Nikki
Chicago,#2Consumer Suggestion
Tue, November 25, 2008
My suggestion to you is never ever pay a Collection Agency. These agencies call you and ask for your personal information over the phone. They want you to give them access to your bank account for withdrawals or access to your credit card info. YOU DO NOT know these people. YOU DID NOT sign any contracts with them. Always pay your creditor directly and keep a reciept so that when the collection agencies call you can tell them you have settled your debt with your creditor and they should contact them directly. If they bought your debt it's their problem not yours. Also keep a receipt for the purposes of dealing with any negative action on your credit report if needed. This has worked for me for over 5 years now. I beleive that credit agencies have alot to do with the uncontrolled level of identity theft in the US today. We give them our info too freely for fear of a negative credit rating. As consumers we have to be more careful. I hope this helps.
Michael
Bountiful,#3Consumer Comment
Sat, March 15, 2008
Collection agencies and credit extending institutions have a vested interest on keeping your credit hacked up. Lower scores mean you pay higher interest rates. And lending institutions pay credit bureaus a lot of money, you do not. So guess who is getting the shaft here? You and I of course! So getting a CRA (credit reporting agency) to actually do anything nice like removing old and false trade lines is next to impossible. However, there is a website that I and a lot more use to take CRA's, junk your debt buyers, collection agencies, etc etc to court and enforce our rights under Federal law. Thsi website is debtorboards.com. There is no catch, no fees, etc etc. The information is free to use at your disposal. The people there have intimate knowledge of the law as it applies to collections and credit. BudHibbs.com is also another great site that gives people information on collections agencies, attorneys, the BS they pull on us and how to deal with them. Fight back! People who take their grievences against these parasites to court are having tremendous luck. Ciao!
Steve
Bradenton,#4Consumer Suggestion
Sat, March 15, 2008
Kelly, Unless you handed them cash, there has to be some record of your payment. How did you pay them? Just get a copy of the cancelled check, or your bank or credit card statement, or money order reciept, etc. This exactly why I suggest to never deal with any third party debt collector. You should have just mailed TMobile a personal check.