 |
| CLICK FOR DA OFFICIAL SITE |
|
| |
 |
| CLICK FOR SoCal DA OFFICIAL SITE |
|
|
This page is place for me to share information I've collected in the course of dealing with my outstanding debts, while working the program of Debtors Anonymous. All information is opinion and is NOT CONFERENCE APPROVED MATERIAL. Please do not take any of the material as absolutely accurate. As it reads in our literature: "DA is not a substitute for financial or legal advice."
|
|
| "...you've been an excellent 6 year borrower up till January when you went into default. Your file shows that during your time of default (180 days) you've stayed on the phone with us- may I say that this is exemplary behavior- no one does that! Typically when our borrowers go into default we never hear from them again. We end up charging them off and never know what happened. I'd like to work with you on this but the lowest i can reduce the total is $3,200 based on Federal guidelines...and you know the thing is, it's just business."
- senior account agent with BOA, as he reduced my $15,000 debt to $3,200
Recently I had to visit a branch of my bank (Wells Fargo) to get a temporary debit card, after my regular card was eaten by an ATM (on a 3-day holiday wknd of course.) The accounts girl I sat with fixed it up for me and asked why I hadn't used a credit card (since the ATM's will accept them as well.) I replied, "I don't use them, in fact I got rid of them all." She grinned and muttered, "I probably should to, I'm way too in love with mine! (laugh, laugh)" I explained "I'm in Debtor's Anonymous and we practice abstinence from any un-secured debting." At this she took a noticeable pause and with a deep breath, replied softly "I guess I have my issues too." From the way she spoke and the look on her face, I got the distinct impression that had we been sitting anywhere else, she would have asked me to tell her about the program. Funny the places you end up being of service without expecting it.
- facing "charge off" from Wells Fargo Business Line of Credit
|
|
Here is my Excel (.xls) spreadsheet patterned after the DA numbers handbook. It has pages for 12 months of the year but does NOT as yet have a "yearly totals" page. (Microsoft Office or Office for Mac is required)
|
Here
is some creditor dealing know-how i have collected since joining DA, hope it helps!
1) SOME communication with your creditors is better than NO communication. preferably in writing, not on the phone.
I have to- date not sent any letters (the DA way) but have stayed in contact by phone. So far I am still dealing with all my original crditors- no collection agencies or third parties. although "charge-off" has been threatened, none have done it. Instead, I've been offered several "settlement" agreements I am currently negotiating.
2)
paying them SOME amount of money is better than NO amount at all. even
if it's only $5.00. send by certified mail with a letter by the due
date each month ON TIME. you need a paper-trail of your actions to show
your willingness to work with them.
I have not done this either. What I have done is make several pin-point payments of larger sums at crucial points that kept the account with the creditor rather than being forwarded to legal, etc.
3) I have been told, but cannot verify it's true - that if you send a check to
your creditor for ANY amount of money and they cash it- this LEGALLY
means they are "working with you" - this MAY hold up in court. (Further clarity is needed on this point.)
4)
credit card companies tend to have a 180 day "default" period. Default
means you are not paying the required monthly minimum. in my case with
BOA and Wells Fargo, each successive 30 day period goes to a different
department with 2 or 3 account managers who all call you. the cycles
are: 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 days. After 180+ days, BOA did not send my account away but chose to settle with me. Wells Fargo Business Credit Line did not settle, but is ready to hand over to an attorney for litigation if i do not pay the principle amount i owe in (3) lump payments.
5) toward the end of
each 30 day cycle you are in, managers from the next cycle start to
call you as well (overlap) it gets confusing. keep a log book and write
down names and dates of callers. i let mine go to voice-mail always,
then call back when i feel ready to talk and have myself organized.
each manager tends to only know about their cycle and little about what
comes next. it's hard to get the entire overview. (they like it that
way) you have a right to refuse to talk to any agent and request
someone else. some are nice, others not so nice.
6) once you go
beyond 180 days default, the creditor may- depending on the dollar
amount of your debt- do a "Charge Off." a "charge off" means they write
off the loss on their taxes and they report you to all the credit
bureaus as having a "bad debt." this stains your credit report for up
to 7 years, then goes away. however, YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY THE DEBT YOU
OWE.
