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Battling a collection agency? NS lawyers?

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mozzy
Posts: 1034 - Karma: 60
hey, long shot, but I'm dealing with a rental car company that's trying to shove its weight around, we've been in a dispute about a damaged rental car that they allege was done by me (i informed the people about the damage before taking out the vehicle), and I've exhausted the 'diplomatic' options. So they're trying to go after me for a smallish (<$1000) amount, any options to fight this?


Aug 15 2011 9:49PM
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ECB
Posts: 6991 - Karma: 622
pay it.

if you don't and they get a collection agency on you, it ruins your credit.


if you are trying to get a loan say 5 years from now, you will get a worse interest rate, and say the loan is for a house, say 200,000 well the worse rating could mean over the next 30 years you pay 25,000 extra dollars.


just pay it.
Aug 15 2011 9:51PM
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west-coast
Posts: 985 - Karma: 204
you seem very smart..yet you hooked up with your cousin
Aug 15 2011 9:55PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9215 - Karma: 5,398
maybe that was a smart move too?
Aug 15 2011 10:00PM
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malonius_funk
Posts: 2249 - Karma: 1,500
you know, ECB, when you aren't posting very sexually oriented creepy stuff you can actually be a very intellectual and knowledgeable person.
Aug 15 2011 10:01PM
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.spaghetticat.
Posts: 4283 - Karma: 890
still hate u
Aug 15 2011 10:02PM
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ECB
Posts: 6991 - Karma: 622
Haha, I mean I do attend college....And major in business....And my dad is a lawyer...

So basically I gave advice on what I would do....Well actually I would have my dad handle it. But a lawyer will cost more than the fee you owe them.....
Aug 15 2011 10:03PM
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andy_boy
Posts: 4434 - Karma: 107
I worked for a collection agency for a summer.

ECB is right surprisingly. After 6 years however, a debt is no longer listed on your credit record. In Canada, at least.

If it's at a collection agency, there really isn't a lot you can do, you can tell them to 'never call this number again' and they are legally bound to obey, but that won't fix your credit.

How old are you?
Aug 15 2011 10:04PM
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ECB
Posts: 6991 - Karma: 622
If OP is under 18 he can use that in his defense, but I don't think he is. Actually I'm almost positive he isn't, since he rented a car.

Also, I think in America it's 8 years, but might be 6, that's why I said if he went to take out a loan 5 from now (or maybe even 7 then....)
Aug 15 2011 10:19PM
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west-coast
Posts: 985 - Karma: 204
yes in most states you have to be 25 to rent a car
Aug 15 2011 10:22PM
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ECB
Posts: 6991 - Karma: 622
Or at least 18 for like college rental things
Aug 15 2011 10:52PM
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Relish_man
Posts: 5386 - Karma: 551
ok then how about texting some random girl saying he wants to perform sexual intercourse with her dog?
Aug 15 2011 11:55PM
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J.D.
Posts: 21362 - Karma: 5,142
I dunno because I don't do this kind of law, but it seems to me that you'd deal with this in small claims court. Against the rental company, not the collections agency. They might even just back off. But I have no idea if small claims court where you are has broad order-making powers (ie they could enjoin the rental company from pursuing you for the $1k) or if they only have the ability to award damages. There's probably a website somewhere that will explain it to you.
Aug 16 2011 11:29AM
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J.D.
Posts: 21362 - Karma: 5,142
... that wasn't legal advice, I was just thinking out loud.
Aug 16 2011 11:30AM
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geteducated
Posts: 6410 - Karma: 86
i dragged out a school fee (600.00) that i owed. collection agency kept on calling and warning me about my credit. i called their bluff saying you know how many other students have the same debts and you think the bank is going to allow this to effect my credit? doesn't work like that. i only paid it when they said they were going to serve me and take me to court.
Aug 16 2011 11:31AM
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Flying~Squirrel
Posts: 6494 - Karma: 192
use one of these Click for larger image
Aug 16 2011 11:38AM
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SkierX
Posts: 16253 - Karma: 538
Define "informed". Was it just a casual mention, or was it documented? Were there credible witnesses or is it completely "he said-she said"?

I know moving truck rental firms have a policy where you do a vehicle walk-around with an employee before taking control of the vehicle. ANY damage is notated in writing, and signed by yourself and the employee. You receive a signed copy.

To me, this seems like something that should be SOP. Did this rental company do anything of this sort to protect their investment?
Aug 16 2011 11:46AM
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seward
Posts: 5233 - Karma: 2,174

wut?

there is so many holes in this story its not funny.

first, whenever you rent a car they should do a walk around inspection with you that both parties sign off on prior to the car even being driven off the lot. did they do that with you?? cause if so then your golden, there is a written report that the car was damaged before you rented it.

second, they do the same procedure when you return to the lot, again both parties sign off on this form prior to the car being returned. did they do that with you?? If so, they would know the car was damaged prior and no new damages occured while in your posession.

third, where does this $1000 come from? have they presented you with a quote from a garage for the actual costs to repair the damages? do you have that in writing, or did they tell you $1000 verbally over the phone? They cant just say you owe us $1000, they need to present you with a quote from a licensed auto-repair shop which must be in hard-copy.

