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You can ask just about any debt and credit related question here and get a dedicated reply by email. This is not published anywhere on the site. Sometimes I reply with questions of my own before I can offer actionable feedback.
Michael,
I talked to you early this week regarding my brother. Very informative conversation. Much appreciated. But we were time limited, and i have more questions.
If you recall, my brother was snared in a Government Impersonation Fraud — caller claimed to be FBI and induced my brother to use his AMEX card (as well as cash and an advance from Chase) to buy gift cards. AMEX has closed their investigation and just this week notified him they would be closing the account on the 21st of this month and we should call them ‘tout de suite’. Can you tell me what happens when they do that? Does it effect his other cards? He has two where the debts are reasonable and being worked off that he would like to keep. Will his limits and/or interest rates be changed?
We have had no luck in talking to AMEX and i think we may need to go the route of having someone negotiate for us. In the meantime, do we contact AMEX before this coming Wednesday? Should we have a lawyer at our disposal? I’ve talked to someone, and as you noted to me, their fee would be 20% of the debt(s) itself. At the moment its $21,700 for the AMEX card — that includes interest and member fees; it was initially $20,300 — and $8500 for the card with Chase. $6000 is a lot of money to have added to the debt. We are considering going to a Chase Bank and trying to negotiate on our own, but…
As senior citizens, after my near death from a brain mass and the subsequent brain surgery i am no longer bring in any income. And my brother, who has a bad case of diverticulitis, is approaching retirement. Though he makes good money `when’ he works, living here in NYCwe are tight to the vest. We are however prepared to come up with an offer to pay up to 50-60% of the debts (if that can be arranged) in a lump settlement, but so far no one is talking to us without telling us they don’t negotiate.
I am going to try and schedule a call with you. We are open to all suggestions.
Thanks ever so much,
rich
Hi Rich – I am replying to your direct email instead of this comment, and am going to delete your last name from your comment. I can help you. We can talk more about that on our next call.
They said I had talked to somebody in November and said that I would pay the debt. I never did that. Not that I could remember anyway.
My question to you is, since I have been served, what is the best way to approach handling this? My thoughts were to obviously respond (don’t know exactly what to say), but also think I could settle for much less with them since I was paying over 30% interest and have given them $9,560.77 in interest alone in 2023 & 2024. Should I try to settle directly with Zwicker or get in front of a judge? Any advice is appreciated.
I would suggest scheduling a call with me here: https://calendly.com/debtbytes/15min
I can offer actionable feedback when I have several of my own questions answered about your situation.
Such a helpful resource! It’s reassuring to know there’s expert guidance available for navigating debt issues—definitely worth taking advantage of.
I was served a lawsuit from Zwicker and Associates on behalf of US Bank for 7k of Credit Card Debt in NYC. Should I call them directly to make a settlement? Can i still call US Bank to make a settlement? I am being advised also to ask for arbitration and they probably wont do that and than have case dismissed. This is time sensitive thanks!
You can call US Bank, but they will direct you to Zwicker for anything related to this account.
Find out if your bank has an arbitration clause. If they do, getting this moved to an arbitration forum is possible. You have to do it the right way.
I would not say that moving to an arbitration setting out of the court is a lock for dismissal. It is not as effective a strategy as it once was, but worth a shot if you have no funds to settle with, or want to try.
Settling with Zwicker is common, and I find them to be one of the more reasonable collection law firms.
Al says
Thanks Michael
I appreciate the quick informative response to my question on the debt collection process.
I just learned that Amex turned my business account over to ARSI. I reached out to ARSI and was responded to by Vinci Law with two settlement options for my $20,300 debt.
12 Month Payment Plan of approximately $1691.82
24 Month Payment Plan of approximately $845.91
I can’t afford either of these. Any advice on how to approach negotiations? Specific wording and amounts/terms to request would be very appreciated. Thank you!
I suggest getting help in this situation. You can schedule a call with me to talk about how that may work here: https://calendly.com/debtbytes/15min
Hello Michael, Thank you so much for what you do, it is appreciated. I have been reading /learning on your website, for 5 hours now.
I have Wells Fargo 11,000, Tally Credit Line $6,77 CareCredit Vet $6,500 (I adopted/rescued 4 pets over 10 years and I cannot afford them, but I do it anyway. They are all older now and have medical needs, Medicines, Surgeries.)
I can’t live this way anymore, I am flat broke. I have carried this debt for over 8 years and am getting nowhere. I don’t make enough money, and live on my own in an apartment that is way too high for me alone. I Can’t get roommate because no one wants to live with 4 animals.
My Auto is worth $17,000 and I owe $3,00 more on it. This is holding me back from a Chapter 7
Please can you help me? What should I do?
Thank you.
I would suggest scheduling a call with me to talk more about your alternatives. There is too much to cover in this situation to do it justice in a comment exchange. You can schedule using the get help tab at the top of the page.