I have so far avoided "charge-off" with BOA, but Wells told me they did "charge me off." However, they further explained that they have their own definition of "charge-off" that includes them not reporting a loss to the IRS and not reporting me to the credit bureaus. This off course means it's in fact NOT CHARGE-OFF AT ALL but another way for them to use vague language to keep me intimidated. Really they are just holding my account hoping I'll pay something. They also explained that their philosophy is that their debtors will not be able to pay with wrecked credit, so they don't report bad debts until a judgement occurs.
7) after a charge-off, the creditor may continue to work
with you to collect, OR they may sell the debt to another company, OR
turn your account over to a collections agency who tries to collect on
the creditors behalf, OR sue you with a court order and seek a legal
judgment against you.
8) I'm told by people who have been through it, that when a creditor sells your debt to a
3rd party, it is usually for far less than the total amount you owe.
they "cut their losses" and give it away basically. the 3rd party then
tries to deal with you (or you may initiate dealings) to seek a
"settlement" for a specified amount less than the total debt, but more
than they paid for it. with a settlement, you get off with paying less
and they still make a profit - it's a "win-win". many times the
settlement is demanded as a lump-sum payment, but you can try to
negotiate a payment plan. get EVERYTHING in writing. once both partied
sign, you are set and no one can do anything to you as long as you make
your payments.
9) collection agencies really hold no power-
they are just hired muscle for your creditor who make a lot of noise,
but can't legally do anything. ignore them by phone and send them your
letters.
10) COURT - when creditors sue you and seek a judges
decision it is best (i'm told) to avoid having to go. try settling
first. definitely send a payment of some kind so you have record of
some attempt to work wioth them. people have told me it costs you money
to go to court. also, i'm told you cannot have a "case" if you admit
you owe the debt (which you do) only if you are claiming the creditor
is making false claims do you have a case. most importantly, i've been
told that your debt will double or triple when it gets to court because
the courts add a zillion "fees" to it. this is why it is best to stay
out of court by any means.
11) JUDGMENT - some DA folks have
won their cases or had them thrown out because the prosecution was
dis-organized. many of these lawyers are "for-hire" and are over worked
and haven't reviewed anything. however, DO NOT expect this will happen
for you! if you do go to court and represent yourself, be VERY
organized. have all your monthly numbers sheets with you and copies of
all your correspondence with everyone - date stamped of course. again,
it is best to avoid court if you can. Often the judge can initiate a
negotiation between both parties until an agreeable solution is
reached, then it becomes legally binding. OR, the judge can rule
completely against you and authorize a "levy" on your bank account or "leins" on your property or other equitable holdings. or garnishment of your wages. I'm told that it costs you a fee to register to show up to your court date(s). If it ends
up in court and you do not register to appear or you do and you don't
appear, the court will rule against you by default. (in some cases,
this is best since you will likely lose anyway- and it costs you money
to appear)
12) regardless of what happens to your debt, once it
is "charged off" by your original creditor you MAY have to pay income
tax to the IRS in April, as they view it as "income." some DA folks
have had this, others not. BOA is sending me a Form 1099-C.
13) remember - IT"S ALL BUSINESS. as
surreal as it may seem at times, you can have perfectly pleasant,
matter-of-fact conversations with creditors, collectors and lawyers.
for you it's life and death, but to them it's another day in the
office. "kill them with kindness" and leave your ego at the door.
bookend before phone calls and vent your angry feelings BEFORE picking
up the phone. no matter what happens, you will survive and be a better
person for it. there is no "debtors prison." if you must face
garnishment or levy you can transfer your money to other bank accounts. It takes time for them to track them down. You can live on a cash basis as well. There is also the option- though not in keeping with D.A. principles- to declare bankruptcy to protect yourself.
consult with accountants and a bankruptcy lawer for help. BK is not
always as simple as it sounds and can make things worse sometimes. it's
not a magic "eject" button for emergencies. also, it costs a lot and
stays with you for 10 years (not 7 like it used to be).
|
Below is the sample "letter to a creditor" provided by the L.A. Hancock
Park Saturday 9am meeting of DA. I got it in January 2007.
(your name)
(your contact info - NOT including phone number)
(date)
Recipient Name
Address line 1
Address line 2
City, State/Province and Postal Code
Email address.com
RE: (your account number with this creditor)
Dear Friend,
Regarding the above-referenced account, I am enclosing a partial
payment in the amount of $__________. At this time, I am unable to make
the minimum payment of $___________ that is requested in your recent
statement.
