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Debt collection agency coming after me

5

55534442

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If there's a better forum for this question please let me know.
My wife and I purchased with Wyndham several years ago. In 2017 I was diagnosed with colon cancer. Because of this I needed to retire from my job and begin treatment which included surgery in February 2018. I am grateful to have been in remission since then. One of the things we decided to do at that time (since our income was being downsized) was to contact Wyndham (as well as Diamond, But that's another story) to inform them of our financial status and that as a result of the change in our ability to make further payments we were cancelling our purchase and make no further payments. We di9d this in late 2017 or early 2018. Wynham had "helped" us with our purchase by getting us to apply for (and we were accepted, of course) a credit card from Barclay. I guess we had "Ignoramus" written on our foreheads. At some point our entire Wyndham debt was put on the Barclay card so we no longer owed anything more on our purchase to Wyndham. It was all owed to Barclay. When we cancelled Wyndham we also cancelled Barclay, notified them and cut our cards in half. We heard nothing from either Wyndham or Barclay, (other than occasional statements telling us we owed payments but after a while even those stopped coming. Just a few days ago I received a phone call from a debt collection agency demanding that we set up a payment schedule and resume making payments on our Barclay debt which is over $8000 they tell me. I'm under the impression that Wyndham has been paid by Barclay so it's only Barclay coming after me now. What are my options at this point? I am retired and on a fixed income and my wife has passed away. Even if I pay the entire debt I have nothing since paying the debt would not restore my membership with Wyndham (which I do not want). Thank you for any counsel or help you can give me.
 
You can't just tell ANY debtor you officially cancel your debt. I mean, you can say what you want, but of course they're going to try to collect their debt. Since you technically have no loan with Wyndham, they probably would have worked with you if you had called Owner Care/Ovations instead of giving them a unilateral decree, but Barclay's is of course still going to pursue your balance even if you had gone about it the right way with Wyndham.
 
Chances are the collection agency bought the bad debt from Barclay for pennies on the dollar and is trying to get something from it. If you're not worried about credit score, I would ignore them or just tell them to go away...kinda like what you did with Barclay. Or ask them how much to settle the debt... this may have tax implications because you may get a tax form showing the unpaid portion as income.
 
This has nothing to do with timeshares. It's credit card debt. OP needs to consult with a lawyer with financial protection history. It is unlikely that it can be discharged through bankruptcy, and foreclosure is not an option. Whether or not the collection agency chooses to go to court to get a judgement is up to them.

This is beyond the scope of TUG. See a lawyer. It may be that the OP is judgement proof- too low of income and no assets to seize. An attorney can tell him.

Jim
 
Sorry to hear about your health. Good to hear you are in remission.

You applied for the card (okay) but did you sign anything official to authorize Wyndham to place those charges on your new credit card? You could dispute the charge with Barclays and Bill Collectors and state that the Wyndham charges are an "unrecognized transaction." (Don't say "other" or Barclays will ask for a ton of paperwork from you.)

This is potentially fraudulent behavior by Wyndham because it sounds like you did not know that they were placing these charges on your Barclays card. They cannot place charges on your credit card without your authorization and full knowledge - you thought Wyndham was releasing you of your debt obligation. Disputing the charge makes Wyndham show the bank proof that you authorized with a signature to place those charges. (If you did sign something, Wyndham probably lost any paperwork by now so you have nothing to lose.)

It may be too late to dispute the charge because there is a time window but doesn't hurt to try if you haven't spoken to Barclays about this before. As suggested earlier, consulting a lawyer may be a good idea before you execute since your prior approach created a mess.

Good luck!
 
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Passepartout said:
This has nothing to do with timeshares. It's credit card debt. OP needs to consult with a lawyer with financial protection history. It is unlikely that it can be discharged through bankruptcy, and foreclosure is not an option. Whether or not the collection agency chooses to go to court to get a judgement is up to them.

This is beyond the scope of TUG. See a lawyer. It may be that the OP is judgement proof- too low of income and no assets to seize. An attorney can tell him.