fourth, where does a collection agency come into this? the only time this would go to collections is if they tried to bill you and your account went NSF, or was closed, or you didnt make the payment etc. They cant bill you $1000 in damages, have you dispute it, then send it to collections, shit dosnt work like that.
collections comes in for people that have used credit and not repayed it by the predetermined time lines. if you legally are held acountable for the damages, and THEN dont pay the $1000, then yes, the outstanding amount could be sent to collections. but if i am understanding your story correctly, it sounds like you are still disputing the damages, let alone been accused of damaging the vehicle, figured out a cost, had them try to bill you, not made payments etc etc etc.

lastly, and i feel slightly off topic, even if you do end up having something go to collections, its not as bad as alot of people on this site with no experience with credit will lead you to beleave. will it effect your credit? yes, will you find it difficult to get a credit card? no, they have guaranteed cards for a reason. will you not be able to buy a house? no. lets be serious, no bank in their right mind is NOT going to give you a morgage that they make money hand over fucking fist on, because you had a $1000 bill go to collections.

example, and im speaking from personal experience here. in my 4th year uni i was denied access to my student loan due to non payments. when i signed the loan i was given 20k but with access to only 5k a year. in the summer between 3rd and 4th year i got layed off by a douche landscaper, couldnt make my loan payments, and the bank denied me the remaining 5k for my last year. i therefore put all tuition on a credit card, and all my books on another. with no income through the school year it was just a matter of time till it got sent to collections. right out of school i got a big boy job, payed by collections, got a new credit card, even though its a small limit, and was approved on a excellent morgage for a house. alot of it depends on your income, not the amount you have had go to collections.

all in all credit scores are extremely easy to repair, and having $1000 go to collections is not a big deal in the least. but if you max out a card, have that go, then do it again, then do it again, and again, that is where people get fucked.

hope that helps, and if you want to ask me anything feel free to PM me

Aug 16 2011 12:40PM
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J.D.
Posts: 21362 - Karma: 5,142

Ok to explain several things on the OP's behalf where applicable.

1. You are right.

2. You are right.

3. I imagine they have a max damage clause (somehow tied to their insurance policy) that has a set liquidated amount if you bust up the car. This is particularly true if you buy optional insurance when you rent.

Hey I just looked to the side and there's a budget rent-a-car ad! TOPICAL.

4. Often, larger companies will have internal recovery departments, which will simply call directly to try to collect on accounts. It may not be an external collection agency at all. Really, though, a company can send anything they want to collections - I could hire a dude to call your house right now and tell you you owe me a thousand dollars, even though you don't. There are consumer protection laws to hopefully discourage this but a) people ignore them and b) the public is usually ignorant of their rights thereunder.

5. Credit scores are wacky. That's a technical term. They are wacky enough that if you have the option to not screw around with them, you should avoid screwing around with them. Otherwise though, I agree with you. People do make this stuff into the bogeyman too easily.

Aug 16 2011 12:50PM
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seward
Posts: 5233 - Karma: 2,174
1. thank you
2. thank you

3. youre right, but if they did have a max damage clause, again that would have been something he signed off on. which he didnt state in his original post. i was merely asking where that figure came from in the first place.

4. again, youre right, however they can not send something to collections which has not been resolved yet. companies dont always send things to collections (unless internal), they sell your debts to collections, which in turn the collection agency tries to recover those losses. in this case however, there has not been any losses, YET. and if worse comes to worst, now the OP knows his rights.

5. i completely agree, collections is bad, it will affect your score, but its not the end of the world. it gets soooo blown out of proportion when realisticaly, banks make money off people who dont pay their bills, thats why there is interest. if everyone payed their bills on time in the first place, interest would not even exist.

my point was, i was fucked financially for wayyyyyyyy more then $1000. ya, it took about 2 years for me to pay my debts and get a new credit card, but everything is fine. your not gonna end up living in a cardboard box eating sticks and rocks three meals a day.
Aug 16 2011 1:10PM
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SkierX
Posts: 16253 - Karma: 538
Not ALWAYS true.

I worked for a subsidiary of Sallie Mae for a period of 3.5 years. I handled the rehabilitation of defaulted federal student loans (FFELPs). Essentially getting debtors back on track and into good standing through a program that would forgive their default if they made a series of 9 on-time monthly, pre-planned payments. It restored their credit and removed a high amount of fees. Brutal work, and it burnt you out, but the money was good if you were good at talking with people and helping them realize that rehabilitating is good for everyone, including themselves.

That said, the firm also represented the US Dept. of Treasury, private colleges, and also Credit Card companies. In none of the cases were any of the debts in collections purchased by the company. For each $1 that was collected, a portion was retained by the company, however the debt was still held by the creditor.

Yes, creditors can sell debt to collection agencies, but they can also contract with agencies to collect on the debts while still maintaining possession of the debt legally.
Aug 16 2011 1:20PM
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seward
Posts: 5233 - Karma: 2,174
welp there ya go OP.

replace my sentence with skierX's paragraph and you should have a pretty good idea of how collections work
Aug 16 2011 1:58PM
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-Mugatu
Posts: 2579 - Karma: 84
if you really did point out the damage before you rented it and they made note of it/you have either a copy or know they still have that on file, threaten the rental place to take them to small-claims. if there is record of the damage previous to you renting it you will be fine, they will realize they cant get money out of you and most likely back down. worst case you take them to small-claims and if it the damage has been recorded the judge will see that and tell the renters to go fuck themselves. good luck dude, court is a motherfucker.
Aug 16 2011 2:12PM
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seward
Posts: 5233 - Karma: 2,174
how in the fuck can the OP take the rental company to small claims???
the rental company does not owe him anything
Aug 16 2011 3:08PM
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