I intend to honor this debt and pay it off in
full. Bankruptcy is not an option for me. To assist me in this matter,
I am participating in a financial recovery program known as “Debtors
Anonymous.” Information about this program may be obtained by calling
(310) 822-7250 or by accessing our Los Angeles website www.socalda.org.
(The national website is www.debtorsanonymous.org.)
Speaking with creditors on the telephone takes me away from my
income-producing actions, which will allow me to pay off this debt. I
request that you not telephone me to discuss this matter. I will
initiate contact with you once a month, by letter, with an accompanying
payment, when feasible. The monthly communications from me will also
serve as a response to any interim notices or other correspondence that
I receive from you.
Thank you in advance for your assistance and understanding.
Sincerely,
(your name)
|
An E-mail with a friend from program...
A while back I contacted you about these conversations I was having with a collection agency regarding their threatening me with a
lawsuit. Someone from program told me that it was a bluff-- that I wasn't going to get sued over $1600.00. I've sent letters saying "please don't call, according to the Fair Debt blah blah blah" and last week, since I FINALLY got paid a little something (from work), I sent them $150.00 until I can give more (when I get my next check).
Today I got a letter saying "Demand for Payment" and that I had 7 days to send the whole amount to them or else they would "be compelled to recommend that [my] account be referred to our client (Chase Bank) for whatever action is necessary to effect collection."
What does that mean? Are they really gonna sue me, especially when I send letters that say "I have every intention of paying this back,
here's $150.00"? I get scared rather easily but if you have any wisdom to impart on this I'd really appreciate your help.
"recommendation of further action" can mean a bunch of things. guess i will find out myself since Wells Fargo Biz Line charged me off yesterday and will "forward my account for further action" as of today. this is after 3 previous such deadlines. we'll see...
what i've been told/read and received in writing from creditors is that one of four things may happen:
1) they continue to pursue you thru their own collections dept.
2) they turn your account over to a collections agency
3) they sue you and seek litigation in court
4) sell your account to some other third party
some perspective:
right now it seems banks and creditors will go to great lengths to get any amount from you rather than let go of the account. what this means for me is that last month BOA struck a settlement offer with me to close my $15,000 debt for a total of $2,450 - spread out over (6) monthly payments. this is after lengthy threats of "charge-off" and 2 previous settlement offers i didn't respond to: $9,000 then $6,000 then $3,200 and then they screwed up the math and made it a total of $2,450. and to think- i put myself $9,000 in debt with Wells to keep up my BOA monthlies- and they settled for $2,450. argh...
right now, all my credit report says is "good standing / pays on time"
and one note on BOA that says "180+ days past due"
A guy i know from program received a threatening "lawsuit" letter 2 months ago over a $5,000 credit default and did nothing. it was printed as if from a lawyer, but was just from the creditor- not a third party. we suspected they were bluffing. last week he got a second letter, exactly like the first- as if the first had never been sent. so much for threatening immediate deadlines. Clearly, half of the noise from creditors is just that- noise.
when they give your account over to a third party, they "sell" it for usually about a third or less of what it is. The collections company pursues you for that amount, hoping you'll think it's a deal because it's a fraction of the original total. usually people stall and end up settling for far less. A gal i know from DA got called to court and settled in the hallway with the Prosecuting attorney who was really kind (and tired and over-worked) she settled another debt for a few hundred dollars after it was sold to a collector. i think it was $500 total from a $5,000 debt or such.
keep in mind, you must pay taxes on any debts forgiven or charged off- on the original amount, not the settled amount. i've been informed i'll be receiving a 1099-C for my $15,000 with BOA.
i cannot for a moment believe any creditor would sue you over $1,600. it would cost them most of that in fees alone. the only reason i can think of that they would purse litigation is if you had other accounts with them in default and they were "setting precedent." I have to believe they will settle with you or strike an agreement on a reasonable payment plan under "financial hardship."
any thing you send helps and the more you communicate with them, the better. it makes a big difference. "kill them with kindness." do you have any other debts? could you offer them say, $50 per month? i bet they would take it.
|
Here is info copied from an old
webpage by a DA member who was a former debt collector! He gives the
juicy insides behind how it works, as well as several sample letters to
send...
