Originally Posted by jimmycooper

Wrong. Again.

These are unsecured credit card debts in which the issuing banks have written off their losses and have sold the debt for pennies on the dollar to speculative debt collectors. He does not owe anything to the debt collectors and if he were to call the bank and offer to pay the balance in full, they would not be able to accept it because they no longer hold the rights to his debt and cannot collect on it. Therefore, he owes nothing to the bank.

Now he's dealing with a company who wants make a profit on an investment. A company that likely has a call center full of people being paid to essentially mislead and harass their 'leads' as much as they possibly can within the legal limits. He doesn't owe them anything.

Not only that, but all the possible damage that can be done to one's credit has already been done. There is absolutely no reason to give them a dime.

MrMaxwell
Here's what you need to do. Send the collection agency a certified letter explaining that you have absolutely no intent on paying them and that, should they ever feel the need to contact you at some point, they must do so in writing. It sucks to be in this situation, but you are where you are and you have to do what you have to do. The debts that you defaulted on will start coming off your credit reports in about 5-7 years. You can start rebuilding your credit with prepaid cards and other various tactics in 3 or so years. If the decision to not pay debt collectors continues to weigh on your conscious after you get back on your feet, give the $4K to charity.