Jim
Click to expand...

Jim is 100% right in this. Once a debt is transferred to a credit card it is very tough to be rid of. Bankruptcy is often used to deal with credit card debt but $8,000 isn't really enough to go bankrupt, imo.

Bill
 
55534442 said:
At some point our entire Wyndham debt was put on the Barclay card so we no longer owed anything more on our purchase to Wyndham. It was all owed to Barclay.
Click to expand...
OK. Crucial statement. You owed Wyndham, then you owed Barclay. Once Wyndham is paid on the original sale, they can relax because you only owe maintanence fees. If you stop paying, they can resell your deed or points. Even though Wyndham "introduced" you to Barclay, they are 2 separate companies and your debt is to Barclay. They or their agents can pursue you. If YOU transferred the debt to Barclay, it's all on you. If Wyndham did, you might have a case. You need to check your records. Reread posts 4 and 6 above. Good observations. And consider contacting a lawyer when you get the scenario figured out.
 
Do not respond to them. You have already taken a big credit hit. Any further hit won't be worth the debt, if it is a decent $$ amount. Find out the exact date you last made a payment. They want a payment plan because this will reset the statute of limitations, which is typically 4 years. If you last paid in 2017, it likely will expire this year, which is why they are now calling you.

Research the state of limitations in your state. After this expires, they can no longer collect or sue you.
 
You can certainly sell or surrender the TS to Wyndham Ovations. The resale prices are up as of late. You may be able to get $1K-$2K or a little more depending on what it is.
 
davidvel said:
Do not respond to them. You have already taken a big credit hit. Any further hit won't be worth the debt, if it is a decent $$ amount. Find out the exact date you last made a payment. They want a payment plan because this will reset the statute of limitations, which is typically 4 years. If you last paid in 2017, it likely will expire this year, which is why they are now calling you.

Research the state of limitations in your state. After this expires, they can no longer collect or sue you.
Click to expand...
Also, don't make any more payments. Even a "good faith" payment of $5 reaffirms the debt and restarts the clock.
 
It is 99% likely that you are being hounded by a company that purchased the debt. Credit Card companies, especially large ones like Barclay's write off delinquent debt at the 6 to 7th month mark.

If you make any response to the debt collection people, they will continue to pursue you.

As mentioned above, speaking to a lawyer would be a good idea. If you do not have money for a lawyer, perhaps someone could provide the name of a good public service legal assistance project.
 
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@55534442
I mentioned this post to my wife, who's a lawyer, well versed in elder and family law as well as estate and bankruptcy. She says you should not pay anything to the debt collector, but if you choose to demand that they produce IN WRITING whatever documents they might have that they feel authorizes them to collect this debt. This is in accordance to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. They MUST produce it, You should make this demand in writing. TSs routinely sell 'bad debt' to collection agencies that are actually in-house offices.

You don't mention what state you reside in, and they all have different statutes of limitation, (ours is 5 years) on credit card debt, so if your last action on this Barclay card was in '17, you could be very close to running out their clock to be able to get a judgement.

In short, have them provide evidence that the debt is even actually owed. Tell them not to call and that all correspondence must be written. If they call, jot down the date and time- and don't answer.

Don't lose sleep over this. You seem to be free of Wyndham, and (imo) they have scant chance of getting a judgement against you, and in view of your diagnosis, and the passing of your wife, this is just a small bump in the road. We wish you well! Keep us in the loop.

Jim
 
Can a collection agency do anything more to me than a 7 year statement of delinquency on my credit report? Can they go to small claims court or any other court?
 
Is this possibly a scam ? We get calls saying we owe money, but they don’t address us by name, these go straight to voice mail and then deleted. We don’t owe any money to whoever is doing this scam. If a call comes in like this ignore it or block them from calling. Sorry for your loss and hope you get this resolved without any more worry.
 
