Can a Debt Collector Refuse a Payment Plan?

Can a debt collector refuse a payment plan? The simple answer is yes.

A debt collector like ERC may refuse your payment plan but isn't allowed by the FDCPA to harass you into paying your outstanding debt. Whether the debt you owed is due to a medical bill, or other reasons, you should learn how to deal with debt collectors. Know your rights, you should be aware of how long can debt collectors try to collect, learn about the statute of limitations, and if they are even allowed to take your stimulus check. Knowing the law will help you negotiate with them better.

So what happens if a debt collector refuses your payment plan? You can negotiate the payment terms, revise the plan, contact the original creditor, or create a written agreement.

Alternatively, you could contact DoNotPay, a fast, reliable, and successful platform for all your debt collection issues. It will verify the debt before negotiating. If the debt collectors violate any FDCPA laws, DoNotPay will also file a complaint to the CFPB on your behalf.

If you want to know more about your rights, check FDCPA here:

Can a Debt Collector Refuse a Payment Plan?

Yes, debt collectors are permitted by law to refuse your payment plan.

Unfortunately, no matter how big your balance may be, no law states that debt collectors should accept your payment plan. Debt collectors want to get back their money fast. That could mean high monthly rates.

What Can I Do if a Debt Collector Refuses a Payment Plan?

The Federal Trade Commission prohibits a creditor or a collection agency from negotiating a settlement offer with a debtor.

That means that if a debt collector agrees to a payment plan, they often do this indiscretion. Therefore, the debt collector may choose to deny your payment plan and instead request you to pay the debt in full.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, the following alternatives may help

1. Verify the debt

You should first verify the debt to ensure you're paying for what you owe. Sometimes debt records are inaccurate. So you may end up paying way more than you should.

Request a debt validation letter from the debt collectors before making any payment. It should include your creditor's name, the total amount you owe, and how to dispute the debt.

2. Dispute the debt

If there lacks evidence to prove that you owe the debt, you can dispute it. Write a dispute letter to credit bureaus with evidence supporting your claim to remove the debt from your credit report.

3. Revise your offers

Most debt collectors tend to accept a reasonable offer on your debt payment. So if they don't accept your initial offer, you can create a new one. Offer to pay a higher amount that the collectors may find reasonable.

For instance, let's say your first offer was to pay 40% of the debt. In your revised offer, propose 50%. Even though it's more than the initial offer, it is still less than what you owe.

4. Contact the original creditor.

Your initial debtor will play a critical role in your debt settlement with the collectors. In case the debt collectors deny your payment plan, reach out to your original creditor.

However, this could only work if the original creditor is still the debt owner and has hired a collection agency to collect the payment on their behalf.

Let them know of your intention to clear the debt and ask if they'll agree to your payment plan. They may accept the offer, negotiate a new settlement with you, or refer you to the collection agency to create a plan with them.

But, if the original creditor fully handed over your debt to the collection agency, the latter now owns it. So you can't negotiate with the initial debtor anymore.

How Can DoNotPay Help Me if a Debt Collector Refuses My Payment Plan?

The law does not mandate debt collectors to accept your payment plan. Not all of them will be willing to work with you. Most company policies do not even allow that.

Therefore, it is common for them to refuse your payment plan. Not paying your debts will hurt your credit score in the long run. Even worse, debt collectors can sue and take you to court for debt payment violations.

Fortunately, there's an alternative solution. DoNotPay's product "debt collection" handles every issue related to debt collections.

DoNotPay will help you to:

• Verify the debt
• Write a dispute letter
• Negotiate terms with your debt collector
• Report your debt collector for harassment

Here's all you need to do:

1. Search “debt collection” on DoNotPay.

2. Answer a series of questions about the debt collectors, including when you were contacted and how you were contacted, so we can determine if they have violated any debt collection laws.

3. Decide which course of action you want to take based on our guidance, such as filing a debt verification request, demanding for the collectors to stop contacting you, or reporting them to the CFPB.

And that's it! Once you choose the course of action you want to take, DoNotPay will handle the rest. We'll deliver your request directly to the debt collectors via first-class mail or file your complaint automatically with the CFPB so that they're no longer able to use unfair debt collection practices.

What Else Can DoNotPay Do?

For DoNotPay, contacting your debt collector is just the tip of the iceberg of what it can do. Besides handling all your debt collection related issues, you can also use DoNotPay to:

• Cancel subscriptions
• Write financial aid appeal letters
• Pay bills
• Increase your credit limit
• Find your missing money
• Clean your credit report

Yes, a debt collector may refuse your payment plan but must not harass you into making any payments for the debt. If they do, they'll be violating debt collection laws and should thus be sued. Use DoNotPay to stop the debt collectors from contacting you ever again, sign up today to get started.