts from my report just by challenging them online within 6 weeks!!  it'll take some time and a bit of effort, but not as hard as i thought, and definately worth it!
1052524
This will def help you out! \n\n"Getting Bill Collectors Off Your Back \n\nHere's how to get bill collectors to stop harassing you!\n\nAre you in debt—and avoiding ringing phones, ignoring your mail and only hesitatingly opening the door—all to steer clear of the dreaded bill collector? \n\nNo one likes dealing with these people. But the good news is that the law forbids repeated harassment by bill collectors—and gives you the right to sue for violations. If you complain loudly enough—and you've got proof backing you up—you have a chance to get the entire debt canceled. \n\nThere are two types of bill collectors. (No, not nasty and even nastier.) Some bill collectors work for the original creditor, the business or person who first extended you credit or loaned you money. Others work for a collection agency, a company hired by an original creditor to collect its debt. \n\nThe difference is important. You have much greater legal protection against harassment by debt collectors who work for collection agencies, because they are governed by a federal law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA. \n\nTell Them to Stop\n\nFew consumers know that under the FDCPA, you have the right to tell a collection agency employee to bug off. Simply send a letter stating that you want the collection agency to cease all communications with you. All agency employees are then prohibited from contacting you, except to tell you that collection efforts have ended or that the collection agency or original creditor may sue you. \nDebt collectors, however, are notorious for breaking the law—contacting people who have sent a cease-contact letter, or violating other provisions of the FDCPA. \n\nDocument Illegal Behavior\n\nTo get results, you need proof of the illegal behavior. If phone calls from someone from a collection agency violate the law, try to tape the next harassing phone call you get. In most states, you can tape a conversation without telling the other party, as long as you are a party to the conversation. That's because the law allows you to record any conversation in which at least one party consents to the taping, and you can be the one who consents. \n\nIn a dozen states (listed below), however, it's illegal to record a conversation, unless you get the permission of the person to whom you are speaking, or at least warn the person that the conversation may be recorded. \n\nDon't record a conversation without the debt collector's knowledge in: \nCalifornia \nConnecticut \nDelaware \nFlorida \nIllinois \nMaryland \nMassachusetts \nMichigan \nMontana \nNew Hampshire \nPennsylvania \nWashington \n\nIf you can't tape the conversation, try to get a witness. Have the witness listen on a phone extension while you and the collector talk. Try to get the collector to repeat the earlier illegal statements. \n\nIt's illegal for bill collectors to: \n\nContact third parties, other than an attorney or a credit bureau, except to locate you \nCall you repeatedly or contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. \n\nContact you at work if your employer prohibits it \nUse or threaten to use violence \nUse obscene or profane language \nPlace telephone calls to you without identifying themselves as bill collectors \nClaim you owe more than you do \nClaim to be attorneys \nClaim that you'll be imprisoned or your property will be seized \nSend you a paper that resembles a legal document \nAdd unauthorized interest, fees or charges \n\nFile a Complaint\n\nOnce you have the conversation taped or witnessed, you can make an official complaint. The federal agency that oversees collection agencies will send you a complaint form if you ask, or you can simply write a letter. Contact the Federal Trade Commission at 6th and Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20580. Include the collection agency's name and address, the name of the collector, the dates and times of the conversations, and the names of any wit
1098728
The statute of limitations has run on that debt.  What you can do is contact the person and make them promise to pay anyway, and then another year will run from the subsequent promise.  You must sue before a year's time. Get your friend to agree to pay you back the money owed plus interest and fees.  Even is he/she makes a fake promise just to get you off their back, the courts will uphold.
911719
Roderick,\n\nLet me break this down for you.\n\nOnce you are in a situation where you can even pay a portion of the debt, you need to send the collection agency a pay-for-deletion letter.\n\nJust remind them that you have other creditors to pay, and "in the spirit of compromise" you would like to settle the account for $XXX dollars as payment in full IF and ONLY IF the collection agency will remove the negative item from you credit report at ALL THREE credit bureaus.\n\nThe collection agencies will try to give you the okie-doke by saying that they can not do this (because it's extra work for them).  However, they have the ability and authority to do it.\n\nIf the collection agency declines your offier, just inform them in writing that your payment went to another collector who agreed to the aforementioned terms.\n\nPlease be aware that you are NOT TO TALK to the collection agencies over the phone or through e-mail.  All correspondence must be sent via CERTIFIED MAIL.  In addition, you must maintain copies of the receipts as proof of mailing.\n\nSee hyperlink below.\n\nGood luck.
