I was recently offered a job under the conditions that I pay off, or make payments on my debts owed. I got a copy of my credit report and saw LVNV funding. I have a pretty good Idea of who the original account was with so I do believe that I owe this money.
I have not contacted them yet because while doing research to find out who they were, I read nothing but horror stories from people who have dealt with them. Before I take another step I want to make sure that I am prepared. I have never dealt with creditors, collection agencies or debt period. I literally have no Idea how this goes.
I have read that the first thing I should do is ask for a letter from them verifying that it is a valid account and that they do indeed own the account. If so then I should contact them and try to set up a payment plan (as I can not afford to pay it off in a lump sum) and ask for a letter of agreement. so...
When I ask for proof of the debt should I send a certified letter?
If they don't respond, what should I do?
If they do own the account how should I handle asking them for a payment agreement in writing?
Is it better to try over the phone or by letters?
Thank you very much in advance to anyone who can help me!
debt settlement
Hi jmktrain,
Welcome to this community :)
When I ask for proof of the debt should I send a certified letter?
Yes, sending letter through certified mail requesting a return receipt (CMRRR) is very important. If you send you letters through certified mail, you will come to know whether or not the letter reached it's destination, and through the additional return receipt you will know whether or not the letter was received by the creditor or collection agency.
If they don't respond, what should I do?
If the colelction agency does not respond you should send a follow up debt validation letter CMRRR. If this time too they fail to respond to your debt with the credit bureaus. request, you should dispute the debt with the credit bureaus.
[quote]If they don't respond, what should I do?[/quote ]You will have to talk to them over the phone about the payment once the debt gets validated. Once they agree to your payment agreement, get the payment agreement agreement in writing.
Is it better to try over the phone or by letters?
If you do the negotiations over the phone, it will save you time. However, if you do the negotiations through letters, you will have written proof.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Aaron