Hi All,
I am currently dealing with a debt collection agency on behalf of my mother. The agency has purchased an unsecured personal loan from one of the big four banks and is currently seeking payment. The debt ended up in the debt collectors hands, basically because it was in arrears and my mother wasn't aware of the seriousness of the situation.
As I have not dealt with debt collectors before, it is a little scary, so i have been trying to find out what rights Mum has. As she doesn't personally have the money to pay the debt, the money is coming from a relative to settle the debt in full in a couple of weeks. The only other way I can see the collection agency getting the money is by forcing her to sell her house through the courts.
So I have a number of questions listed below which any comments would be appreciated:
a) What documentation should be requested from the collection agency to prove the debt? I know the debt exists, but just want to dot my i's and cross my t's. We have requested original loan documents, however have not yet received those.
b) Being an unsecured loan, I am certain that they would have purchased the debt from the bank at a much lower price the face value of the loan. This is probably a stupid question, but I assume that they have the right to collect the full amount of the bank loan and not just the amount that they purchased it for?
c) When it comes to agreeing the payout of the debt, what conditions should we put on the payment? One will be receiving the loan documents as requested per above.
d) I don't want the debt to be paid and then years later have someone else come chasing it as well. Is this something that needs to be removed from mum's credit record once the debt is paid?
e) If the matter were to go to the courts, what % of legal fees can be recovered by the agency? The debt is approx $40K. I read somewhere else that between 40% and 60% of legal fees are recoverable.
f) Bonus points - just our of curiosity, does anyone know what a collection agency would buy a debt like this for? I am thinking about requesting some sort of a discount on Mum's behalf.
I know its a long post, however would appreciate any feedback on any of the points above.
Thanks in advance.
I am currently dealing with a debt collection agency on behalf of my mother. The agency has purchased an unsecured personal loan from one of the big four banks and is currently seeking payment. The debt ended up in the debt collectors hands, basically because it was in arrears and my mother wasn't aware of the seriousness of the situation.
As I have not dealt with debt collectors before, it is a little scary, so i have been trying to find out what rights Mum has. As she doesn't personally have the money to pay the debt, the money is coming from a relative to settle the debt in full in a couple of weeks. The only other way I can see the collection agency getting the money is by forcing her to sell her house through the courts.
So I have a number of questions listed below which any comments would be appreciated:
a) What documentation should be requested from the collection agency to prove the debt? I know the debt exists, but just want to dot my i's and cross my t's. We have requested original loan documents, however have not yet received those.
b) Being an unsecured loan, I am certain that they would have purchased the debt from the bank at a much lower price the face value of the loan. This is probably a stupid question, but I assume that they have the right to collect the full amount of the bank loan and not just the amount that they purchased it for?
c) When it comes to agreeing the payout of the debt, what conditions should we put on the payment? One will be receiving the loan documents as requested per above.
d) I don't want the debt to be paid and then years later have someone else come chasing it as well. Is this something that needs to be removed from mum's credit record once the debt is paid?
e) If the matter were to go to the courts, what % of legal fees can be recovered by the agency? The debt is approx $40K. I read somewhere else that between 40% and 60% of legal fees are recoverable.
f) Bonus points - just our of curiosity, does anyone know what a collection agency would buy a debt like this for? I am thinking about requesting some sort of a discount on Mum's behalf.
I know its a long post, however would appreciate any feedback on any of the points above.
Thanks in advance.