AZinOH
join:2007-04-25
Swanton, OH Reviews:
 ·Windstream
| Collection Agency...What Is Typical? I've never had to deal with one, but my almost 21-year old nephew who is living with me temporarily soon will be. I have seen him throw two unpaid bills in the trash as if he thinks nothing bad will happen. I know one has gone to collection already and the other one will within the next 30-60 days. Both of these bills are approx $460 total. Is it likely that his wages will be garnished? If yes, how soon could that happen? What other downsides should I look forward to hearing about? |
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| A garnishment for $460? Very doubtful(not impossible though).
The collection agency will keep sending him letters and calling if they have his phone number, they will send him a letter agreeing to settle for less than he owes (but more than they paid for the debt).
They may eventually give up but this will stay on his credit report for seven years. |
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1 edit | reply to AZinOH
From what I know, only government agencies (child support, tickets, taxes) can garnish unless they take the person to court and win a lawsuit. Smack your nephew upside his good-for-nothing head and tell him to pay the bills. With his almost non-existent credit history, having two debts go to collections will cost him MUCH more in the long run for many years to come |
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 CylonRedPremium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | reply to AZinOH
Since he is living with you - a collection agency will try and get you to agree to pay his bills if you answer their phone call. If you do this - then you are on the hook. I believe Clark Howard has information on what they can and can't do - ClarkHoward.com » www.clarkhoward.com/categories/c···gencies/--
Brian
"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain |
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AZinOH
join:2007-04-25
Swanton, OH Reviews:
·Windstream
| said by CylonRed:Since he is living with you - a collection agency will try and get you to agree to pay his bills if you answer their phone call. If you do this - then you are on the hook.
I believe Clark Howard has information on what they can and can't do - ClarkHoward.com
»www.clarkhoward.com/categories/c···gencies/
Not sure I understand the meaning of this. I won't agree to pay his bills. How could I possibly be held legally responsible just because I allow him to sleep here? Because I answer their phone call? |
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Reviews:
 ·RoadRunner Cable
 ·ViaTalk
| reply to AZinOH
Lets not forget in the future with bad credit he will have to almost always put deposit down when starting utilities such as electric cable and such. He will be paying more for car insurance. Higher interest rates for car and home loans. That is if he can get one at all. I think employers are starting to pull credit reports on potential employees bad credit equals no job. |
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CylonRedPremium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
3 edits | reply to AZinOH
Once someone agrees to it - it is effectively a contract with the agency. Same reason that if a collection agency is calling on a bogus or incorrect unpaid bill and you say you owe it - you are on the hook and the time they can try and collect is reset. Collection agencies try and call a lot with collections that are nearing the time limit to collect so they can try and reset the time to collect. This is also the same reason collection agencies try to call anyone with the same last name and lives nearby. They hope it is a relative and if they can get the relative to say they will pay it... » www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-h···d/nFwFZ/Rights and Drop Dead Letter... » www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-h···s/nHRHp/--
Brian
"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain |
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Zach 58Premium
join:2006-11-26
NW Minnesota | reply to AZinOH
I have no idea what effect it will have on your nephew but I've had several employees who have managed to drag my company and myself into their collection agency melee. If he has used your address on any of these bills, you can expect your phone to ring incessantly and a flurry of mail. One CA, who I asked not to call my business, decided to call my home phone every 30-45 minutes from 7:00A - 10:00P for months looking for an employee who I hadn't employed in over three years. They will attempt to make your life a living hell and has been mentioned, coerce you into paying. After getting pissed, I decided get an extra GV# and play along....some of the crap they say and threats they make are priceless. They must have figured it out since one day the calls stopped as mysteriously as they started. 
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Zach |
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| reply to AZinOH
Good way to start adulthood. "Placed for Collection" on a credit report means his credit is screwed for at least 7 years. If he gets lucky and someone extends him credit, he'll pay huge interest rates.
Worst thing is many companies now pull credit reports during their screening process for potential employees. Sucks to not get your dream job because you walked away from $480 in bills.
They can't garnish his wages unless they decide to take him to court and sue. All depends if the lender wants to do it. I've got garnishment notices for some of my employees for just a few hundred dollars.
Getting garnished for that little amount of money is nothing - having screwed credit really messes with your life. |
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 PeteC2Got Mouse?Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT
kudos:6
·Comcast
·AT&T Yahoo
| reply to AZinOH
said by AZinOH:said by CylonRed:Since he is living with you - a collection agency will try and get you to agree to pay his bills if you answer their phone call. If you do this - then you are on the hook.
I believe Clark Howard has information on what they can and can't do - ClarkHoward.com
»www.clarkhoward.com/categories/c···gencies/
Not sure I understand the meaning of this. I won't agree to pay his bills. How could I possibly be held legally responsible just because I allow him to sleep here? Because I answer their phone call? You can not be held legally responsible (unless you were foolish enough to agree), however, they will call you, even after he leaves your residence. Tell your nephew that under no circumstances may he use your address or home phone number.
