Just an update on the situation, any thoughts?

After calling me a few times and me not responding in any sort of way AllianceOne decided to send me a letter stating that it is a "special settlement offer" and here is what it says;

"Please be advised we are the authorized collection agency for the above mentioned creditor and on their behalf are willing to consider a full and final settlement of your account. Our client has authorized us to reduce the balance on your past due account by 40%, and will accept 7559.55 as a settlement. Upon receipt and clearance of your payment, we will immediately cease collection activity and will notify our client that you have satisfied your account. For accounting purposes, your settlement must be received within 30 calendar days after the date of this letter. For complete payment options, please see information on the reverse."

Is this typicall after a few year of me not repsonding? why are they acting so nice trying to offer me a discount, telling me they will cease collection activity and so on?

I'm still not going to pay this but was wondering if this was just the collections company realizing that the chances of them getting me to pay is slim to none so they are trying to act nice and make it look like they will take less in the off chance that I come out of the woodwork and pay them?

thanks.

**ALL RIGHTS RESERVED -PRIVATE** The post by rickstarr is wrong! You don't have to wait to remove collection agents from your credit report! You can get any collection agency off your credit report within a month or so. Also squash the crook lawyers too. This goes deeper than many are willing to learn. FIRST KNOW YOU ARE NOT THE LEGAL CORPORATION (your all caps name -that is your corporation -and you are the authorized representative for that corporation the private living man/woman -whose name is spelled in upper-lower case letters or like this John-Henry: Doe). When you sign documents always put "comma authorized representative, all rights reserved". That separates you from the all capital name entity. When you write to these scumbags put "WITHOUT PREJUDICE" (reserves all rights they cannot sue) at the top of the letter and make sure the letter has the reg mail no on it (get a bunch of registered mail slips from the post office and keep at home. www.canadapost.ca -click "personal" then enter tracking no. ..tracks the time of delivery and shows you the name and signature of the one who got the package). Keep all reg mail receipts as this your proof of communication/your guarantee in handling your affairs. Now what is a "security"? It includes a debt obligation =commercial instruments with your signature on them. Your signature got you the loan the bank/lender gave you nothing! Your signature is the credit because there is no money backed by gold and silver (Read Modern Money Mechanics)...Such as mortgages, credit card loans, car loans, loans. Search creditors in commerce dot ca to find out how to file your taxes with CRA properly. Meaning by just filing properly you cancel (or "SETTLE") ALL DEBT. Canadians can also file taxes with the IRS (call them first to get a unincorporated, individual EIN No. sole proprietorship status not a corporation status! INDIVIDUAL status!). Some of you have filed with the IRS but not gotten back the return because you don't have the "unincorporated"- "individual" EIN connected in the system to the SIN). This pays off all loans and debts including mortgages. Back to CRA -First just call and get an RZ account (assigned by CRA). They will ask if you are dealing in securities. The answer is "hell yes". An RZ account is a tax exempt account which allows you to file T5 (forms). You also must file T5008 forms which transfer the debt obligation (the securities), which places you as the registered owner/holder of the debt. PROPER FILING legally pays the loan off via the CRA (WHICH IS A FOREIGN AGENCY CONNECTED TO THE IMF/WORLD BANKf -NOT A CANADIAN CO.). This displaces the so called creditor legally -pays them legally! Study the Securities Transfer Act in your province. It reveals the rules for collectors to acquire the right to collect (the lender made a deal with them to collect from you but not if you are the "entitlement holder". A collection agency/law office cannot legally collect once you file the taxes properly (YOU CAN REDO YOUR TAXES BACK TO INFINITY BUT ONLY GET PAID BACK THREE YEARS) -oh did i forget to tell you CRA will send you the check for what you thought you owed? Read the laws and you will see the truth! learn about the UCC =uniform commercial code. In Canada its called the PPSA -Personal Property Security Act. Again the proper tax filing says hey I am the true creditor/lender (thats right it is illegal for banks to loan money in North America),and pay and settle this debt Mr. tax man.. Call the CRA order line for the forms and how to guides which you get for FREEEEE!!! 1800 959-2221. Ask for tons so if you make mistakes... T5's, the guide, T5008's, the guide, T5 summarys, T5008 summaries, schedule 3 (=the T1) request for loss carryback forms. You will need to write a fiduciary letter or letter of instruction to the CRA. Mine says under penalty of perjury and 100% witholding. i consider those code words for do this or your in trouble. My experience is the dont want to help you and had no clue what I was asking them...thats not a mistake that the ones answering phoned really dont know anything about this...its called the system and the bankers that run this globe. Together we will create a better universe for our children to enjoy.

