You'll need to call and ask the debt consultant you talked to for clarification, since she knows all your details there.

Don't worry if you don't "get" how it works on your first chat. Its a debt relief program that breaks new boundaries, so if anything that doesn't seem clear just ask them to clarify, they are there to help, not to judge you.

RichardC, a question for you. I contacted someone at Total Debt Freedom and she says the best thing is to settle 2 other credit cards that aren't in trouble at the same time. But I can't afford to keep up regular payments to the 3 cards AND make payments to TDF while they negotiate on my behalf. She says it will take 8 months at least to accumulate enough money to make a lump sum payment that will be meaningful and help the negotiation process. Stopping payments to all 3 cards (and remember, only one is behind) for 8 months while money accumluates with TDF seems foolish. Am I not understanding something in this process?

Thanks!

Exactly.

These stories of hardship will always fall on deaf ears, they clearly don't care.

You are just a number to them, as soon as the debt ages to a certain point, it goes to a collection agency.

lol I don't expect to pull on their heart strings because I don't believe they have any!

But seriously, my beef was that I had communicated with the lender when I got into trouble and followed through exactly the way I said I would and they sent the debt to a collection agency anyway without even telling me. Makes me wonder why I humiliated myself explaining the situation to a different person every two weeks for months when the outcome was exactly the same.

The interest rate is around 28.8% and it will continue to accrue.

Do not give them details about where you work; MJR does sue on credit card debt so you may end up getting sued and with a garnishment if you aren't careful. Read this article for some good tips to prepare you for some of the stories these bill collectors will tell you: http://www.totaldebtfreedom.ca/articles/article_13.htm

Original creditors don't get involved much once they send it to a collection agency. They will only pull it back if you have been very poorly mishandled and have recorded proof of it ( IE sworn at, called names etc. )

You could try and approach Canadian Tire and offer your payments but quite often they just refer you back to the collection agency. I know you think your reason for falling behind might be unique but everyone has a reason for falling behind in their payments, not many people do it on purpose so your story isn't likely to pull on any preverbal heart strings back at Canadian Tires head office.

You could also settle for much less then what they offered you if you have access to a lump sum of money today, otherwise you could sign up for a debt settlement plan like ours over 36 months and pay about $200/m which would include the debt negotiation fee.

You do have options; don't let them bully you around.

I ran into financial difficulty at the end of last year and let my payments slide on my Canadian Tire MC, making $20 to $40 payments monthly for 4 months (total is just over $13,000). I was in contact with the credit card people every two weeks, and told them I was looking for a job and then that I had found one that started January 5 and I would make payments every two weeks when I got paid. The last time I talked to them was a day or two before Christmas, and I did start making payments exactly when I said I would, $150, $200 and $225 over a six week period (I pay my bills over the internet). I have been away at a training facility for my new job for the entire time and so I haven't been home to get mail - my phone number is a cell phone and to my knowledge they have never tried to contact me - no messages anyway as the phone is turned off all day while I'm training. I won't know if they mailed a letter until I get home this weekend.

To my great surprise I received a phone call from a collection agency (MJR) today saying my account had been closed January 10 and sent to them. I said I would continue making $200 payments every two weeks, but of course that isn't good enough for them - they said making payments is a privilege and they would not accept any payments unless I paid the full balance immediately. Then a "supervisor" came on the line and said I could settle for $10,000 and she would refer me to a lender who would look after me.

I told them I had a new job but I would not give them any details about how much I earn. This ticked her off completely. I said if they would not accept my payments my only other recourse would be bankruptcy. She just said she wouldn't work with me unless I gave her financial details, and we ended the call with nothing resolved. I have no assets and no husband for them to pursue, just the new job, which they know about.

I haven't called Canadian Tire MC yet - I wanted someone's opinion on how to proceed first. Is there any chance of getting the account out of the hands of the collection agency since I was still making payments in good faith to CT MC without even knowing things had passed to an agency? Is there any point in calling them to try to work things out now?

If the account has to stay with the agency, will interest continue to accrue? Who sets the rate if it does?

Thanks for any help, this has really caught me off guard and I don't know what to do.