6. How do I deal with creditors, especially collection agencies?
Below
is the experience of a DA member who has intimate knowledge of how
collection agencies are run. We are extremely grateful to have
permission to reprint this experience. However, please keep in mind
that this is one person's experience, and your own situation may vary.
Take what you want and leave the rest. In any of your own problems with
creditors, it is almost always a good idea to consult with your
Pressure Relief Group and sponsor before making important financial
decisions. If you are currently in legal trouble, it is always
important to get competent legal counsel.
Warning: This is an
extremely long post, and if you are not currently in need of advice in
dealing with collectors, feel free to use the delete key. I noticed a
lot of recent posts about creditor and collector harassment, and I
previously promised to work on a "regular" email message on the topic I
could repost from time to time - and I finally got around to completing
a rough draft.
Hi, my name is Toni and I am a grateful
recovering debtor. I have a lot of insight into dealing with
collectors. To begin with, I used to be one. In addition, I have sure
been on the receiving end of a lot of collection efforts. So please
accept by Experience, Strength and Hope in this area. In dealing with
collectors, there is one very important thing to remember: YOU ARE IN
CONTROL. This is the secret the collector does not want you to know.
You are the one that decides how much to send or not send and when.
There is nothing the collector can really do that will change that
fact. The collector may threaten you with legal action. In most cases
(admittedly not all, but most) this is an empty threat.
WHY A THREAT OF LEGAL ACTION IS PROBABLY JUST A THREAT:
1.
If the collector is an in-house account manager (they actually work for
the company to which you owe money), they will lose a lot of money if
they can't come to an arrangement with you. If they turn it over to an
agency, they will have to split anything collected with that agency. If
they turn it over to an attorney, they will have to pay legal fees AND
split the take. The in-house account representative may be on
commission, and will receive no commissions if you don't pay the
company directly.
2. If the collector is working for a
collection agency, then he or she is definitely on commission. Again,
if they don't come to an arrangement with you, they receive absolutely
nothing. Some collection agencies do have an in-house legal department,
but the individual collector will lose his personal commissions if he
has to turn the account over to someone else.
3. If the
collector is actually a collection attorney, they are probably still a
collection agency or on retainer for a collection agency. They are also
probably working for a commission, which gives you the same leverage as
with a collector. Collection Agencies use attorneys for a couple of
reasons, the main one being A COLLECTION LETTER IS SCARIER IF IT IS
SIGNED BY A LAWYER. Collection attorneys are usually also in charge of
making sure that the agency where they work stays in line with current
laws and regulations for example, they approve the form letters to make
sure they don't have any illegal wording and contain all required
disclosures. And finally, yes, the attorneys are responsible for taking
legal action, if it comes to that.
ARE YOU LIKELY TO HAVE LEGAL ACTION FILED AGAINST YOU?
Statistically,
no. Possibly, yes. When I worked for collection agencies, less than
0.01% (one hundredth of one percent) of cases resulted in legal action.
Before we as collectors could even turn an account over to the legal
department, it had to meet the following requirements:
1. It had to be over $2500
2.
We had to have confirmed proof that the debtor had worked for the same
employer for over one year OR we had to have proof that the debtor was
the proprietor of a continuously operating business for over one year.
3.
The debtor's credit report had to show an ability to pay and a
collectible status no other creditors could already have liens, and his
outstanding monthly payments to active accounts had to be below a
certain figure I don't recall the exact amount.
4. We could not have received any payments whatsoever from the debtor for over 90 days.
5.
The debtor must either have ignored our calls and letters, or have told
us (in writing or over the phone) that he was refusing to make any
payments.
Even if an account passed all the guidelines, the
legal department still rejected about 90% of those submitted by
collectors. While I cannot tell you if these guidelines are normal, I
know of other collection agencies and finance companies that have
similar rules. The collection lawyers are usually either young
attorneys who have just passed the bar, and do not have impressive
enough educational credentials or test scores to get jobs with
better-paying law firms, or older burn-outs. Even so, they are more
highly paid than collectors or account representatives, and the
companies do not want to waste their time with cases that would not be
easy to collect. The lawyers themselves are often lazy (or they would
have had better jobs), and have a goal of never actually going to
court, except for to get default judgments because the debtor never
shows up. They know that if the debtor actually appeared before a judge
and does even a halfway convincing job of demonstrating that they can
only pay $25 a month, the judge is probably going to rule that the
creditor will have to accept $25 a month and like it!
