How do I avoid paying the collectors?

I disputed it with the credit bureau and didnt work. Now how do I approach the collection agency so that they drop my account or pay less than amt stated?
Additional Details
I didnt open the account so thats why i dont want to pay it all.

First, is this an OLD DEBT that was charged off a long time ago or a while back? Is it a debt that you settled or whatever with the lender or credit card company? If so, you may have been 'zombied'. The credit card company will sell off the 'bad debt' to another company. For example: You default on $1000. You haggle with the credit card company and then they finally just write it off (charge off) their books. Now a couple of years later, they figure, well, we can SELL this debt to the XYZ Collection agancy for $250, recover SOME of our loss and be done with it.

That is fine, but then XYZ, who now has your 'bad' debt, starts to DUN you for payment, even though it's written off. So after calls and letters you finally just give in and say "OK, I'll pay you $500. Do NOT do it. Do not talk to them or agree to anything.

If you agree and start making payments, you are on the hook. So credit card company recovers 1/4 of what you originally owed them (paid by the XYZ company of course) and now XYZ company has doubled their investment on you.

That is how zombie debt works. Sorry if I digressed there but it is something that needs to be talked about so people don't automatically think that they "owe" anything on a debt that was settlled years ago.

Having said all that, let's get to your original quesiton.

YOu said you disputed something with the credit bureau, howver, you did NOT mention anything what is owed or what they say you owe. The credit bureau has nothing to do with the collection agency. It works like this:

You borrow money from the ABC credit card company (or bank or credit union or whatever).

You agree to payment terms.

If you default, the lender will start hounding you for payment. Calls, letters, etc. If you stil do not talk to THEM about some alternate method (lower payments, lower interest rate, etc), they WILL send it to a collection agency.

First, your non payment will get reported to the three Credit Bureaus (Equifax, etc). That still has nothing to do with the collection agency.

The collection agency charges ABC credit card company a fee to collect, and you generallly will get those fees tacked on to what you owe.

So by time XYZ collection agency has the account, it's well past the time you SHOULD have called or talked to ABC Credit Card Company.

If you still ignore them, they CAN take you to court for a monetary judgment and then you have to pay or you will be held in contempt of court.

SO as to AVOID paying? There is no such thing other than changing your identity. That is illegal if you are avoiding debts.

You NEED to talk to the original creditor. If there is no amount OWED then they need to call off the dogs (collection agency) and the lender (or creditor) HAS to correct whatever erroneous information or derogatory information they reported about you to the credit bureaus. It can take a while to get it clean but it does work.

If all that fails, then YOU may have to consider talking to an attorney to clean it up. And that costs too....

Pay your bills.

the only thing you can do .. dont talk to anyone just dont pay.. a collection agency does not want to hear your side.. they earn their living collecting.. just chalk this up to experience if you are right then remember the lender did you wrong and then gave this whole case to someone to collect.. just go about your business andthen in a few years you can go to the origional lender and tell them you will now settile if they treat you fair ok gilermo.

depending on what type of debt it is... after seven years most things are dropped from your credit report. that's what i read. so if the bill is close to seven years old it may be removed from your record. if not you many want to approach the collection agency and tell them what you are willing to pay monthly. most collection agencies are flexible and will work with you. you just have to be firm and direct with what you say and how you say it.

You have been a victim of identity theft then which is a crime. If you know the person who did it then find them and make them pay or prosecute them.

You are allowed by law, to submit a written statement, to all three of the credit bureaus listed below, that will be subsequently filed with your credit history, explaining that you were a victim of identity theft. Here is your personal opportunity to say in your own words what happened.

Even credit issuing services that you didn't know were looking at your Credit Report, will see your statement without you having to send the report to them directly. Having this statement in your report, shows you made an attempt to clear up the intrusion, and not just after credit was denied you.

You also have the right to request any false information in your report be removed,

once you have proved it was due to identity theft. It may not be a breeze to get it removed, because there are those, who are not victims of identity theft, who may just want bad credit records removed, so that's why real proof is required. By submitting a statement to the credit bureaus, you do it only once, and not every time you're applying for credit.

Call and ask for a settlement amount... most of them will.

But they wont just drop it.

You have to pay what you owe. You can't go around and spend money and then not pay it back.

Be honest with yourself: If you really owe the amount, make it easy on yourself, call and negociate with the collectors. They may let you make small payment until the amount is paid off.
Keep in mind that the collectors will not drop unless they are contacted by your creditors asking to do so.

You have two options:

You can call them and ask them if they'll settle for 45% (I'd start there, they'll probably counteroffer - I'd aim for 60% to be the "actual" goal) - you still gotta pay 'em, but 60% is better than 100%.

You can search online for a "pay for delete" letter - you want to get it in writing to go this route (they sign it and send it back to you) - but, you offer to pay in full, or pay 75%, and in return they'll delete record of the collection from your credit report. This involves paying more, but also means that your credit gets better, faster.

Fantastic device called, uhm, hold on, the phone!

Call them, ask.

You have to pay what you owe, there's no way around that unless you lie.

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