Two years ago I had my car repaired at a body shop. It was a hellish experience to say the least. I was stuck without a car for a good 2 months & had to rely on biking, rides, public transportation, etcera 2 get 2 work. Anyhow I got my car back after I paid the deductibles & 4 some extra work I had done. The body shop's policy states that they don't release a car until everything is paid off. Well, about 2 months after getting my car back they said I still owed them $. I told them they could take me to court because I wasn't going to pay the $1,000 plus dollars they were seeking with the less than stellar service they provided. Last year I received a letter and call from a supposed collection company saying theu were going to garnish my wages. I then sent them all my evidence in the form or receipts & then they stopped calling me, mailing me, & they never returned my messages. My ? is this: could they be a phony collection company set up to rip me off bc I refuse 2 pay the shop?
They do exist and you handled it right. These collection guys buy bad debt for pennies on the dollar and then through intimidation try to collect on them. If you give them any money they get legal power over you to collect more. By paying them a little you acknowledge that you owe them money. So they often sucker you in by saying Can you just pay a little on the debt. If you refuse to deal with them they have no legal power to do anything. You should never pay off old debt because it will do you more harm then good. It is a big business these days for people who have no morals. You did good.
Don't give em the time of day.
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