THE
EXCEPTION: Some larger companies, such as major credit card providers,
have large, efficient, in-house legal teams. This does not mean that
they do not also have guidelines before an account qualifies for legal
action, but they might be less lazy willing to attempt to get a
judgment just in case a debtor is in a position to pay at some time in
the future. Even with these companies, however, it costs money to
actually go to court if they select 50 accounts to file, it is because
they know that 49 of them will be no-shows and they will get a default
judgment without doing any additional work. If the debtor show up with
all paperwork in hand, showing how they can only afford to make a small
monthly payment and expressing a willingness to pay the debt, they
still know the judge is likely to go along with the debtor's repayment
plan, so they may as well accept it.
COMMUNICATION IS THE
KEY: Whether you are dealing with an in-house representative, a
collection agency, the I.R.S., or a collections lawyer, the same rule
applies. The best thing you can do is communicate with them, and the
worst thing you can do is ignore them.
COMMUNICATING IN WRITING:
-
- Letters TO you - you have the legal right to request that a creditor
confine his contact to written communication. Many debtors find this
preferable, as they find speaking with collectors to be stressful and
unpleasant. An example of a letter you can send to creditors requesting
written communications only is included later in this email.
-
- Letters FROM you - when you take the time to compose a letter to your
creditor, it is easy to remain calm and cover everything you want to
say. You also now have a written record of what you promised the
creditor they cannot come back and claim that you promised to pay a
higher amount or to make more frequent payments. There are several
sample letters at the end of this email.
- - Form letters.
One disadvantage: if you have requested that your creditor contact you
in writing, you will probably start receiving form letters. If they are
well written, they may seem very personal and scary. Modern technology
has made it very simple to personalize correspondence down to the
finest detail. Where I worked, for example, we had a form letter to
reject a debtor's proposed payment arrangement! When we got a payment
arrangement letter, we just entered the proposed amounts into the
computer, and requested a letter. The system automatically sent out a
letter that said: Your proposed payment amount of (insert proposed
payment amount) does not meet the minimum payment required by (insert
name of company). The smallest amount we can accept is (insert proposed
payment amount times 3).
This absolutely did not mean we
would not accept the smaller payment just that we had set up the
computer system to automatically try to triple any proposed payment
arrangement! If you are communicating with a creditor in writing only,
you really have no way of knowing whether the threats or information in
each letter is directed to you personally, or is just a
computer-generated form letter.
USING THE PHONE:
- -
Calls FROM creditors. If you have requested that your creditor cease
telephone communication, they probably will stop calling you. If they
do not, you can report them to various government agencies but
sometimes the wheels of government turn slowly. You may receive calls
for a while until the appropriate agency catches up with the collector
and puts a stop to it. Just remain calm, and present them with the
facts tell them, What is your name? (Write it down and note the date).
I'm sorry, but I sent you a letter on (insert date). In it I requested
that all future communications be made in writing. If your record does
not reflect this, I will be happy to send you another copy. I'm sorry,
but I can no longer accept your calls. Thank you. And hang up. Make a
note on your copy of the letter that the collector called you, and the
date and time. You can forward this information to the appropriate
agency if the collector does not comply with your wishes and stop
calling.
- - Calls TO creditors. Just because they cannot
call you, does not mean that you cannot call them! I find calling my
creditors very useful. This is because I can ask questions and get
answers immediately. If a collector is any good at all, he knows that
communicating with you is to his advantage he is more likely to get a
commission from your account if the two of you are in communication. If
he's smart, he'll listen. If he's not, he may try to take control of
the conversation after all, that is what he has been trained to do.
However, he is probably not accustomed to a caller who is ready to do
the talking! Here's what I do. Before I dial the phone, I make a list
of the points I want to cover, and the questions I want to ask. As soon
as the collector has my account in front of him, I start on my list. If
they interrupt me, I just say, I'm sorry, there's just a couple of more
things I want to go over first, and pick right up where I left off.
Here's a sample list:
- - Ask them their name and extension number (write this down).
