Posts Tagged collection companies
Scranton Taxpayers May Have Received Collection Letters That They Might Not Have Deserved
Posted by Mallory Megan in 1 on March 9th, 2010
More than 200 Scranton taxpayers may have gotten a letter from a debt collection company that they did not deserve. The notices are for unpaid garbage fees that may have actually been paid. According to officials, the garbage bill itself for 2009 could be to blame for more than 200 collection notices sent to city taxpayers in error last week.
They believe the issue may have been the way that the bills were folded into the envelopes. The bill is mailed along with a perforated line above a bar code that identifies the customer, but because a crease created by the folding of the envelope, a second line under the bar code was formed, causing people to pull the bill off without the bar code.
Bills without a bar code would cause a bank not to register the payment. The mailing house that Scranton hired to stuff the envelopes was blamed. If the bill was mailed to the bank, it would be the pay stub in their payment that goes directly into a lock box. Then the stubs are scanned and the bar code is read. After that the bank sends the town a list of those who had come through based on the bar code readings.
Representatives from the collections company who sent out the letters say that they are taking every dispute from people who may have paid very seriously. Company protocol permits consumers to dispute a notice within 30 days of getting a collections letter. Additionally, representatives claimed that no bill will be collected while they are still sorting out the issue.
The agency will look into each claim from those who alleged they had paid the bill and gotten the notice. Those that they think have paid will be absolved from their debt and will no longer get collections notices and will not be pursued by the collection company.
Mallory Megan works for a collections agency that works with a debt collection lawyer. She also writes articles on business, finance, consumer spending and collections agencies.
Town Demands Car Dealership Pay Up Or Ship Out
Posted by Mallory Megan in Currency & Finance on February 20th, 2010
In the town of Stamford, Connecticut, the village is threatening to sue a car dealership, Carriage House so it can get it to pay $7,450 in fines for forty five false burglar alarms over the past six years. There was a grand total of thirty one property owners that got notices on January the fifteenth that were ordering payment for false alarm fines. They were told to pay the money within thirty days or face legal action.
The town is owed $74,375 in fines and this is the first time it has gotten so tough about collecting the money that is owed to them. Out of the thirty one people that received a notice, thirteen have resolved their cases.
Residences and businesses are permitted to have one false alarm a year without being penalized with a fine. The system goes like this: starting at fifty dollars for a second false alarm, one hundred for the third, one hundred and fifty for the fourth and two hundred dollars for each false alarm after, businesses are fined accordingly.
The town does not use a collection agency, or charge interest on unpaid fines, which might be why they are having trouble cutting down on the problem with false alarms. The owner of the car dealership fingered a faulty alarm system as the source of the problem and alleged that he would get to the bottom of the problem within a week, but this hasn’t happened.
The owner is planning to schedule a March hearing before the appeals board in order to fight the fines. Alleging that it was the fault of the alarm company, he said that he is trying to get the alarm company to pay off the debt. But he was not able to identify the alarm company, stating that it had changed ownership so he was not clear on the name.
For the sake of being fair, the town discounts false alarms that took place that might have been the fault of the alarm company. But for now, the owner of the car dealership remains in arrears.
Mallory McGuinness is employed by a debt collection company. She also writes stories on business and finance, the credit industry, and debt collection.
The Skinny On Paying Your Mortgage With Credit Cards
Posted by Mallory Megan in Currency & Finance on February 8th, 2010
Whenever it is being allowed by landlords, it’s smart to pay your rent with credit cards. Not only will you have the money to pay the credit card bill right away, you can earn cash back for using your Premium Cards that offer benefit.
The cash back isn’t the only pro. By utilizing credit cards, you put off your payment by at least 30 days. That permits you to gain interest on the money while it’s put into your savings account. The more time you can put off making payments without getting penalized, you will be in a better financial position.
This is comparable to how big businesses work. A big vendor for a small company has the ability to ask for payment for goods at once; a small vendor for a large company has to provide goods on the large company’s terms. This usually means that the large vendor can wait before paying; it’s better to delay payments than to let investments earn more interest of appreciation. American Express will begin to allow card holders to pay their mortgage using their credit cards, earning points along the way.
While this may work for some people, it can be lethal for anyone who cannot afford their mortgage. If the full credit card bill can’t be paid each month, borrowers will be faced with credit interest charges on top of their mortgage interest.
Before you choose to go obtain an American Express card, remember that in order to qualify for making mortgage payments through the card, the borrower would be required to pay an enrollment fee of $395 to the lender. This fee means it will take a longer time to make rewards earned by using the cards worthwhile. It can take over a year to reap the benefits if the borrower uses American Express Blue Cash.
Mallory McGuinness is employed bya debt collection agency.
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