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If a $400 debt goes to collections, how much will it affect your credit?

N

notfred

Lifer
So, I got my truck towed. It's a beater truck, and they want $395 for me to go get it back. I basically told the guy 'fvck that, you can keep it". He says, "Well, it's going to collections and it'll affect your credit."

Anyway, how much would that affect my credit? Can they really affect my credit based on a service that someone else (apartment manager's office) ordered in the first place?

It's actually my dad's truck (still registered to him, he was going to give it to me), can they affect his credit based on this even though he had no way to know that it happened at all?

Is this disputable on a credit report? Should I take the Apartment Management company to small claims court for the towing fees so I can pay the tow company and keep it off my dad's credit?


BTW, the justification for towing the truck was "it appears abandoned". They called it abandoned because it was dirty and hadn't been moved in a couple weeks. They have no formal policy for determining whether a car is abandoned or not.
 
Yup, it'll put a nasty mark on your dad's credit. You could make a case in court because it is in fact not abandoned.
 
I would definately talk to your apt complex or the tow truck company. It seems wrong they can just take it like that if you said it was registered (i think you said this in the previous thread)
 
I don't know about collections on a towed car. Never heard of someone trying to collect on a bill you never agreed to pay. You didn't enter into a contract with them, and you certainly didn't ask them to tow it. I think the guy is bluffing you, but a 400 collection on your credit report does look pretty bad. If you ever want to get a mortgage you will have to pay it off before it was approved.

I always assumed that a towing place kept your vehicle as collateral or sold it at auction after X number of days. Yeah, I would have told the guy to go fvck himself out of general principle too.
 
Sounds to me like it was towed illegally, assuming it was legally parked and you hadn't been given any notice AND there is no posted notice. Pay the fee and then tell the apt. manager you want hime to repay you or you will take him to small claims court. You would win.
 
I'm going to go pay for the damn towing, cause I don't want to fvck my dad's credit up, but I'm going into the apartment manager's office on Monday and she's either paying me the total amount that's on the receipt, or she's going to small claims court.
 
Originally posted by: notfred
I'm going to go pay for the damn towing, cause I don't want to fvck my dad's credit up, but I'm going into the apartment manager's office on Monday and she's either paying me the total amount that's on the receipt, or she's going to small claims court.
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Could you see the truck everyday? If you could, and there was no notice, I don't think you have to pay for it. As long as your truck wasn't missing parts, they have to give you 3 days notice to move it before its considered abandoned.

Click here for info about towing in Sacramento.
 
Originally posted by: sward666
Believe me, I thought about it when my HOA had my truck towed from my own driveway. Facists!! :|
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WTF? 😕 I fscking hate HOA's... I would have sold my house right away and short just to spite those petty bastards... :|

Tyler, I'm not sure if a tow company can take you to collections in CA. My understanding is that they could simply auction the vehicle to recoup their costs if it is not reclaimed in a certain period of time. Despite the fact that the apartment manager sucks, I doubt you will have any recourse with them -- check if you want though.
As for the collections issue, yeah it'll probably drop his score at least 100 points or more at first (depending on the current state of his credit). The better his score is now, the worse the damage will be (although the more quickly it will recover after the incident is over).
Collections, however, can be disputed AND you don't have to go through the 3rd party collection agency if you don't want to. You simply have to notify them in writing. Essentially, you can force the debt back onto the tow company (or on any other creditor that tries to sent someone to 3rd party collections).
 
Originally posted by: RalphWiggum
Originally posted by: notfred
I'm going to go pay for the damn towing, cause I don't want to fvck my dad's credit up, but I'm going into the apartment manager's office on Monday and she's either paying me the total amount that's on the receipt, or she's going to small claims court.
Click to expand...

Could you see the truck everyday? If you could, and there was no notice, I don't think you have to pay for it. As long as your truck wasn't missing parts, they have to give you 3 days notice to move it before its considered abandoned.

Click here for info about towing in Sacramento.
Click to expand...

They say they put a notice on the windshield, but I didn't go look at the truck, so I didn't see the notice.
 
I've had SO many establishments threaten me with "affecting my credit". What a cop out. I got to put some time in at a collections agency.
They are mostly empty threats. A collection agency doesn't want to report it, because they will never see their money then. It's bad business for them.
I have had the city of Buffalo, the city of Toronto, University at Buffalo and some random towing company in toronto make the exact same threat.
I told all but the school to go right ahead and report it, because I'm not paying you.
To this day I havn't been called back, and nothing was ever reported.
This is of course, taking in account the debt is sub $1000.
 
once it goes to collections, whether its "right" or not, you are either screwed or face a loooong uphill battle with uncertain results. do whatever you can now to communicate with them to resolve it.
 
How long was it there for? I know in whittier leaving your car parked in the same public spot for more than 72 hours constitutes abandonement and could be towed. Your city/county might have a rule like this.
 
well it's not an abandoned truck and the tow truck stole it from the lot.

Report it stolen.
maybe you can sue em for inconvienience ?

You can sue for anything in the US so why the hell not ?
 
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