So don’t pay over the phone with a debit or credit card? If I get them to send me an email to that affect is that the same as in writing?
I would definitely not do that. They are scum. They could charge the amount, then a week later, charge another $200 and say it was for something like "late fees." You mentioned that they sent you a letter? Does the letter specifically say that 70% is "payment in full?" If so, I would just send them a check and use that letter as proof that the debt is paid in full (along with a copy of the paid check). I still have a letter/check in my safe from like 25 years ago...LOL. You just never know when something like that can pop up again. And it will always be at the most inopportune time.... If not, I would call them and tell them you have a check in your hand and a stamped envelope ready to put in the mailbox today.....but ONLY if they email you something saying that this is PAYMENT IN FULL. If they give you any trouble, just hang up. Then call back and try with another rep. They probably paid $40 for this debt, so anything more than that is profit for them.
Thanks for your help man. The letter they sent was in January and said they’d accept 70% if paid within 14 days but I’m sure they’d still accept a settlement. It didn’t say anything about them accepting it as payment in full. I was just trying to figure out if there was a way to pay them where’d it not show up on my credit at all. I wasn’t sure how it works. Like if I payed them before they sent the info in would it show up, or if I could offer to pay them in full on the condition that they never report it to the bureaus. I think I’m going to call them when I get home and just see how far they’ll work with me. I’ll definitely be sending a check when I do pay based on your recommendation.
It's unfortunately a bit tricky, with all the time passed it could cause it to actually show up... With that said, I have sometimes seen electric/utility companies pose as collectors, so if you call the utility company directly you might be able to still pay the normal amount, the thing you want to avoid though is paying if its not going to help. I've typically only heard this be the case though if you have an outstanding CC debt that was reported on your credit, it falls off, and then you decide to pay it (affer the 7-10 year mark), which then allows it to show back up as a bad mark. Also, whoever you decide to pay iirc, you can ask for something in writing that it won't show up on your report. I can't recall exactly but this was on one of the more popular saving/debt/investment radio shows. I definitely agree paying debt is great but if you're screwed either way then I wouldn't bother going out of your way to pay it all, they need to work with you so you don't get a bad mark, especially if you pay the full amount. These credit reporting agencies are a joke. Especially with all the leaked data/stolen identity, it's such a mess.
You hit the nail on the head. That’s exactly what I’m trying to avoid. The first time I even knew I owed it was when the collections letter showed up. I just logged in to reliant.com and it’s still showing the amount owed. Do you think I can pay it online and not worry about it showing up?
Alright boys I payed it through reliant.com I got an email confirmation and everything. Hopefully that takes care of it and I can put this **** behind me. I appreciate all the help and the replies, if we ever meet in person I owe you guys a beer.
I think you still have to resolve the issue that a debt collection company paid for that debt and they are trying to collect payment. If you haven't resolved that, it still may show up on your credit report. Technically reliant sold that debt off, so even though you paid them you still have a pending issue with the debt collector. I am thinking you need to contact reliant and have them issue a letter that states they bought back the debt from the debt collection agency and that you paid your account in full and you no longer have a debt obligation to them. Reliant receive payment from the debt collector which theoretically resolved your debt with Reliant and now the debt collector is out to collect their money for paying out for your debt. Letters are extremely important especially if you will be trying to buy a home or a car in the next couple of years. Last thing you want is that **** showing up on the credit report and the lender requesting that you provide documentation from the party that the debt is paid off. The problem can be that the debt on the credit report will show up as you owning the debt collector rather than reliant so your proof of paying reliant may not mean anything if you don't have a letter that clears all this up.
Odd that Reliant still had it on their records even thought they sold it off. Glad you paid it, but I hope this collection company doesn't come after you. From their perspective (and mathematically), you still owe them money. Fingers crossed they don't start harassing you. Maybe they won't, since it's such a small amount. At the very least, they could still ding your credit, since you technically still owe them money. And they will be a LOT harder to work with than Reliant.
Yeah it was kinda odd. I just logged into the account like it had never been closed. I’ll call them today and see what they say. I’ll see if they’ll send a letter to the collection company like @ElPigto suggested.
So I called reliant. They said they’ve contacted the collections agency, let them know the debt has been resolved, and that there was no need for me to contact them. I asked them to send me an email stating that but the guy said they don’t do that. He said if it ever pops up on my credit that they’ll resolve the issue and have it removed. Hopefully it never pops up and I won’t have to worry about it. Thanks again guys. I appreciate it.