BlackMuse
USA#2Consumer Comment
Thu, December 10, 2009
NCO was billing her for accounts already paid. I would send send a certified letter (maybe contact a lawyer) detailing what you supposedly owe to them. If you get the list (with this company it is questionable) I would make sure no prior payments had been made. If not, pay off the debt and ASK FOR A RECEIPT, signed if possible. This company has a rep for coming back years later asking for money you gave them.
Ffh
Sandy Springs,#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Wed, December 09, 2009
After reading your complaint, I must say that you had a lot to say! I am a former employee of this company (I left after 10 years and only for career progression), and over the years, I have heard many stories of why people think a collection agency is a fraud. Ultimately, you have to understand: NCO or any collection agency for that matter, did not look your name up in a phone book to say "we want to harrass this person today!" The original creditor who was not paid, for whatever reason, called NCO and asked for their help! Obviously, it did not look to them that the problem was going to be resolved any other way.
Another comment I wanted to make was that in reading your complaint, I noticed that after paragraph after paragraph, I still was not able to make out how you felt they were fraudulent. Maybe whomever you talked to at NCO felt the same. Your tirade was pretty long-winded and lacked structure. I did make out a couple of things, one being that you paid your bill long ago. Fact: companies DO make mistakes, and if Spring sent your account to a collection agency unwarranted, then your gripe should be with them, not the agency. How would NCO know it was paid? They get all of their information from the original creditor...who shows it isn't paid. So, if you did pay, then you should have proof, right? You said you wasn't sure if the check cleared. This tells me you don't stay on top of your own finances. When you balance your checkbook, you will know if a check cleared or not. I believe this is the real issue. Your debit cards didn't clear because either there ws no money in that particular account to cover what you were trying to do (which you wouldn't know because you don't stay on top of your checking account), or you entered in incorrect information for the card (card number wrong, incorrect address, incorrect CCID#, etc.) which prompted the security measure on the system to deploy that prevents credit card fraud attempts.
One other thing: NCO doesn't buy collection accounts such as this like some other agencies do, so if there is a problem with your original account, then you can still call the original creditor, in this case, Sprint.
This is why the police did not file a report. They hear this all of the time...as did I. You obviously have a few accounts in collection, hence the reason why another branch or agency contacted you.
Suggestion: 1. Take an financial management course. Looks like you could
benefit from one.
2. Contact your original creditor and provide them proof that you've paid
your bill. They will gladly remove you from collections. Collections is
expensive for creditors and believe me, they would love to be able to
close an account without it being charged off. They don't benefit
anything by giving $230 worth of credit only to be paid $130 before
collection fees are subtracted (which can be anywhere from 25%-
50% taken off of the $130!).
3. Be a little less dramatic in your communication and more informative.
The same adage applies with collection representaitives as it does to
the public: "You'll get a lot further with a softer tone."