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View Full Version : fees in collection after 8 years no contact


feelingblue
08-31-2008, 04:51 PM
some nightmares come back years after you thot they were gone.

bought a TS week at Westgate Miami Beach in florida in 1998, fees went up a lot over the next 3 years and i was in financial trouble in 2001 so i told them that i could not pay, and i wanted their help in reselling the TS. They laughed. I had been told there was a resale service, but that was not true.

i wrote and called them to suggest they take the week back and resell it. they replied with a letter saying if i did not pay the back fees they would foreclose. I called again to tell them to go ahead.

that was the last i heard from them until this year when a collection agency contacted me for the fees for the last 8-9 years, and extra charges. I disputed the debt of course, but what now?

Q1 is the homeowners assoc obligated to inform me of a debt I owe? they stopped sending me bills for taxes and fees in 2001. so if they don't ask me to pay how can i.

Q2 the HO-Assoc changed somehow .. the collection agency got the debt from a Newport homeowners assoc .. not westgate. Aren't they obligated to tell me, as a member, if the condo is sold?

Q3 how does it go with these agencies? if i offer them part of what they are asking for just to go away, and they accept it, does that end it there?

any one else getting nailed like this?

jeffrey
08-31-2008, 10:10 PM
Be very careful. It sounds like it may be zombie debt (http://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2006/08/21/10776_zombie-debt.html). My advice would be to contact a lawyer who is familiar with timeshares to find out your and their legal obligations to it. Yes, it will cost you a bit of money, but the wrong move here could cost a lot of money so the professional advice is well worth it.

phoenix23002
12-22-2008, 05:47 PM
Feelingblue.... I have been in credit & collections for 30+ yrs but know absolutely nothing about collections as it pertains to real estate or time shares. If your acct has been turned over to a collection agency, it was probably charged off a long time ago. Jeffery's advice was very sound. When you talk to an attorney, ask the lawyer how the statute of limitations might apply in your state and to your situation. Whatever you do.... don't pay these people anything & don't acknowledge the debt. Rather ask for any corroborating (sp) paperwork. Eight yrs is a long time...lol. If you pay them, the acct becomes active again and the statute of limitations is 'out the window'. Good luck !!