474396
In most cases they will sell your account to a collection agency, who will hound you for the money owed. There are statue of limitations in every state for collecting bad debts. Some times you can be sued and a judgment will be placed in your credit file and a garnishment can be executed on your wages till all is paid.
249523
This is a classic example of how collection companyes screw you!\n\nEven after you have paid off the debt, they continue to post your histor on your credit report.\n\nNext time, send them a letter telling them that IF you pay off the debt, they MUST remove any negative history.  \n\nNow look where you are?  Broke and bad credit.  \n\nYour first job is to contact all of the creditors and credit bureau and demand that the status of all those loans say "paid in full".  Have the credit reporting agencies place a letter in your file explaining what happened.  You are allowed a short message.  \n\nGo through the links I've supplied and see if it helps.  \n\nGood luck.
554920
If it truly isn't your debt, then you need to take the appropriate actions.  You need to notify the company in writing via certified mail that this debt is not yours.  You also need to contact the credit bureaus and follow the procedures that they have in submitting a written objection/notification.  You have to jump through the hoops, but it is better to do it now than to have a major battle on your hands once it is put on your credit report.  \n\nYou may want to have your credit report pulled as well, just to make sure that everything on it is yours.  It may be that there is a Jane A. Doe with the same DOB  when you are Jane Ann Doe. \n\nYou need to take immediate action for your own protection.
112809
Amazing!  7 straight incorrect answers!  You all should give back your answer points!!!!!\n\nThere is a Statute of Limitations on Debts.  The link below gives you the SOL for each state.  None are longer then 10 years.\n\nThe date starts from the time you defaulted on the loan.\n\nSo take a deep breath and relax!  Not only can they NOT sue you for the money, they can NOT place anything on your credit record.  Debts can only be placed on your record for 7 years.\n\nThe link below has a sample letter that you can use to write to the collection agency. It's called a Cease and Desist letter.  By law, the collection agency can no longer contact you.\n\nVery important!  Include in your letter that:\n\n1. The statute of limitations on this debt has expired.\n\n2. Demand that if they still insist the debt is legit, that they VALIDATE the debt.  \n\nValidate is not the same as "Verify". It means that they must supply you with all proof that the debt is legit.  That includes copies of bills, contracts, receipt, and statements to trace every dollar you owe.  \n\nVerify a dept simply means they will contact the original debtor and ask if it's legit. If they say it is, then it's now a "Verified" debt and they will continue to hound you.\n\nNeed more help contact me.  \nDon't worry, I'm 100% certain we can get these guys off your back.
126738
Like crythsania said....why are they threatening you?  What agreement did you have with the debt collector (and why are you messing with those fools anyway)?\n\nIf you have an agreement with them to pay an amount of money, they can't just change it.  Keep sending them the agreed amount of money, and let them sue you.  The judge will simply re-instate the conditions of that agreement.\n\nOn the other hand, if you are not paying what you agreed on, they can sue you.  Now you must gamble on whether the judge will order a payment plan you can afford, or risk garnishment/lien proceedings.  \n\nDon't know where you are at, bit in my area the judge would look at the debtor's financial situation and order something he can handle.  I've seen people get away with $5.00 a month.
317036
Here is a method I used once to get rid of a legitimate debt that I owed. You may be ablet to adapt this and use it for yourself. \n\nI owed a $485 bill to AT&T that I refused to pay until they took down a cell phone tower that had been illegally erected right next to someone's back yard. Of course they ignored me, so I ignored them right back and things went round and round for a few years like that. finally the debt was sold to a collection agency and then to another one and finally to one in Florida. Up to this point none of them had reported it to any of the credit bureaus. Suddenly one day, there it was! A festering puss-filled sore right in the middle of my credit report! I immediately wrote a letter to the collection agency saying that the debt was not mine, that this was an old debt (by now it was over five years) that was being shopped around until they could stick it on somebody. I told them this was very damaging to my credit, that I had no other late payments, and I demanded they remove it immediately. Also, I said, at the time this debt was incurred there had been two other people living in the same county as me with exactly the same name as me, and it must have belonged to one of them. Again I demanded that they remove this thing from my credit report. About two weeks later I got a very apologetic letter from them saying how sorry they were for the mistake and yes it would be removed from my credit report immediately. It was and I never heard from anyone about this again.\n\n"Hell no," said Tom. "I'm not paying this. You can take this bill and shove it!"