55534442 said:
Can a collection agency do anything more to me than a 7 year statement of delinquency on my credit report? Can they go to small claims court or any other court?
Click to expand...
Short answer, sure. If they can show that you actually owe the debt, AND they have the authority in your state, you can be sued, and they can seize assets up to the judgement amount, like garnishment, or property, but you are far from that point. Odds are that your home is safe, as are SS, and retirement accounts. You may not need a high credit score at this stage of life. That's what I mean by 'judgement proof'. They will more likely just let the clock run out and write off the debt. The amount you owe is not worth them putting a lot of time and money into sueing you.
 
The OP is probably well beyond the time to dispute with Barclays. However the OP should demand from the Collection Agency any and all original proof of the alleged Debt. Big places like Wyndham and Barclays are notorious for losing or misplacing essential documents, especially when a debt is sold. During the last Recession many Home Owners were taken to Court over home loans. In most cases the loan had been sold several times and it was not the original Finance Company but one that was several down on the resell of the Debt that was going after the Home Owner. The Original Documents could not be located so the current Holder of the Debt had a very difficult time going after the Home Owner because they could not prove the Debt Obligation.
 
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@55534442 You should go to:

Credit InfoCenter Forums

www.creditinfocenter.com www.creditinfocenter.com

They can help you deal with collection agencies and how to answer a summons pro se if you decide to go that route. The important thing is not to let any summons go unanswered, either through a lawyer or pro se. If dealing with a CAs (collection agencies), they depend on default judgments.

If the debt has been sold, documentation can be sketchy, if you are dealing with an OC (original creditor) the documentation is rigid, but you may be able to negotiate a cents on the dollar pay off.

Determine with whom you are dealing:
  • Third Party CA (dogmeat)
  • In house CA (be very careful dealing with these people)
Be aware of your state's Statute of Limitation, it is your friend.
 
I have a brother who once was wealthy, but a motorcycle accident that left him mentally disabled, unable to work, with no assets or income, except SS disability. He now lives in a nursing home.

For a while, creditors and debt collectors hounded him, sometimes thru me, but eventually, most gave up. One or two actually got a judgment, but quickly found out that he was "judgment proof," meaning he had no assets or income they could attach or garnish to enforce the judgment, so their judgments were worthless. Certain assets and income are exempt from creditor claims under federal + state laws.

Bankruptcy can discharge a CC debt, but it need not come to that... For not much $$, a lawyer can send them a letter under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and they'd have to stop harassing you. The lawyer can also advise on whether you are in fact judgment proof.

In the meantime, ignore their letters and rely on caller ID to duck their calls.
If you have verbal contact, do not agree to anything... Just say, "I'm not talking to you."

.
 
Thanks for this info, I’m in a similar situation but with Exploria timeshare. Debt collectors have mailed me a letter on exploria’s behalf which have us very worried. It’s good to know this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
cesarleo183rd said:
Thanks for this info, I’m in a similar situation but with Exploria timeshare. Debt collectors have mailed me a letter on exploria’s behalf which have us very worried. It’s good to know this.
Click to expand...

Passepartout has the right info.

I'll add this: Write down your entire financial situation. Pad and paper. Write down every asset you have. Write down every debt you owe. Write your income streams (if any) and write your recurring expenses. Get it all down on paper and write down absolutely everything. Even the frivolous expenses. Always be brutally honest with your doctor and your attorney -- it makes life easier.

And then take that financial info to either a bankruptcy attorney or a legal aid service (if that is offered in your area). Doing your homework in advance will make this go smoother when you're face to face with an attorney. You're unlikely to find pro-bono bankruptcy help. But there are "credit fixer" offices that can try to talk your creditors into reducing/eliminating debt.

And try to hire the right person for the job. Here's how I hire attorneys. I ask an attorney who specializes in a completely different field for a referral. For instance, for bankruptcy, I would call a criminal defense or patent attorney and ask who they recommend for bankruptcy. Call a few of them and see if a pattern emerges. If everyone recommends Anne "The Hammer" Quackenbush from Bankruptcy Pros LLC -- call her straightaway.

For instance, my wife and I need wills drawn up. We could use some general estate planning. I'm going to call a few tax/real estate attorneys and ask for referrals.
 
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