Complaint Review: Pioneer Credit Recovery Inc

You're rebuilding your payment history which helps rebuild your credit.  Payments need to be made on the same day every month to do this.  They don't take any additional money other than what is agreed upon and auto draft through a checking account is the easiest way to do this not only for the company but for you.  Even calling in to make a credit card payment can easily be forgotten.  Sending in money every month will go towards your balance but will not bring it out of default which means you would still be at risk for garnishment or offsets and all of the other consequences of being in default.  The payments sent in by mail would not be recieved on the same day each month simply because you can't guarantee when mail is going to arrive especially when weekends and holidays are involved. 

You can do it, sure, but it really won't benefit you much.  It doesn't show consistency therefore, it doesn't help rebuild your credit, and also it will not bring your loan out of default, which is the main objective.  Clearly, just letting your loan sit there and accumulate interest and the multiple collection costs as it goes from agency to agency is not the way to handle your debt because it's only going to get worse, not better.  It's not the companys fault you're unwilling to abide by the guidelines setup to rehabilitate/consolidate your loan. You're lucky they're even providing you with an option, rather than just demaning the balance in full, which technically is what is due at the time of falling into default.

Like I said, please don't correct me if you don't know what you are talking about.

Delinquent federal student loans can be reported indefinitely, i.e., for as long as they are delinquent.   PERIOD.  They do not simply go away after 7 years like other debts. 

While there is no provisions in the Fair Credit Reporting Act that allow student loans to continue to be reported after the 7 year period, this DOES NOT apply to FEDERALLY backed student loans which are not dischargeable and have NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.

In default, a federal student loan is treated differently than a private loan. In a federal loan, a default as occurs after 270 days of non-payment. The federal government reserves the right to administratively garnish your wages and seize your tax return. By administratively, I mean the Dept. of Education does not need to ask a court for the right to take these actions -- it can take these actions on its own authority.

Several federal and state agencies offer programs to help you cancel or reduce all or a portion of your student loan debt without filing for bankruptcy. Most programs involve teaching, nursing, or military service. To learn more about available programs and how you can apply, visit the Federal Student Aid Repayment Information Web site.

If your loans are federal, the Department of Education can garnish 15% of your after-tax income, as long as the garnishment does not bring your weekly pay below 30 times the Federal minimum wage. Unlike other creditors, the federal government has the right to garnish wages, levy bank accounts, and seize property without first obtaining a court judgment against the debtor.

To try to stop a garnishment, contact the Department of Education's resource Facing Loan Default. The DOE provides a list of resources available for consumers who have defaulted on their loans.

If your federal student loan payments are causing financial distress, review the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) program, and see the Dept. of Education's IBR calculator.

If you are disabled and are paying a federal student loan, see the Bills.com resources Student Loan Disability and Federal Student Loan Tuition Waiver. If you work in public service and have federal student loans, read Public Service Loan Forgiveness to learn how to have your student loans waived.

You spend more time back tracking and spinning in an attempt yo be right than assisting with any credible advice.  The subject was a student loan....therefore my statement is 100% true.  No student loans are ever sold to third parties.  You need to pay attention, why would you be discussing any other possibiliites.  The subject matter was in fact a Federally guaranteed student loan. 

Secondly you are wrong.  They do NOT stay on your credit report virtually forver.  Once the 7 year expiration date is up....it is off.  If you attempt to set up a payment arrangement without credit report stipulations they can again start the clock on your credit report.  I hope that wasn't too difficult to understand.  Pioneer (as are many) are authorized debt collectors that are contracted by the US Dept of Education to recover student loan debt.  That is true.  But you are wrong that they have any more power to collect the debt than any old joe of a debt collector.  They cannot garnish your wages or debit your bank accounts.  They most certainly will threaten to do so....but alas, they cannot.  They merely hope that the threat will scare an unknowing and unwittingly party like yourself.  Only a court of law after a proper hearing can do any of those things....and of course the originator of the debt would have to bring you to court.....not some bottom feeding debt collector.

You are right about one thing......the US Treasury can and will garnish your Federal income tax return refunds.  But even a half wit could make adjustments to their withholding so that they owe at the end of the year instead have a refund coming to them.  Can't understand why any taxpayer is foolish enough to let the US Gov't sit on their hard earned cash interest free all year anyhow?  But that's a whole other discussion.

"Hate to tell you but you are wrong. if a company has purchased a debt written off by a creditor, it is more than likely valueless as the staute of limitations clock has already ticked it's last tock. Of course bottom feeder collection agencies will purchase these in  bulk in hopes of bullying a debtor into paying an expired debt."

Where did I say this was NOT the case.  This is exactly why I tell people to make sure they understand if the third party owns the debt or not.  I was very specific about this.  I di d NOT say that was the case in THIS situation but that the OP and everyone else should make sure of this as a precaution on any debt.  I am trying to help the OP in the case they have any non Federal backed debt to understand what their rights are so they dont get taken by a third party bottom feeding debt collector.