One of my kids who was not even living with me at the time, gave a collection agency my phone number. It was a bear to finally get rid of them!
Not saying that your nephew shouldn't pay his just debts (he should, and frankly, if I had a wayward nephew staying with me, I would not shelter him if he was flat-out refusing to pay his debts), however, these collection agencies are almost without exception a sleazy bunch of barely-legal weasels with no concern over right and wrong.
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Deeds, not words |
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Reviews:
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| reply to CylonRed
said by CylonRed:Since he is living with you - a collection agency will try and get you to agree to pay his bills if you answer their phone call. If you do this - then you are on the hook.
If you mean "agree to pay his bills" because some guy called and asked you to, that's 100% bullshit.
Unless they have your signature on something, you're not on the hook. Keep in mind they may try to bully you into thinking you are obligated to follow through on a verbal agreement but there is no legal meat behind it. They can't make a third party pay based solely on what was said during phone call, nor is there a penalty for not keeping your word.
To the OP: It sounds to me that you are creating a problem where one does not need to be. Nephew is staying with you "temporarily," so ask him not to use your address or phone number for his personal business and there will be no reason for you to be involved to begin with. Why does anyone need to know he is crashing at your place? If he is uncooperative and his creditors start chasing you...oh well. That's the price you pay for taking in a deadbeat.
Offer to pay for a PO box. Some private vendors like the UPS Store have an actual street address so no one even knows it's just a mail drop. It's cheap insurance for keeping his hassles from becoming your hassles.
And whatever you do, don't sign anything associated with your nephew! |
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guppy_fishPremium
join:2003-12-09
Lakeland, FL
kudos:1 Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS
| reply to AZinOH
said by AZinOH:I've never had to deal with one, but my almost 21-year old nephew who is living with me temporarily
The downsides:
What makes you think it will be temporary? what is he doing that would enable him to take care of himself? Why isn't he back at his parents and instead on your doorstep.
Good luck |
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 John GaltForward, MarchPremium
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp
kudos:5 | reply to AZinOH
Tell him to pay the bills BEFORE he moves in. It will be a good object lesson for him.
As for talking to the collection agencies, that is the kiss of death. They are well-practiced in dealing with deadbeats and know every trick in the book. If you have to ask questions here about how to deal with this issue, you're a prime victim for their tactics (no offense intended) They'll have you for lunch. 
Spend some time reading the Clark Howard material. He is an acknowledged expert. Also, some more information here:
»www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs27-debtcoll.htm
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Nothing makes an American want to do something more than telling them they can't.
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| reply to AZinOH
All this drama over $460? Your nephew sounds like an idiot. Does he have a job? |
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peterboroAvatars are for posersPremium
join:2006-11-03
Peterborough, ON | reply to AZinOH
Here is a 62 page thread about a CA that pretends to be a law firm and will use every trick in the book.
»800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-905-474-3535 |
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 pcdebbRIP dadkinsPremium
join:2000-12-03
Brandon, FL
kudos:5
·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to CylonRed
said by CylonRed:Once someone agrees to it - it is effectively a contract with the agency. Same reason that if a collection agency is calling on a bogus or incorrect unpaid bill and you say you owe it - you are on the hook and the time they can try and collect is reset. the debt cannot be reset/re-aged because of something verbal. sending an actual payment is what consummates the deal. Unless this has changed in the last few years.
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PrntRhdPremium
join:2004-11-03
Fairfield, CA Reviews:
·Comcast
| reply to AZinOH
One collection agency will phone for a while, usually 3-4 months of phone calls, then they sell the delinquent account to another who will do the same sort of stuff. They don't even care to answer the calls when you pick up the line, they just use the auto dialed phone ringer to disrupt your life.
They don't care that you personally are not responsible for the debt, they just make it painful and will continue to make the calls hoping you will pressure the debtor. |
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 dib22
join:2002-01-27
Kansas City, MO | reply to John Galt
said by John Galt:Tell him to pay the bills BEFORE he moves in. It will be a good object lesson for him.
You are corect, when trying to get an apartment many do that as well... won't let you sign the lease until they are cleared... they act like collection agencies for the local monopolies  |
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CylonRedPremium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | reply to pcdebb
Unless Clark Howard is being paranoid but the collection agency will have you recorded identifying yourself, the debit and then your admissions that you owe it. Clark has said for the last couple of years that simply saying you owe the debit is enough to reset it (it could be a state by state thing as well).
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Brian
"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain |
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 DraimanLet me see those devil horns in the sky
join:2012-06-01
Kill Devil Hills, NC
·Verizon FiOS
| reply to guppy_fish
said by guppy_fish:said by AZinOH:I've never had to deal with one, but my almost 21-year old nephew who is living with me temporarily
The downsides: What makes you think it will be temporary? what is he doing that would enable him to take care of himself? Why isn't he back at his parents and instead on your doorstep. Good luck What makes you think it isn't temporary?
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What we're saying today is that you're either part of the solution or you're part of the problem. - E. Cleaver 1968 |
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