January 26th, 2010 | 
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So my husband recieved a letter dated for October, just this month. It was from a Regent Collection Agency/ Assets Management. The letter stated that he owed a large amount of money regarding a U.S. Bank account that he closed 2 years ago and that he had 14 days to reply or a lawsuit would be filed against him.
We called Regent and they told us that they woudl not provide a break down, only that part of the money was an overdraft from the closed account and the rest was interest accrued. They offered either a one time or two time payment plan where if we agreed, they would take 300 off of the total owed. They also had my husband’s social and our debit card # on file and asked when we would like to start the payments. They also said that if we didn’t pay they could take it directly out of my husband’s military account. WTF.
I called U.S. Bank to get details on the account and they had nothing. NADA. They said that we were no longer in their records whatsoever and that Regent is responsible for everything.
I called Regent back and they said that if we didn’t make the payments they would get an attorney, take us to court, and that they have a signed afffadavit from a U.S. Bank banker that would win their case. They also REFUSED to send me a copy of the letter they sent my husband or any sort of verification or proof of why we owed the money.
I have since talked to an attorney, changed my debit card and bank account #, and have recorded the dates, times and names of the people from Regent I have talked to. I also went online and found a bunch of sites that say Regent is a scam.
What do you think? What else should I do? Legally we are not liable for a debt that can not be proven…correct?
Posted in Uncategorized | 
Tags: Amount Of Money, assets management, debit card, overdraft, proof, time payment plan, u s bank
It’s a scam. There’s been a lot of this stuff happening since the recession. What these rotters do is buy up old debts, and then call up and harass the debtor until he’s so intimidated that he pays up. They have to get a garnishment on your hubby’s account, and that takes time.
DON’T PAY! As far as I know, they MUST give you all the details on the debt. Let them take you to court. These collection agencies are nothing but vultures; some of them are even convicted felons. At any rate, you will get notice if court action has been taken against you. It may be that they will end up spending more on attorney’s fees than the debt is worth. In the meantime, don’t aswer their calls.
You’ve done the right things so far. Don’t let these a*****es ruin your day. They’re just scum.
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You must understand that unsecured debt "expires" and becomes a "charge off" unless you acknowledge it, then the clock resets on how long collection efforts can go on.
Collection agents get a % of what they collect and will say near anything to get you to pay something.
Google "Fair debt collections and practices act" report violators to the authorities.
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1. You probably do owe a debt, the bank most likely sold the debt to the credit collection agency.
2. By law, they must provide you in writing the details of the debt.
3. They are just trying to use scare tactics to get you to pay them money.
4. They will not take you to court, because then they would have to expalin why they never put anything in writing.
5. What companies like that do, is buy unpaid debt, then robo call and use pressure tactics to get people to pay, if theydo not get a quick response, then they sell the debt to another agency and the process starts all over again.
6. Since you contacted the original creditor and they have no records, just ignore them.
7. They sent your husband a letter, did it state what the debty was, reasons, etc ?
8. they are not going o send you a letter, since they are after your husband.
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sounds WAY hinky to me. i’d let them take you to court, and make them prove their case to a judge, because it doesnt look like they’re willing to prove their case to you.
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Basically they are trying to intimidate you into paying. The less they have the more they will try to intimidate you. Collection agencies are not known as the most ethical people.
If what you say is true, and there is nothing that suggests that what you say isn’t anything but the truth, that the account was closed and that the bank has nothing against you (e.g. a late check or automatic payment that came through after the account closed, which should not have been paid out, but returned, or they delayed actually closing the account and you had a fee charge against the account, which would appear as a check, and an overdraft), then you might have to listen to Regents threaten.
My advice to you is to tell them to sue. They have to prove the debt in court. And the fact that you closed the account believing there were no outstanding checks left against the account and the bank never tried to get in touch with you if an outstanding check did come through is in your favor.
I would also tell them to stop calling or writing, that they have a choice to either sue you or drop the matter. Once you tell them to stop calling, they have to comply by United States law.
Further, get a copy of your credit report. If they have placed negative information on the report, challenge the information. If they do not back the information with proof, the information, by law, should come off the report. If they do reply with proof, you can write a letter which explains the situation that will be placed with your credit report. In the letter note that you contacted the bank and the bank told you that you had no outstanding balance with it.
If you are truly in the clear with the bank, then you can play hardball with Regents.
And this is from personal experience. I once had a collection agency challenge me on something I did not owe. They threatened to sue me. I told them I had the records that would prove me in the clear and the next communication I received from them better be a lawsuit since they did not have my permission to contact me by mail, e-mail or phone in the future concerning that debt. Not only did I not have to go to court, but the matter never appeared on my credit report.
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