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I am writing this about a situation my mother is in and I am trying to help her. She got a phone call about 8 weeks ago from capital one saying that she owes $19,000 on an account that she claims that she paid off and closed out over 20 years ago. Mind you this was always a small card balance, apparently this huge balance is due to interest and charges they have been applying all this time. This has not shown up on her credit report and the company customer service rep looked into it further and said that their records show a $0 balance. However, the company's collection people looked into it too and they say that is because it got turned over to them, and that the balance owed stands. All this sounds very fishy to me. They have not tried to contact her until now even though her address has not changed, and she has not received any phone calls before this one. She is horribly frustrated and upset, my parents do not have this kind of money and the company was demanding a $250-$300/mo payment. They cannot afford that, my father is not working right now and my mom doesn't make enough. Unfortunately they have also been dealing with other problems so this on top is really making me worry about my mom. Does anyone have any advice out there? I told her to get a lawyer to look into this and to demand records and proof from the company, but I don't know how much good that will do. Any help is appreciated.
Pursue it throught the credit reporting bureaus. There are four DIFFERENT ones, so make sure you check with each one. When I bought my first home in 12/04, there was an outstanding medical bill balance on my credit report with one of the bureaus. Someone had made a fraudulent claim using my ID. My realtor disputed the claim, proved I hadn't charged the item and it was removed from my credit report.
If the Capital One rep says there's a $0 balance, under the account number, have her fax you a copy of the final account report. At least you'll have some paper from the Creditor. And the fact of it not appearing on your credit report means Capital One didn't report it as being delinquent.
I have been hearing of instances where companies are selling outstanding debt accounts to collectors, such as contacted you. These collectors hound you to death for charges that accrue once they pursue the debt owed to the original retailer. That original debt may very well have been paid off, however they did not call off the collection hounds. The $19K probably is from the collection agency -- not Capital One.
Call a lawyer who can advise how to proceed once Capital One verifies you owe them no money. Hope this helps.
P.S. My new DH husband had such an incident occur. He owed a balance on an account that became outstanding and was turned over to a collection agency. Interest and penalties kept accruing through the collection agency so by the time they contacted him, he owed almost 3x the original debt.
This sounds like a scam. If the credit card company says they show zero balance, then that is all you need. I'd report the collectors to the police or the DA's office. Twenty years sounds really phony.
blue eyes, I had something similar happen recently. miraculously, I still had the paperwork where I had paid it. I sent copies of all my paperwork, didn't hear from them again. But then my account was sold to another collection agency, did the same with them and heard nothing. then it was sold to a 3rd company, sent them the same paperwork!!! Went online to check my credit report. Saw this on there...it was over 10 years old. but I did pay it. I wrote to the credit reporting agency and sent them the paperwork, explained to them I hadn't heard from them in ten years. They removed it from my record. Also, I called the State Attorney General's office and I think they should do that. Also, call the Better Business Bureau and file a complaint. Although right now, Capital One is getting a lot of bad rep...I don't think it was Cap. One. Somewhere along the way a collection company picked it up and they are the real evils in this whole thing. GET THAT LETTER FROM CAPITAL ONE BEFORE YOU DO ANOTHER THING.
Gymgirl, my son had the same experience with Discover Card. He called them and ended up making a "deal" with them for quite a substantially lesser amount. The fact is that he got behind then was angry at all the fees they put on...so they added up. They ended up taking off all the fees, late fees, interest, etc. and went back to the real amount that was charged. He closed the account and cut up the card. Discover Card is ruthless and has hit everyone in our family in a negative way...you couldn't pay me to have one of their cards anymore. Personally, I think they should be under investigation!
We had a collection agency calling us about a supposed "debt" that was fifteen years old. When we demanded documents to prove the debt, they told us there was no time and the debt had to be "settled" immediately, they wanted our checking account information over the phone. We refused and they never supplied the proof and we never heard from them again. Like your situation, this was something that was not on our credit reports. I think it was a scam.
