Yesterday I received a call from Van Ru about a debt that I owe. After to speaking to the woman (that was nice) I asked if she could mail me a letter with the said debt, the account number, and the amount that Chase would like to settle the account for.
I was informed that they had mailed me a letter on April 2. Since, I had not responded to the letter they were now calling me to collect on the debt. I informed her that I did not receive a letter from them. She told me that it was their policy not to send another letter out to the debtor once they began making phone calls.
I asked her if she did not send me a letter then how was I to know that the debt they were collecting on was my debt. I even told her she could e-mail it to me or fax it to me so that I could verify the debt. She refused.
Today I received another call. This person was not nice and proceeded to raise her voice to me after 2 minutes on the phone. She told me that it is my debt and that I had not done what I should have done to clear up the debt so it is my problem.
I informed her that she was not my mother and told her that she needed to stop screaming at me over the phone. I told her that I am willing to pay the debt once I get a letter verifying that it is my debt and that I would agree to the settlement once I had something in writing. This just caused her to scream more and use some choice words. Then she hung up in my face.
I called back and asked to speak to her supervisor. The supervisor got on the phone raising his voice to me and telling me that they would not send out a letter. So I told him I would not pay and I hung up on him.
I called Chase and after being transferred 5 times I was able to talk to someone who would be able to help me with the account. They will agree to work with me to pay off the balance. The crazy thing is that the settlement over that Chase offered was 500.00 more than what Van Ru was telling me that Chase would settle for over the phone.
I think that Van Ru was trying to get me to agree to a low price without having anything in writing and then send me something telling me I still owed them money after I had paid off their settlement price.
I did some research on fair debt practices before I called Van Ru back. When I called I asked for their mailing address. The employee that I asked was so taken aback that she immediately transferred me to her manager. The same idiot I had talked to last time.
He tried talking calmly and let me know that because I had not done right with Chase to pay off the account they would not send me a letter with a settlement offer because there was no guarantee that I would pay off the debt. How stupid is that by way of explanation.
So I told him I know my rights. Since you have called me by right you should put a letter in the mail within 5 days so that I can verify the debt. He started raising his voice again. He said I don't have to do that because we sent out a letter on April 2. I keep telling ya'll I never got the letter. So, I said I am now disputing the debt.By law since I have disputed the debt you have to send me something in the mail proving that the debt is mine. He then told me that we were going around in circles. I told him that his company was shady and that I had read all the complaints about Van Ru. He said all companies have complaints. People complain about McDonald's but they still go there.
I informed him that I did not call to argue with him I only called for Van Ru's address. I told him I had talked to Chase and that they had agreed to take my account back in house and put me on one of their programs. He told me I was lying and then that Chase was lying to me.
Once again, for the third time I asked for the address. He asked why. I told him because I will be sending a letter to your company stating not to contact me by phone anymore regarding this debt. He said I hope you know that the letter has to be received within a certain time frame. I said the letter will be sent by Certified mail on Monday.
He reluctantly gave me the address.
Today I sent a scathing e-mail to their corporate office and am eager to hear their response. Going forward I will also be making complaints to everyone that I can complain to here in Louisiana and in Illinois. Yes I owe the debt and in time I can pay and will pay the debt, but no one has the right to call and basically scream at you and attempt to demoralize you over the phone.
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