

Need some legal advice on debt collection - help_with_debt

I was in the US for a number of years, international student. Had a baby and as a result of that got hit with a lot of health bills - that I am still paying although I went back to my home country.<p>I got promised a job when I graduated, but due to the recession - it didn't work out too well. I was able to work remotely, but that has since fallen through.<p>I had a car while I was up there and was making my payments consistently for a while - but after I moved and ran out of cash and income, I have decided to not pay it right now (mainly because I have to put my kid through school, etc.).<p>Now I am being notified by a debt collection attorney, and I have 35 days to reply in writing otherwise I will be liable for not just the outstanding debt, the interest and possibly the attorney fees of the company.<p>I no longer live in the US, and if I wanted to I could just walk away from it - but I believe in honoring my obligations (I have been doing that for my credit cards and hospital bills still outstanding).<p>What do I do? Do I contact the debt collection agency or do I get an attorney? I am kinda strapped for cash right now, so can't afford an attorney.<p>Once I get my cash and income situation taken care of, in the next few months, I would definitely be willing to settle it - but I don't want to just ignore it and then get hit with a big bill in a few years - or possible immigration issues.<p>I would prefer not to burn my bridges, and would like to go back to the US (if I need to) without having to look over my shoulder. So I would really like to get this taken care of.<p>Thoughts?
======
michael_dorfman
I don't see any need for an attorney-- just get in touch with the debt
collection agency, and see if you can work out a payment plan-- some kind of
"good faith" payment until you're in a position to make a settlement.

Of course, this would have been much easier for you if you had dealt with it
earlier, before it got to the debt collection attorney. As as business owner
who has to deal with past-due debts, I can tell you that we're almost always
willing to work something out with the debtor prior to handing it over to a
third party, but once it is in the third party's hands, they're in charge of
the show, and they want to recover their costs, too.

~~~
help_with_debt
I didn't want to get in touch with them, before getting legal advice - for
fear of incriminating myself or doing something unwise before getting proper
counsel.

I did try to deal with it earlier, with the car company, but the terms of a
settlement were still too onerous. They wanted a lump sum figure (albeit with
a 30% discount) - which was still way too high for me.

If I had the certainty of future cash flows, I would have pressed to get it
resolved earlier - but I knew that my cash flows would be in jeopardy in a few
months, so figured it would be best not to get into such an arrangement.

I do plan on working out something in the future though....once I can get
through this.

------
patio11
If you're abroad, there is essentially nothing they can do to collect from
you. You want the pain minimizing steps?

Dear Collector:

I am writing you regarding account number #12345, in response to your letter
bearing $SOME_IDENTIFYING_INFORMATION.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act says that you are not to contact any
consumer who gives you written notice that they are inconvenienced by your
contact. This letter constitutes your official notice under the FDCPA. You are
statutorily permitted exactly one additional communication, delivered via the
postal mail, indicating that you have received this instruction.

For your information, I have returned to $NATION. It is not economically
feasible to resolve our differences via the legal process at present, but I
will contact you again in a few months to discuss disposition of this matter.

Regards,

You

 _a few months pass_

Dear Creditor:

I am writing you regarding debt #12345, continuing our discussion of $DATE. As
you recall, I invoked the FDCPA protection against inconvenient contact, and
you have since honored your legal obligations to not contact me.

I am prepared to extend you an offer to resolve this matter. As of your last
letter, you indicated that I owed $5,400.00 and that you were going to charge
interest and legal fees in addition. I am prepared to offer you $5,400.00,
delivered immediately, in full satisfaction of this debt.

This is the best resolution your client will receive, and it avoids a costly
legal battle which will be complicated by the international issues in this
case. I urge you to accept it.

You have my permission to contact me once, via the postal mail, of your final
disposition of this matter. If you accept, your acceptance should be in
writing and include the language "We accept your offer of $5,400 in full
satisfaction of all debts between $YOU and $CLIENT." I will send you a
cashier's check via courier immediately, and that will conclude our dealings
together.

If you do not accept, please note that the FDCPA prohibition against
contacting me outside the above exemption still applies.

Regards,

\---

You'll note that they have an option not discussed, which is to sue you. They
will probably not do this, because suing someone outside the country very
quickly becomes a six figure proposition even for the most trivial of matters.

As a foreign visitor, you may not be aware of how debt collection in the
United States operates. Many Americans are similarly unaware. While they talk
like bulldogs, their hands are _very_ tied by consumer protection legislation,
and short of suing you there is very vanishingly little they can do without
your consent (well, report you to credit agencies). They have no channel to
the American immigration authorities and if they intimate that they do, they
just violated federal law in a very serious fashion.

My expertise on the laws regarding consumer finance and debt collection is not
that of a lawyer (and owes itself to a funny story about the difficulty of
disambiguating names in a database), this is not legal advice, yadda yadda.

~~~
maxawaytoolong
If you send them this letter, they may stop calling you, but will figure out a
way to harass your wife or your mother.

~~~
patio11
They're only allowed to contact third parties to find "location information"
for you. If they have successfully made contact with you already, and you have
forbidden them from further contact, speaking to any third party about the
debt is a per se violation of the FDCPA.

(Your wife is you and vice versa, for the purposes of the FDCPA. Barring them
from speaking to you bars them to speak to her.)

If it happens, take a day off work and sue them. You will win.

Edited to add: Forgot to mention, always send mail certified if you are
harboring plans of suing people for ignoring its contents. It costs $5 or so
and you get written confirmation from the post office that they received the
mail, which is admissable in court.

