If you’re having difficulty remembering who owes money, it may be helpful to acquire copies of your credit reports and check past statements. Furthermore, keep an account of any letters or phone calls from debt collectors as this will aid your search for answers.
If the original creditor has sold your debt to a collection agency, they should provide details as to who it belongs to and you can check your bank accounts as a way of finding them.
Credit cards
Credit card companies send paper statements to cardholders at the conclusion of each billing cycle and prior to their payments due date. When credit cardholders fail to make their minimum payments on time or are late with payments altogether, card issuers can sell the debt off cheaply to collection agencies who then attempt to collect as much of it back from you as possible – thus turning a profit. Rather than giving in to debt collectors, it is wise to contact your creditors directly in order to explain your circumstances and arrange a more favorable payment plan that lowers monthly payments. Check your credit report to identify who owes money; call each listed creditor or log into their accounts online in order to see the current balance owed.
Bank accounts
Finding out the amount owed on your bank accounts can be done using several different strategies. One option is to obtain a copy of your credit report and list any debts therein; another approach involves gathering your monthly bank statement, looking for debt payments made each month; finally you may contact banks directly and request copies of past statements; once this information is at hand you can assess who and how much is owed.
Be mindful that debts may be sold and resold between collection agencies. If you are uncertain who is collecting on your account, contact the original creditor and inquire. They should know who they sold the debt to.
Collection agencies
Keep all correspondence between yourself, creditors and debt collectors as well as bank statements as evidence of what you owe.
Debt can be sold or transferred between creditors and collection agencies without involving you; in such instances, debt collectors must notify you within five days of initial contact that they now own the account through what’s known as a “debt validation letter”.
As part of your routine credit report review, it’s also wise to look for any debts being collected on behalf of someone else. Phony debt collectors sometimes try to dupe consumers into giving away private information over the phone that could allow scammers to steal identity or money.