-
- (If applicable) verify they received my letter, asking that all
future communications be in writing, and that my account has been
correctly updated to reflect this.
- - (If applicable) verify that they received my last payment, and that it has been posted to my account.
-
- Tell them the date and the amount of my next payment, if I know it.
If I do not, tell them when they can expect to hear from me with this
information.
- - Ask them anything I do not know or wish to
verify about the account: The interest rate, the current balance, how
checks should be made payable, the account number, whether they have
copies of the original documents (and will send them to me) - whatever.
Often, they will reject my payment arrangement. They will say something
like, "this creditor does not accept payment arrangements you need to
send the amount in full, or "based on our guidelines, that is below the
minimum acceptable payments. I need at least $75." I just say, "I
understand what you are saying, but this is the best I am able to do at
this time. I am sure you do not want me to lie to you and promise more
than I intend to send. Do what you have to do, but you can expect my
$15 to be sent on the 16th." I have occasionally asked dryly, "So, are
you saying you plan to send me back the $20 payment I sent last month,
because it was below the minimum payment amount?" This will usually get
a laugh out of them. As I have become more comfortable and less
intimidated talking with collectors, I give them more opportunity to
speak. After I have completed my list, I will say Is there any other
information you have for me? Sometimes, they will start with a battery
of questions. If I don't want to answer them, I will say, I'm sorry,
but I am not prepared to give you any further information on myself at
this time. I just wanted to know if you have any new information, if
you do not, I will have to end this call. Remember, I have requested
that all communication from you be in writing. Have a good day! And I
end the call.
I have, however, gotten very good information
from creditors with this method. It was a collector, for example, that
told me that the company was required by law to agree to a refinance of
my defaulted student loans, as long as I met a very short, easy set of
requirements. She also informed me (just between us) that the company
that would ultimately end up holding the refinanced loan routinely
approved delaying the start of monthly payments for up to 6 months,
provided the debtor could provide them with documentation that they
needed a moratorium. This information turned out to be very helpful to
me and my debt repayment plan!
NO MORE FEAR By the way, I
have now given all my creditors permission to start contacting me by
telephone again. They even have my cel phone number! I discovered I was
only afraid to talk to them when I had broken promises or sent them bad
checks. As long as I had nothing to hide, the conversations were no
longer scary. I you promised $9 and I sent $9. Yes, yes, I know the
minimum payment was $50, but I notice you cashed the $9 last month, and
will probably cash the $12 you will receive later this month! Hopefully
I can send you larger payments at some future date, but for now I will
only promise what is realistic. I'm sure you prefer that to lies, am I
right? Some of us have even gotten friendly. When the very tenacious
Miss P. calls me at 8:05 AM on Saturday morning and wakes me up, I say
"Wow, don't they ever give you a day off? Last time you called me at
8:45 PM! I hope they appreciate how hard you work. Let me pour myself a
cup of coffee and wash my face, and get my records in front of me. I ve
been wanting to talk to you I have some more questions. I'll call you
back within a half hour. And then I do it. The long-suffering Miss P.
has a $16K account of mine, and has so far received a total of $75 from
me. But these days we get along just fine now that she knows I will do
what I promise, and not be pushed into anything more!
|
SAMPLE
LETTERS: An important note about these sample letters: Feel free to use
them to formulate your own letters, but DO NOT SAY ANYTHING IN THE
LETTERS THAT IS NOT TRUE. If, in a letter, you have promised to follow
up and give the creditor certain information by a certain date, do it!
If you ever do end up in court, having copies of these letters and
having the information in them correspond with what actually happened
will be of tremendous help. The first letter is from Release from
Debtor's Prison by Margaret St. John, the rest are my own suggestions.
Request for Debt Moratorium
PO Box 1000 Main Town,
USA July 21, 2000
Anybody's National Bank
PO Box 1111 Credit, CO 80161
Attention: Mr. J. L. Creditor:
I
am writing to let you know that I am currently out of work and am
therefore unable to make my Visa card payments. In light of my current
financial situation, I am requesting a moratorium of approximately
ninety days on my account. On or before October 21, I will be in touch
with you about my employment status as well as a plan to resume payment
of my debt. I intend to pay my bill in full and have joined a financial
recovery program to get information about and support for debt
repayment. Please do not contact me by phone: I will contact you as
soon as I have obtained employment and can make payments.