1047438
What you need to do is dispute these reports with the credit bureau.  What they are doing is illegal and if these reports are not removed, you can sue them in small claims court for $1000 for each entry!  <cha-ching$$$>\n\nBut you need to do it right!  So follow these instructions.\n\nSend a dispute letter to the credit bureau listing these entries and point out these are duplicate entries. \n\nThe Bureau will then contact each of the creditors and "verify" that the debts are valid.  If they get no response the report is deleted.  If they respond back and verify the debt, the report stays on your history.\n\nAt the same time, send a "demand to validate" letter to the creditors who are listing these entries.  Demand that they send you copies of contracts, bills, receipts, and anything that was used to calculate what they claim you owe them.  They have 30 days to respond.\n\nIf they do not send this, send another letter to the credit bureau and demand the listing be removed due to "lack of validation".  \n\nMake sure you send all of these letter by certified mail to prove you contacted them.  \n\nIf the listings are still there, file a lawsuit in small claims court.  It's easy and doesn't cost that much.  \n\nI had to do the same thing to get an inaccurate listing removed from my record, and won $1200 for my troubles.  Don't let them push you around!
612957
A "charge off" basically means that the company that you owe has given up on you and taken a charge on their books as a bad debt.  This way, they can report you as a loss and not have to pay taxes on money they never got.  \n\nBut that's not the end of it.  First, they may sell your debt to a collection firm or some company that will keep trying to collect from you.  They tend to be very aggressive and sometimes abusive, even disobeying the law to collect sometimes.\n\nSecond, it will most likely be reported as a "charge off" on your credit report, which is one of the worst things to have on your credit.  Normally, after 7 years, bad credit like this will "roll off" your credit report, because after 7 years of no action on your account, the information expires.  However, if you make any payments during that 7 years, the seven year period starts all over again!!!  Also, if a company really hates you, or if they think you've done it on purpose, there are ways that they can play the system, and keep your bad record alive longer.  Most times they won't do that, but you never know.  Basically, it's good to avoid a charge-off if you can, and if you plan to buy a house or anything major in the next 7 years, it will make it extremely difficult.
34012
If you have a charge off, you have to pay the debt.  That's the only way to get rid of it.  You can wait 7 yrs til it falls off your credit report, but you still owe the money, collectors will continue to call you.  A charge-off is a term used to explain a debt that is over 180 days past due.  If you wait for it to fall of your credit report, you also run the risk of them filing a judgement against you (which is on your credit report for 10 years!), or suing you for the money before the 7 years.  LOL at all the people who think that your debt disappears after 7 years.  That's just the limit as to how long it can hurt your credit.  You will always owe the money.\n\nThe other people who have responded have responded in a way as if the debt wasn't a valid debt.  If this debt is rightfully yours, a letter of dispute or any of the suggested things are useless.
112221
The first thing I would do, is if you owe the debt, contact the original creditor in writing expressing that you are intrested in resolving the issue and are being harassed by a collection agency...be sure to provide them with who the collection agency is.  If you still owe it, they will work with you.\n\nAs far as stopping the calls, simply ask the agency for their mailing address and send them a certified letter demanding the harassment and phone calls stop and that all communiction should be in writing.  Be sure to log the calls and the times and any threats or harassing they commit.  After they recieve the letter, it is illegal to call you....if they do, file a complaint with a copy of your letter and the certified receipt showing they received it along with your log to the authorities.  Whatever you do, do NOT discuss the debt with them at all!  Simply cut them off politely and say that you need a mailing address and tell them that any future communication should be in writing.  Follow up with the certified letter, and it should stop.  Also, if the collection agency has reported the debt on your credit report, you can remove it by sending a letter to each of the creit reporting agencies denying the accuracy and demanding that the debt be "validated".  This will give the collection agency 30 days to send a copy of the original signed credit agreement as well as a complete payment history.  If they donot do this completely within the 30 days, it must be deleted by law.\n\nGood luck....I hope this helps you.
1090624
I think the collection agencies actually purchase the debt BUT you are right. The company writes it off and your punishment only should then be a negative mark on your credit. \n\nThey end up getting to write it off AND get their money back when the collection agency buys the debt. All the while you are being chased around by collections... \n\nI'm with you bud.
738578
The problem is that this would of been passed through debt collections of the phone company then to the debt recovery agency then to solicitors so this would of been going on for a while. Did you not set up a payment plan with the recovery agency? \nOnce its reached a stage with solicitors im not too sure what happens, i would recommend going to Citizens Advice Bureau there always one locally or go on their website and they can help you. I know in certain instances they can ring the company in question and sort something out for you. Don't leave this issue, face it and you will have control then.. \nHeres the CAB website:\nhttp://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index.htm