Thanks everyone for your help. I spoke again with my mom today. Apparently it isn't that Capital One is stating she has a $0 balance. Instead, they are telling her that they cannot find any information on the account and that because of that she owes nothing. Now, like I said, my mother's address has never changed and she was never contacted by either the company or the collection agency in these past 20 years that she owed anything. In fact, she has another small card with them for just over a year and a half now so they definitely have all of her contact info. She also has never seen it on her credit report. Apparently after 7 years accounts can drop off your credit report, but something this severe I doubt would be deleted. The collection company (Capital Management, Inc) has been demanding payment from her with repeated phone calls, tried to set upa $250-$300/mo monthly withdrawal from her checking account (which she refused) and even sent a letter from a lawyer (which really has them upset). They also told her that the account number was changed when they obtained the account so that it isn't even the number that Capital One had. How can that be? I told her to send a registered letter to Capital One requesting specific information on the account, ie. balance owed, status of the account, etc. If they have no record of it, then how can this collection company even have a leg to stand on? She is also contacting a lawyer for advice. My mom has unfortunately had some bad credit problems in the past but has worked very hard to clean it up. They do not have much money and are also dealing with other major family problems right now, so this is the last thing they needed. Although she has had problems I believe firmly that this one isn't her fault. I just wish I could do more to help. They don't have internet access so I this is the best way I can do something. Thanks again everyone for your advice and support.
Best of luck, Kim. I hope your parents get this resolved ASAP so they can get back to their normal routines.
I would not send this collection agency any information (they sound like a bunch of crooks looking for some fast money - their targets are usually older people). Let the collectors provide the information and tell them you will send it on to the state Attorney General's office and your lawyer for review. That should put them on notice to stop harassing your parents and maybe make them flee the state (if they are even located in the state). If the account numbers don't match, then they are barking up the wrong tree and are hoping that somebody won't read the fine print and will open their bank accounts to them. As for the phone calls, do your parents have caller ID or at least an answering machine? That would help cut out menacing people. The other thing is Call Block.
I totally agree. This sounds like they're trying to get into your mother's bank account with some sort of automatic repayment draft. Tell her to definitely NOT GIVE OUT ANY ACCOUNT INFORMATION on ANYTHING. If they got the account from Capital One, they should have a good account number. If they don't, they are fishing!
Do not take further calls from these people. Let them communicate with your mother IN WRITING ONLY so there's a paper trail.
Blue eyes: There is a statue of limitations, 7 years, unless they have a judgment against here. Many companies re-sell their debts to outside collection agencies and such, but the statue of limitations still stand. They cannot garnish wages, bank accounts, or take any action without a judgment. The agency to contact is the Fair Trade Commission, as they regulate Collection Agencies. If it is a collection agency they are required to have a license. I did Credit & Collections for twenty years, if you need any other help let me know.
Kim, there are many scams that operate as you describe what your parents are experiencing. Others here have already offered good advice. I'd just like to add to it. Go to [HYPERLINK@www.ftc] gov and look up the Federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. This outlines your rights as a consumer. The company must provide proof of the debt in writing. Scams operate by scare tactics. Do not let your parents be frightened into giving information they shouldn't. They should not provide any information until they have proof who they are dealing with. Calling a phone number the caller provides is not proof. Look up the number for the company yourself in the phone book and verify that's who is calling. My guess is this is purely a scam and your parents should not even talk to them. If they have already given checking acct info, close the accoutn. I work for the BBB and see this every day. Good luck.
Debra
I read about the statute of limitations as well online, but it listed Ohio as being 15 years. I guess it is different from state to state? I am letting them know all of this information. Thanks again everyone for all of your help. It is very encouraging to know she's not alone.
If it is a bonafide company, you can report them for harassment as well and often collect a settlement from them for harassing you. Have your parents keep any written documentation and document any calls with dates, times, call back numbers and names. Have them tell the company to cease and desist from contacting them.
They need to verify that they are a genuine licensed collection agency or report them to your state attorney for fraud investigation.
Definately a popular scams. My mother just got a letter from a collection agency just last week supposedly about her old credit card saying she owes over $5,000. She went to the local bank who had her CC and they told her it was a scam! She knew she couldn't have had an old CC for over 2 years and not know about it! She questioned the people whose phone number she called and asked then what the items were that were charged and they would not tell her. So that is when she really got suspicious. Long story short, she is ignoring them and letting the bank handle it now.
I also used to do Credit and Collections...and as Betterblooms says...with out a judgement...and it would show on a credit report...you can't collect on a judgement after 20 years...UNLESS that judgement was registerd ( I can't remember if that is the correct term...)then usually you were in line to collect on the judgement only if you sold some property.
I wouldn't loose any sleep over this...as I don't think they will continue with it if she notifies the authorities.
My mom asked the company for proof, which they said they would send. But that was months ago and nothing arrived. So they aren't worrying about it anymore.
This definately IS A SCAM as it happened to my elderly mother within the past couple months. She spoke to the bank who had her CC account and they told her to ignore the calls. She owed NOTHING! Thank God she didn't give out any personal info!
