My ex husband and I were barely living in a bad neighboorhood, and were not really even getting by. We had our first son by then, he was a baby, and he'd just lost his job. UCB started harrassing us about this bill, I'd tried to make payments on it here and there when I could, but never was able to do maybe more than $25-50 at a time. We were STRUGGLING. Living on $60 a wk in groceries, if LUCKY. (That included diapers, formula, etc).
I had actually managed to land a GREAT job at my Dad's job (JEEP!). We felt so blessed, life had actually started to turn around, I was working all hours, and we were starting to catch up. Then it happened... I got pregnant, and because of my condition while pregnant, I had to quit Jeep. That really crushed us. But, it was the job or the kid. (Sorry, no option there for me).
Well, like I said, I had tried to make payments as I could. UCB had taken a check we'd sent, and turned it over to Alexandria Vaneck, their attorney.in turn, they took this to a judge, without notifying us, and won a judgement against us. They sucked our bank account dry. All we had in there was RENT. They took it all.
Checks bounced, we asked the bank what was going on, THEY didn't even know. They told us there was a debit from our account to a company, but they couldn't tell which one. Great, now we couldn't pay rent... Had a baby on the way, one still in diapers, and our money just 'disappeared'. Then, two weeks later, we got a 'judgement' in the mail. 2 WEEKS LATER! (By then, the bank had already gotten back to us).
We HAD explained our situation with them, I wrote them letters... Each time I was met with cruel words, telling me things like, "Oh, you can't even take care of your first son, and you're having another one?" Who the hell would say something like that to another person? I hope that person reads this, and knows what damage they did to our family. I hope that maybe that jerk has a family himself, and has struggled to survive, starving HIMself, so HIS kids can eat. Or the other one I heard: "Ma'am, women are pregnant everyday, and THEY work to pay their bills". I'd like to give her a real good slap in the face. I have a real rough time carrying kids, I just can't keep 'em. My two boys are REAL miracles, my youngest managed to hang on, just barely, but he did (I knew he could make it, that's why I quit Jeep). They were starving a family, and only cared about their money.
Since that happened, a whole other chain of events set off, we had NO money to be able to deal with anything, tried to catch up as quick as we could, but just couldn't do it. It was a real blow. We eventually became homeless... Living at his parents' house. Everything just broke our family apart.
Just today, I got a call from them. My heart still drops when I hear a UCB collector on the phone. Mind you, I went through all that YEARS ago, but they wonder why people don't answer the phone. Change your damned attitude, it might work wonders. Again, life hasn't been a bowl of cherries. But I've tried. When you have NO job (company closed), you have NO money, and when you DO get another job, you have to catch up the utilities and rent first and foremost... That is a no brainer. That is survival. Tell this to them. They will tell you there's no excuse, that it's your fault for not having the education to have a better job, that would pay you more, so you CAN pay your bills, oh yes, they go THERE.
And people wonder why this world is so rotten? It's when people act like that toward eachother, and say that nonsensical crap. Walk a mile in another man's moccasins before you judge, jerk.
For the record, I used to be a collector myself. I never ONCE acted like that to anyone, kill em w/kindness, even the jerks, lol. (After talking with some of the 'jerks', they ended up just being regular joes like me, struggling, thinking we were going to be like UCB... Kid you not). There ARE agencies out there that will work w/you, UCB is just not one of them. We had people sending us Christmas cards for crying out loud, and we were bringing in the payments real good. There are different strategies to use. But UCB is just the bully of collection agencies... It's agencies like that that give collection agencies a bad face.
If you have NEVER struggled, if you've always had a silver spoon, if you're still living at Mommy and Daddy's only concerned about your personal bills, then it might be hard to see the other side of the coin, so to speak. If someone tells you to say these things to another person, and they threaten to fire you... Can't you see the horns on their head? It should be plain as day. No amount of money is worth MY soul, and you can take THAT to the bank. I know I was raised better than that, and I will not make someone cry, or worry, or break a damned family apart, because I need a paycheck. There are other jobs out there.
Well, I guess I'll get off my soapbox now. I'm pretty sure they are going to go after me with full guns again... I owe from school. When I left my ex, I tried to go back to school, but when Mom ain't home, it shows. I was working full time, and going to school 4 days out of the week, so the kids barely saw me. Let's just say, I choked on the $2500 bill, sucked it up, and quit school to be a Mom. I still have to work, but I have really seen the difference. I will not put my own career before my children.
I am not a bill dodger... I do not speak with that company, however. I will speak w/any other one, but not that one. I really hope they do not find out where I'm working, because they do garnish your checks... Which I think is just sick. What gives a COMPANY the right to rape your checks? That is just hogwash. That shows that things have gotten out of hand. How are you going to be able to pay your bills/rent/get food/live if you have some company that talks to you like that, taking your hard earned money from you and your kids. How can you get to work, if you have no $ to put gas in your car? Or buy insurance? Then lose your job, and STILL not be able to pay? Oh yeah, THERE'S logic for you. They make people homeless, then just get mad, cause they can't DO any more to them then.
If anyone is reading this, and dealing w/UCB too... Good luck, my friend. I sincerely mean that.
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