collection agencies
Question: My problem is that a school that I attended sent the bill I owed to a collection agency. This collection agency and I came up with a payment plan but it turns out to be too much for me to handle right now. I asked to continue paying what I am paying now but only once a month instead of twice a month. The collection agency told me that the party they are collecting for will not take less than 10% in payments because the debt is almost 5 years old. I can’t do that and when I told the agent that I couldn’t he said that if the school doesn’t get what they want in payments then they may take back the debt from this collection agency and proceed with a judgment against me like garnishment etc. Do they have the right to tell me what I have to pay them? I have heard that they must accept whatever I give them and if they don’t then I can sue them and get this debt erased?!?!
Answer: Unfortunately, no, you cannot simply offer whatever you want to a collection agency and force them to erase your debt. If that was true, everyone would simply offer to pay $1 to every collection agent that called, and if they did not accept their debts would be eliminated.
A collection agency’s job is to collect. If they don’t think you are paying fast enough, they can return your account to the original creditor, or they could pursue you further by attempting to garnishee your wages. In practice, in most cases, if you are paying something reasonable, it is unlikely that they will take you to court.
For now, your best option may be to simply keep sending them what you can afford. As long as they continue to accept the money and not take you to court, you have a chance to continue making payments. If they refuse payment, or if they do start court proceedings, it will then be time to consider your other options for dealing with debt.