"As for federally insured loans....these are never sold to a tiird party...it would be against federal law to do so. They are framed out to third party collection agencies as nearly uncollectable debts in hopes the bottom feeders can miraculously do something they have bee unable to do. Bully blood out of a stone. All for a commission and any bogus fees a collection agency can get a mark to pay."

Again, where did I state that this loan being a Federally insured student loan had been sold to a third party.  I didnt I very specifically said they are SOL (s**t out of Luck) on this one meaning they cannot leverage it being sold to a third party.   Again, I was very specific about this pay attention.

"There is no need to pay any attention to these clowns, all their threats are idle. They have zero power to do anything but use scare tactics and bullying tecniques. If they had any other power it would be exercised. They have NONE that's why they try to intimidate folks on the phone. DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO THESE IDIOTS. As you'll notice....during a slow economy, more and more of these boiler room collection agencies pop up in hopes of landing a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow."

And here is where you are really wrong, Federally backed student loans do NOT go away.  They can sit on your credit file virtually forever.  Moreover, on certain federally backed student loans they can garnish and take your Federal Income Tax return to pay for it.  Its called the Treasury Offset Program. I suggest you read up on it. Here is exactly what it means - pursuant to statutory mandate, since 1986 the Department has referred millions of defaulted student loan debts and grant claims to the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) for collection by offset against federal and/or state income tax

refunds and any other payments authorized by law. The Department can request that Treasury arrange an offset to collect any defaulted student loan debt or grant claim that is being serviced by the Department or on which the Department has made a reinsurance payment to a guaranty agency. 

The OP needs to work out a plan period.  Mostly they need to not listen to your advice.

Please dont correct me if you cant understand what I wrote and dont know what the you are talking about.

Ellen, go to Google and search "collection agency rules student loans". Plenty of useless info in the first few links.
Pioneer IS a government contracted collector for student loans. See http://www2.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DCS/collection.agencies.html

Ellen, when a student loan is in default, or behind payments, the late fees and whatnot build up EXPONENTIALLY! Before long, you can dig a hole you'll never be able to climb out of.

Take Robert's advice. Let them debit either your current, or a specially set up checking account, but only if they provide you written terms stating how much a month, for how long.

There's no other way out of this. It's not like regular unsecured debt, or even a mortgage. Special rules apply that work AGAINST the borrower.

Read through the link I pasted above, especially the default and disputes tabs. Hope this works out. Be proactive on it. It's not going to go away.

Hate to tell you but you are wrong.  if a company has purchased a debt written off by a creditor, it is more than likely valueless as the staute of limitations clock has already ticked it's last tock.  Of course bottom feeder collection agencies will purchase these in bulk in hopes of bullying a debtor into paying an expired debt.

As for federally insured loans....these are never sold to a tiird party...it would be against federal law to do so.  They are framed out to third party collection agencies as nearly uncollectable debts in hopes the bottom feeders can miraculously do something they have bee unable to do.  Bully blood out of a stone.  All for a commission and any bogus fees a collection agency can get a mark to pay.

There is no need to pay any attention to these clowns,  all their threats are idle.  They have zero power to do anything but use scare tactics and bullying tecniques.  If they had any other power it would be exercised.  They have NONE that's why they try to intimidate folks on the phone.  DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO THESE IDIOTS.  As you'll notice....during a slow economy, more and more of these boiler room collection agencies pop up in hopes of landing a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

McLovin wrong.  First the OP needs to know if the collector is representing the original owner of the debt or if they have purchased the account and any rights to debt collection on that account.  Debts that

have been sold to a third party collector and written off the original creditors books for tax purposes cannot be addressed with the original creditor so there is no point calling them. This is simply because there is no money owed to them anymore, and they cannot discuss the account with you as it no

longer belongs to them.

While I would normally encourage the OP to ensure they understand the statute of limitations (SOL) for this particular type of debt in their State before deciding what to do, I suspect since it is a Federally backed student loan that they are literally SOL on the SOL and will have to work something out as Robert has

stated in post #4.  Ignoring this or any summons for court would be a mistake as Robert has pointed out.  Having said that, it is possible if this ends up in court for garnishment to get a payment plan that is more reasonable to the OP provided the OP can prove the hardship and willingness to work out a payment plan.

Listen up and don't pay attention to any of these knuckleheads on this site.  You are indeed being harrassed.  Those who judge you and call you a deadbeat and so on lack any type of compassion and will some day change their tune.  They too will be in a hard spot one day.

You must first understand two things about any collection agency.

