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Author Topic: They Put Me Into Collection!  (Read 4964 times)

Oscar Michelen

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They Put Me Into Collection!
« on: August 29, 2008, 10:38:07 AM »
Dear Readers:

Now that this issue has matured somewhat, it seems Getty has retained some collection agencies, NRS Recovery being the most popular, to ramp up the pressure on those contacted by Getty.  I want to remind everyone that this is just another tactic by Getty and that they are not actually "in collection" as most people understand that term. Being "in collection" means that a person has refused or been unable to pay A JUST DEBT that is owed to the creditor. Getty does not have a debt against you, you are not indebted to Getty. All they have presently is a CLAIM. A claim is very different from a debt. A debt means you ordered and received some goods and services and did not pay for them. That is not what happened here. Here, Getty CLAIMS they own the license to a copyrighted image which you have wrongfully used. You have denied that you wrongfully used the image. They would have to prove their case in court before you owed them a dollar. They are not allowed to report this to a credit agency or a credit reporting bureau. Nor would this show up on a credit report as an outstanding debt that is "in collection." Getty sends you an invoice as if you did not pay for ordered goods but all they really have is a claim against you.

It would be like someone calling you and saying that you hit their car with your car last week and they incurred $1,000 in damages. They insist you pay them immediately. You would tell them you had no idea what they were talking about as you were not in an accident.  They would have to go to court to prove it was your car and that you negligently caused the accident. Now copyright law is very different from accident law as under US copyright law even innocent infringers may be required to pay some damages to the copyright holder, but this was just to illustrate the difference between a claim and a debt.  If Getty or its collection agency wrongfully sends negative information that ends up on your credit report, you should call your state's attorney general for assistance.

Oscar Michelen

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Re: They Put Me Into Collection!
« Reply #1 on: September 17, 2008, 02:25:59 PM »
Dear Readers:

Just wanted to update this post. NCS has now retracted this position and their new letters state it is an attempt to collect a settlement.  They will also admit that they cannot put you into collection as it si only a claim not a debt. Nice to know they read the site.

 

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