Thank You Rickstarr.

First things first: relax! The SOL does not reset itself just because they give you a call or leave a message. The SOL is only likely to start again from the minute you make a payment to the collector or acknowledge the debt in writing or on a recorded phone call.

Get a copy of your TransUnion and Equifax credit reports. You are allowed to get one free copy of each report in the mail every year; go to both www.transunion.ca and www.equifax.ca to find out more information on requesting your free credit report from each credit bureau.

Take note of what your credit report says about this debt. If the "date of last activity/date of first delinquency" is older than 2 years, nobody is allowed to harass you at all regarding the debt, nor can they garnish wages or get a judgement in court against you. Period. You don't have any financial obligation to pay, nor any incentive to as if you do pay even $0.01 towards the debt, you will reset the SOL and they will have every right to take you to court over the matter. Since you were defrauded in the first place, the moral obligation to settle this debt is clearly not present.

These situations make me so angry as the average guy has no idea what to do in these situations and has no clue as to what rights they have as a consumer.

The collection agency can't do anything. You can stop the phone call harassment; write a letter demanding they cease to contact you via phone and request that all further communication be in writing as per your rights as a consumer. Make sure you send the letter via registered mail so that you have a paper trail you can show to the authorities if the phone calls do not stop.

Dig around and get the collection agency's fax numbers as well, and fax them a copy of this letter. Make sure you keep the fax confirmation sheet that prints out of the fax machine as proof that you sent them a fax, and keep copies of the letters you send.

Never, ever, ever admit to anyone in writing or over the phone that you owe anybody any money, or else you run the risk of resetting the clock on the SOL. After 6 or 7 years from the "date of last activity", depending on where you live, TransUnion and Equifax are required by law to remove the negative information from your credit report.

Since this happened a few years ago, you'll likely only have a few more years to wait until the mess sorts itself out. In the mean time, start rebuilding your credit now by applying for a secured credit card, paying it off in full every month.

You probably won't ever be able to do business with CIBC again, but that's a small price to pay to carry on with your life and not lose any more sleep over this.

A few years back I was defrauded by someone I thought I could trust and the fraud happened through my bank account. All things totaled 12600 dollars was basically stolen from CIBC bank through my account. I was young and scared and didnt know what to do. Eventually CIBC reported the matter to police and I spoke with a nice officer and told him the entire story in multiple visits. He even provided me with a "photo lineup" of known con-artists because the man I named had been known to police. The Police couldnt press any charges against me because my story made sense and things added up to the fact that I was defrauded and was telling the truth. Although I think the con skipped town and have not spoken to the Police for almost 2 years The last thing the Cop said to me was that although it does appear I was defrauded and i will not be charged with fraud I am still on the hook for the money with the bank.

This is where Contact Resource Services comes in they did the whole phone tag thing, left messages on my answering machine that never stated that they were a collections company but was quite obvious what they were alluding to ( I live with my parents so when they hear these messages they might as well be hearing COLLECTIONS AGENCY CALLING), sent me mail stating I had 72 hours, 48 hours etc etc to comply and pay. After a while of them threatening everything from garnishes to court and me not ever talking to them either by phone or mail they stopped leaving messages. Although my house got a lot of calls over the last 2 years where no one ends up being on the other line and I suspect its a collections tactic to keep the debt current. Anyway after almost 2 years of them not leaving any messages I get a call from a new company Alliance One. They also leave the "this is very serious, call us back" message which I dont reply to. Then today May 19th I receive a letter (dated may 10th LOL because it gives me 72 hours to reply (may 13th) that would mean the letter is 6 days late) and its the same as the Contact Resource letter just different collections company. The only similarity is that they both had the same Reference code # so I assume Alliance one bought my debt from Conact Resource. I was hoping I was almost 2 years towards my SOL but this letter makes me feel awful because it means my time has restarted again. Should I just ignore Alliance One like I did with Conact Resource? should I call them and tell them that the Police said I was defrauded and they can take the matter up with them and the man who defrauded me who skipped the country? I dont know what to do I am only 24 and this ordeal has ruined my life like you wouldnt believe.