Re: MCM-Would this help or hurt?

Posted by mk_378 (164.106.129.132) on June 11, 2004 at 22:39:38:

In Reply to: Re: MCM-Would this help or hurt? posted by Suzanne on June 11, 2004 at 13:42:05:

Please heed Boadacea's advice and do not pay MCM. It won't get you anywhere, besides taking money out of your pocket it may make your situation worse.

The collection business is a numbers game. Don't let your morality interfere with the way you play it. The way it works is that some moneybags guy will pony up a million or so dollars to buy a big long list of names and numbers of old debts, and hire a cubicle farm full of low-wage thugs to make calls all day. The investor paid less than 2% of the "face value" of these debts, in some cases much less. If your original debt was $500, MCM may have paid $5.00 for it. This is all the money the original creditor will ever get -- $5.00 -- and they already have it whether you pay MCM or not. If the collectors average more than a 2% repayment rate, then the company is making money.

It doesn't matter if the account is really yours or not, if they can't validate it you don't have to pay, and it must come off your credit reports. You have a right to demand validation at any time. You could honestly request validation because you don't know how they account for the exact balance owed. Do not say this is your reason, and do not in any way admit that the debt is yours. When it turns out they can't validate, you have no obligation to pay. Since it appears that they just pulled a number out of the air and demand that you pay it, you can honestly refuse.

If it is beyond your state's SOL, then the CA can't win in court if you fight them, even if they did prove it's your debt, which they can't. All that they have is a big list of names and numbers, which doesn't prove anything. If they can't take you to court and have the judge force you to pay, all they can do is ask politely that you pay, and you've already decided not to. So now you can tell them to "Cease and Desist", since they are just harassing you by continuing to ask for payment, when they know what the answer will be.

Should you pay, you'll be put on a list of "People willing to pay CA's" which will be sold around the sordid industry made up of companies like MCM. The remaining balance will be sold to someone and they will try to collect with renenwed fervor because realize you are able and perhaps willing to pay. MCM or other companies may just make stuff up out of the blue and try to collect.

Having "Paid collection" on your credit report is only infinitesimally better than "Unpaid collection." ANY accounts reported by a collection agency are poison to your credit score.

The only reasons to pay a CA are:
if they are suing you, and it looks like they will win,
or if they can validate the debt, but agree to completely DELETE it from your credit report if you pay.

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