Dear Dave,
We did a rent-to-own deal to buy a musical instrument. We were late paying it off, and the company charged us a $250 late fee and then sold that debt to a collector about four months ago. Now, the collector says we owe $1,800 with interest. We’ve asked them for documentation and tried to talk to them about making payment arrangements, but they’re not interested. What should we do?
Kerr
Dear Kerr,
I wouldn’t fool with any documentation at this point. By law you can accrue only so much interest on a bad debt. At this point, they’re charging you 5,000 percent interest, and that’s illegal. Even payday lenders don’t charge this kind of interest, and they’re scum. There’s no way I’d send these clowns $1,800!
Get in touch with them and let them know that you’ll send a cashier’s check for $250 if they’ll provide you with a letter stating that the $250 will settle the account in full. If they don’t like this offer and they threaten to sue, tell them to go jump in the lake. I’m sure a judge would love to hear about this!
- Dave