1) It is a boiler room.  Meaning that reps and (so called) supervisors are all paid on commission and they are only as valuable as the amount they bring in on a monthly basis.  If they become complacent or are generally unproductive they will be let go.  It is a company that uses the churn and burn mentality.  Supervisor's are challenged to work thier reps as hard as possible to collect debts which amounts to a commission to the agency with a small amount going to a rep if they meet their monthly quota and an even smaller share to the supervisor.  Inevitably a rep will get burned out and replaced.  The life span of a rep is about one year before they realize they will never reach the pantheon of riches they were sold on at the cattle call interview process.  They are told that they can make a hundred thousand or more a year if they work hard.  Soon they realize that about 25 to 30K is more realistic and that harrassing people they don't even know with idle threats just isn't worth it.

2)  They are encouraged to use any and all means possible to threaten and bully a target to get as much as possible out of them.  They don't follow the rules (and who cares...if they get caught they can simply be replaced with a new bright eyed future millionaire collection rep and the company can alleviate themselves of any responsibilty.  The company can simply say that the rep was a rogue employee and fire them.  they don't care....they know it was inevitable that they were gonna quit or be fired because they weren't collecting enough anyway.  Very disposable comodity to Pioneer.) and don't have to.  The rep is encouraged to prey on the fact that most citizens are uneducated in these type of legal matters and can be easily bullied because most people feel guilty or scared about a collection company calling them in the first place.

Just know that these are mostly young uneducated kids or people down on their luck themsleves that they promise riches to as their collection reps.  So be confident and stand your ground.  Do what you can on your terms to settle a debt.

Personally I would never pay a collection company a dime.  I'd never pay a fee or commission to a third party to settle a debt.  If and when you can pay.  Simply call the original debtor and come to an agreement that you can afford (usually on a discounted basis)....trust me...they'd rather take your money directly too.  No one likes a slimy collection company.....simply the bottom feeders of any organized business.  I'd rather work for a headhunter or the IRS before I'd lower myself to debt collection employment.

You hold the cards....don't even deal with these people.....they have zero power, no matter what any of these clowns tell you.

Here is my advice, document, document, document, start sending them in a money order form what you agreed to. Showing your good faith and then when you have 9 months of consistent payments demand that your defaulted loan be reestablished and credit cleaned up - Document and dispute it with the credit agencies if reported. Then copy all documents, money order receipts, etc, and FedEx to their office in clear detail everything you have done.

I had a similar situation except I agreed to "their" terms and month after month after I met my obligation I got the run around - TAKE ACTION.

Here are some great contacts info
Brian Hill
Executive Director
+1.585.343.0751
bhill@pioneer-credit.com
Pioneer Credit Recovery, Inc.
26 Edward St
Arcade, NY
14009-1012

I'm illiterate? You think so?

You are the one that can't spell harassing (not harrassing), communicating (not communicatig), company (not compay), every time (not everytime) and tried (not tryed). It's their way (not there way). Did you spend that student loan on books or drugs?

"Pioneer Credit Recovery Inc was insensitive"

Which paragraph of the loan agreement requires the lender or their collection agency to be sensitive?

  I will not allow anyone to take monies from my account for any reason.  I control my own account.
- Student loans are not like other Consumer debt.  There are actions a creditor can take in order to get repayment that they may not be able to take with regular debts.  This can include filing a suit against you.  If they get a judgement they can also request from the courts that your bank accounts be attached(basically a garnishment of your accounts).  But they won't take out a few dollars at a time they will take the entire balance in your account at one time(up to the amount owed).  If that happens you have no control in the matter as your bank is required by law to comply.  In fact you will find that most banks are now charging a "legal fee" to process this garnishment that they charge YOU.  This can be into the $100-$150 range.  The only way you would be able to get around this is to basically store your money in your mattress.

It sounds like you don't dispute that you owe the money, but you seem to think that you can repay them on YOUR terms.  Unfortunately that is not how it works.  You have already broken one agreement when you became delinquent, what makes you think that they would trust you with another "voluntary" repayment plan?

Since you don't seem to dispute the debt.  Honestly, the best solution is the one they gave you in having you create a separate account where it will only be used to repay them.  As further safety I would suggest you do it at a totally different bank than you bank with now, and only keep enough to cover the amount they are supposed to withdraw(plus a few dollars to make sure you are covered for any possible fees).  I would also say that you do NOT do this until you get an agreement in writing from them stating the terms of the settlement that you agree with.

You said they would not work with you but that's not true is it?  They made several suggestions of how they were willing to work with you, you just didn't like any of them and you want to decide what they will do.

You're probably going to have to agree to one of their solutions unless you want to end up in court and/or having your wages garnished.  You're not really in a good bargaining position.

I stated that I was not trying to shun my responsibilites.  However, I will not agree to ANYONE debiting my account for whatever the reason.  I CONTACTED THEM TO  MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO PAY!  And besides, you probably have had never had HARD TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-

"I asked if I could send my payments in voluntarily on a monthly basis"

Your account is in collections because you already failed to honor your monthly agreement. I agree that you should not send them blank checks but you need to agree to a monthly withdrawal from your checking account.

Not a rip off.