No.
It is unusual for a creditor to send a bill for collections before 30 days past due. If however this happens, your best bet is to contact the original creditor and notify them that you refuse to deal with the collection agency they have hired, that you are requesting a full reconcilliation of your account and the charges, and upon receipt of this you will again contact them to arrange payment. Additionally, request that the creditor call the debt back from the collection agency. It may be necessary for you to notify each party in writing to get collections to stop. Once you have done so, however, be certain to notify the original creditor that they must remove any reference of bad debt from your credit report. Collection law is not difficult to understand, but it can be a bit cumbersome to wade through. Most collection laws fall under the Federal Fair Debt collections Practices Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Each state additionally has Fair Debt Collections laws. See the links below for the FDCPA and Gramm-Leach-Bliley. The state laws are too many and varied to list, but are not difficult to find on line for each state.
A pre-charge off is when the creditor is giving the debtor notice that the account is in default and will be sent to collections if a payment agreement is not made by a specified date. Post-charge off is when the account has been sent to collections, sold to a third party creditor or referred to a legal firm for further action.
Yes. Collections alone cannot order you to pay; you must pay voluntarily. With a small claims judgment, the creditor can attach the judgment to your assets.
The creditor has no obligation to inform the debtor that the debt is being sent to collections, although they generally will attempt to resolve the matter before taking such action. The exception is the repossession of vehicles which in a few US states require the lender to notify the borrower at least 10 days before taking any action.
Yes. The creditor is not required to accept a payment arrangement, and at any time may transfer the debt to inside collections, or an outside collection agency. (For non-credit card debts)
The medical provider can legally take such action. They are not required to notify the debtor that they are sending the outstanding debt to collections.
They would normally send you statements reminding you that your balance is past due, and the vehicle could be repossessed if the matter isn't settled. The creditor normally won't inform you of when the order for repossession actually is sent out, and you won't normally be informed that your vehicle is being repossessed until the repo man shows up to claim it.
If the payments are not suitable in size to the creditor, then yes. This commonly happens with medical bills. Hospitals and clinics are not required to extend the courtesy of credit to anyone. Payment in full tends to be the policy. If you owe thousands and are only paying a small amount (like 50 every month) they will send it to collections.
AnswerOnce the account has been placed with a collection agency, it usually doesn't matter who you pay. Sometimes the bank will accept your $$, other times, they will refer you to the CA (agency).If the agency treated you in an abusive matter, then by all means report the behavior to the creditor and pay them dirrectly. A sympathetic ear in their office can get you a really good deal on settling.It matters, pay the creditor.
The War Powers Act requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops into a combat area. There are questions whether the Act is constitutional, and this has not been definitively answered by the Supreme Court.
In the world of bad debt, everything is negotiable.
You should not be sent to collections if you are making monthly payments. Some companies have their own "polocies" on how much your payment needs to be in order to keep from collections but the law says that you can pay what ever you want as long as you don't sign a payment contract.