It was only a matter of time I guess

[w00tpickles]

Originally Posted by edplayer

First you want to validate that whomever claims to own the debt actually does. After that you can negotiate a settlement. You want to do this in writing. You can negotiate over the phone but you should have a written agreement.

You are right about them buying it for a few cents on the dollar. You can negotiate a fairly low settlement under certain conditions. Primarily if the statue of limitations has already passed. Don't know about where you live but here in California its 4 years (for revolving credit like credit cards). That is 4 years after you last had any activity on the account. So making a partial payment is not a good idea.

If that were true, say I owe money to the electricity company, say $100. So, the power company shuts off my service and sends that $100 into collections. If someone else now owns that debt, how come the power company won't let me turn my service back on until I pay a 3rd party money that is no longer the concern of the power company?

[Lurker]

Originally Posted by fapling

y u pay $ to person who no own your debts?

Read what Wootpickles wrote.

Also, paying the collections agency doesn't resolve my negative balance with paypal and if I am going to pay the debt then I might as well repay paypal so I can use my account again.

On a side note for anyone curious. If you read Paypals terms carefully. It says very clearly that if your account was opened after 10/2001 they have the right to debit your checking account without your permission, which is horseshit. Luckily mine is older than that. But... If I was anyone else opening a new account, it would be with a unused checking account and an unused credit card.

[edplayer]

Originally Posted by w00tpickles

If that were true, say I owe money to the electricity company, say $100. So, the power company shuts off my service and sends that $100 into collections. If someone else now owns that debt, how come the power company won't let me turn my service back on until I pay a 3rd party money that is no longer the concern of the power company?

Why don't you ask the power company? Consider this. If you were a business that gave credit to a lot of customers and on occasion you sold some of the debt because it made more sense to you, would you want to deal with the same person who fucked you the 1st time?

[fapling]

how does selling debt to a collections agency work?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collec...#United_States

and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collection_agency

looks like sometimes the collection agency owns the debt outright, and sometimes it collects the debt and takes a commission. and sometimes it can affect your credit, and sometimes it can't.

and more info for how to verify/validate debt collector claims - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/cons...dit/cre18.shtm

[w00tpickles]

Originally Posted by edplayer

Why don't you ask the power company? Consider this. If you were a business that gave credit to a lot of customers and on occasion you sold some of the debt because it made more sense to you, would you want to deal with the same person who fucked you the 1st time?

It's not credit. You're paying for a service. You don't pay a cab driver in advance, that doesn't mean he's giving you credit. You don't pay a waiter for your meal until you're done eating it, it's not a credit. That is specifically why I chose a metered service like the power company, it isn't a credit.

Paypal isn't supplying credit, they took money that wasn't theirs and decided with no proof to give it to someone else.

I also pay back the primary bill rather than paying a bill collector because fuck the bill collector. That is, of course, when I sucked at paying bills on time, like 12 years ago when I was 18.

[edplayer]

Originally Posted by w00tpickles

It's not credit. You're paying for a service. You don't pay a cab driver in advance, that doesn't mean he's giving you credit. You don't pay a waiter for your meal until you're done eating it, it's not a credit. That is specifically why I chose a metered service like the power company, it isn't a credit.

Paypal isn't supplying credit, they took money that wasn't theirs and decided with no proof to give it to someone else.

I also pay back the primary bill rather than paying a bill collector because fuck the bill collector. That is, of course, when I sucked at paying bills on time, like 12 years ago when I was 18.

OK, sorry for calling it a credit. Still, would you want to deal with the same party who fucked you on an agreement in the past?