Correspondence may be sent to the address above. I reiterate that I DO
intend to pay my creditors in full as soon as possible. Thank you for
your consideration.
Sincerely, Anonymous Debtor
Request for Contact in Writing
Today's Date
The Creditor Company
P.O.Box 100
Anytown, USA
RE: Account #12345
To: John Q. Creditor
I
am writing in regard to the above referenced account. I would like to
inform you that I acknowledge that I owe this debt, and that I intend
to pay it if full as soon as possible. I have recently entered a
financial recovery program, and I am in the process of formulating a
debt repayment plan. I will contact you no later than (insert date) and
inform you of my exact intentions regarding the amounts and dates of my
payments. In accordance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I
am requesting that all further communication from your company be in
writing. Please update my account to reflect this request.
Sincerely, Anonymous Debtor
Information Regarding Repayment Plan
Today's Date
The Creditor Company
P.O.Box 100
Anytown, USA
RE: Account #12345
To: John Q. Creditor
I
am writing in regard to the above referenced account. I would like to
inform you that I acknowledge that I owe this debt and that I intend to
pay it in full as soon as possible. I am participating in a financial
recovery program, and I have formulated a debt repayment plan with this
program s help. The intent of this debt repayment plan is that all of
my creditors will be paid in full as soon as possible. Accordingly, I
will send you a payment of at least $(insert amount) each month,
beginning on (insert date).
This is the maximum amount to
which I can commit at this time. If I am in a position to increase this
payment amount for any given month, I will do so. If changed
circumstances cause me to be unable to meet this obligation for a
particular month, I will contact you in advance and advise you of the
situation. Please update my account to reflect this information. Please
permit me to remind you that I previously requested that, in accordance
with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, all communication from
your company be in writing. I thank you for continuing to comply with
this request.
Sincerely, Anonymous Debtor
Notification of Inability to Comply With Payment Arrangement
Today's Date
The Creditor Company
P.O.Box 100
Anytown, USA
RE: Account #12345
To: John Q. Creditor
I
am writing in regard to the above referenced account. I would like to
inform you that I acknowledge that I owe this debt and that I intend to
pay it in full as soon as possible. I am participating in a financial
recovery program, and I have formulated a debt repayment plan with this
program's help. The intent of this debt repayment plan is that all of
my creditors will be paid in full as soon as possible. Previously, I
notified you that I would be sending you monthly payments of at least
$(insert amount) each month. Further, I promised that if changed
circumstances caused me to be unable to meet this obligation for a
particular month, I would contact you in advance and advise you of the
situation. Please be advised that, due to unusual circumstances, I will
be unable to send the full payment this month. Instead, I will be
sending you a good faith payment of $(insert amount) on (insert date).
I regret this situation, and promise to resume making the larger
payments as soon as circumstances allow. Please update my account to
reflect this information. Please permit me to remind you that I
previously requested that, in accordance with the Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act, all communication from your company be in writing. I
thank you for continuing to comply with this request.
Sincerely, Anonymous Debtor
Response to Creditor's Rejection of Proposed Payment Arrangement
Today's Date
The Creditor Company P.O.Box 100
Anytown, USA
RE: Account #12345
To: John Q. Creditor
I
am writing in regard to the above referenced account. I would like to
reiterate that I acknowledge that I owe this debt and that I intend to
pay it in full as soon as possible. I am participating in a financial
recovery program, and I have formulated a debt repayment plan with this
program's help. The intent of this debt repayment plan is that all of
my creditors will be paid in full as soon as possible. I acknowledge
receipt of your letter, whereby you informed my that you do not agree
with my proposed repayment schedule.
Nevertheless, my debt
repayment plan has been carefully formulated in accordance with the
principals of my financial recovery program, and I assure you that
$(insert amount) is the maximum monthly payment that I can send you at
this time. I regret this situation. If I am in a position to increase
this payment amount for any given month, I will do so. If changed
circumstances cause me to be unable to meet this obligation for a
particular month, I will contact you in advance and advise you of the
situation. Please update my account to reflect this information. Please
permit me to remind you that I previously requested that, in accordance
with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, all communication from
your company be in writing. I thank you for continuing to comply with
this request.
Sincerely, Anonymous Debtor
|
|
