heard from her in five years.”
I waved at her to give me the phone. She frowned, but I pulled it from her. “Hello, I’m representing Ms. Stratton. I understand she has a large debt? When was the last payment made on it?”
“I can’t release that information to you, Sir.”
“You can with her authorization. Here, I’ll give you to her again, and she’ll let you know you can speak to me.”
Addy looked annoyed at me. “Trust me, I used to be the guy on the phone, I know how to take care of this.”
She let out a defeated sigh, taking the phone. “I’d like you to tell Matthew everything and let him take care of this account for me.” She pouted and handed the phone back to me.
“Now, when was the last payment made on the account?” I asked.
“There were never any payments made on the account, Sir.”
“Never? Why was this account not frozen beforehand? Are you sure it’s even her mother using the account? How do we know it isn’t a case of stolen identity?”
“The account was opened eight years ago, Sir, by both women. Ms. Stratton was a secondary minor on the account. We’ve been unable to locate Tamera Lynn Jenkins, who’s the main account holder. The card remained dormant until about two years ago, and then it was quickly run up and has been accumulating interest since then.”
“What’s the interest rate on this card?”
“Originally, it was twelve percent, but once the balance was pushed over the limit, it became thirty-three percent.”
“What was the original limit on the card?”
“Five hundred dollars was the original limit, Sir.”
“What’s the balance on the account now?”
“That’d be $1,223.45, that’s what I’m showing on the screen.”
“Alright, let me talk to your manager. It’s time we settle this account.”
Addy looked at me confused. I just winked at her.
I heard a woman come on the line. “You want to settle this account, Sir?”
“Yes, it needs to be closed immediately. We’re unsure of who ran it up and have not been in contact with the other account holder in over five years. It’s time we get this taken care of.”
“Alright, Sir, what kind of payments would you be able to make?”
“We can’t afford to make payments. I know over half of that debt is interest. I want it frozen and closed. What settlement can you give me for the account? We could make a one-time payment and be done with it if it’s reasonable,” I said.
Addy was waving frantically. I was sure she was freaking out that she would have to come up with twelve hundred dollars somehow, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“A one-time payment? Let me look at this account.”
I pulled out my wallet, knowing there was money in my checking account from my paycheck, which had just been deposited earlier that day.
“Well, I can get you down to five hundred fifty dollars, Sir. Would you be able to do that over the phone with me now?”
“Yes, I can do that now, and then I want the account closed for good.”
“ Alright ,” the manager said with a smile in her voice. I knew she just wanted to get this account cleared off her books.
I gave her my bank information, and Addy scowled at me the whole time. They thanked me for the payment and told me we would receive a notice in the mail, telling us the account had been settled and closed.
Once I got off the phone, Addy snapped at me. “I could’ve taken care of it.”
“Yes and you would’ve been paying for the rest of your life on an account that you didn’t even have control over! Look, I used to be in collections processing. Believe me, you just have to know the right words to say to them to get them to drop the account and close it.”
“I can’t believe you paid twelve hundred dollars! That’s your whole paycheck!” she complained.
“No, I settled the account for five hundred fifty dollars, and it’s closed and considered paid up.”
“Really?”
“Yup, I told you, I know
C. J. Cherryh
Learning to Kill: Stories
John O'Riley
Brenda Sinclair
Christopher George
Stephen Lloyd Jones
Karl Iagnemma
Celya Bowers
Jill Gregory
Aria Cunningham