Hi, Michael, I have 5 charged off Citi credit cards, 4 of them I made settlement directly with Citi Recovery Department for around 35%. The last one for $19300 didn’t accept my 35% settlement offer, they countered at 50%, which I didn’t accept it and today I received an email from Citi that it was referred to Client Services Inc. I spoke with Client Services Inc and they offered me 35% settlement (i can accept it)if I made my payment within 2 days. Can you please advise me how to make this settlement correctly? It is my first time dealing with collection agency. Should I tell them to send me settlement confirmation letter first? What is the best way to accept this offer .Client Services agent insisted for paymnet to be made by the phone, she told me she will send me an email with settlement offer, but I haven’t received it yet.She also told me that Client Services Inc is not the owner of the debt, that the Citi still is and after I made settlement payment they will send it back to Citi and Citi will update my credit report. What can you tell me about Client Services Inc? Are they telling true ? Is it safe to give them my account numbers for payment ? I read some of the Collection Agency can drain your account, that they lie and they will just take your money and account wont be settled.
Thank you for your answer.
Here are some of the things you want to look for in a settlement letter. Getting the letter in a PDF via email is normal.
Client Services regularly collects on Citibank accounts and it is common to reach settlements with them. I would have no problem paying them over the phone if I had my settlement agreement in writing first, and the deal met my goals.
Hi Micheal, I’m alumni of the now defunct Tribeca Flashpoint Academy/College in Chicago with approx $50,000 in federal loans. I attended because they had modern facilities, boasted their strong job placement numbers, and gave the impression that they were very selective about the interview and admission process. From what I understand they also claimed they were accreddited which I have since found out was either a lie or they lost it at some point. I’m now in a situation where I can’t continue my degree because my transfer credits and former college does not exist. Additionally I have testimony/reviews of dozens of other students with similar stories .
I suggest speaking with an experienced student loan borrower defense attorney in your state. There are options for you and others to explore.
Hi Michael,
On January 12, 2023 I was alerted about changes in my credit report, and when I checked I saw that my score had decreased by 137 points. This was due to my Macy’s card being newly reported as delinquent in the form of 30-day late payment. The total amount is $269.
On January 13th, I called Macy’s (as the debt is still with Macy’s and not sold yet) credit department to speak with an agent to see if I could get the late report removed from my credit reports. I made the minimum payment ($107.11) that was required for my account to become current again with the agent, and she said that I would need to wait 72 hours to call back to see if the late marks could be removed.
Today, January 17th, I called back to check on the marks being removed since the payment has posted and my account is now current. Unfortunately, I was told that they aren’t able to remove the late payment marks. I actually called and spoke to several different reps, but each told me the same unfortunate news. The last rep I spoke with said that they had submitted a dispute to the credit bureaus, so I would need to see if the credit bureaus, themselves, were able to remove the marks from the reports. I’m still a bit confused about this, as I don’t know why/how the credit bureaus would have more power to remove the marks than the creditor itself.
After speaking with the rep today, I actually went ahead and just paid off the rest of the balance on my card, so I now owe $0. I’m not sure if this was worth it or not.
Is there any advice you can offer that can possibly help these late marks to be removed from my credit reports? A 137 points drop is a huge hit to my score and I hate that it can be stuck on the reports for seven years—especially since I now owe $0 after today’s payment. I really want to get this info off my reports and my credit score back in good standing.
I appreciate your assistance with this matter and hope to hear back from you soon.
Best,
Quelly
I do not understand Citibank saying they sent a dispute to the bureaus either. It may just be the rep using a term that they assumed would be more relatable to you.
Furnishers to the credit bureaus can send corrections. Let’s see what happens with what they say they have done and go from there. Please post an update.
I see similar situations to yours not result in the removal of an accurate negative. And if that is the case with your situation, a 30 day late takes a while to become stale on your credit reports, but it will, and your scores will recover.
Thanks for replying, Michael. Yes, I will wait to see what/if anything happens and keep you posted.
Best,
Quelly
Hi Michael!
I have two separate personal loan accounts with Lending Club that are pending for charge off. As of today I’m on my 127 days in delinquency on each account. I have not been able to make payments due to cuts on my income. I called Lending Club today and told them that I simply won’t be able to pay the full monthly payment amount on each account ($365.59 min pay + $616.58 min pay = $982.17 between both accounts every month), but that I was willing/able to pay at least some portion ($150 on each account) every month. The representative told me, “If you schedule at least 5 payments online through your account, we might be able to stop the accounts to be charge off. However, the system is not allowing me to submit a lower payment. She told me, that if that happened, that I needed to call back and have a representative do it for me. But it seems to me this is to vague of a process, and I don’t want to risk getting myself deeper in trouble or in debt with all the late fees and them still reporting delinquency to my credit report.
So, my question is: How can I negotiate (if possible) a lower payment plan/interest rate, without having these accounts be charge off? or at least, how can I negotiate a combined balances payment plan? I don’t have the funds to settle, so my only option is to pay back little by little until I get myself back on track.
Any help, suggestions, will be much appreciate it.
Thank you so much!
From a credit score angle, I typically see little point to trying to get 4 month late accounts on some type of temporary monthly payments. It does not undo the existing credit damage.
I favor settlements with monthly payments in this situation. The more time you need to make payments on the settlements (more than say 90 days), the more you embrace the charge off as a means to get you to a settlement you can pay over a longer period of time.
Go here to schedule a debt consultation call with me to talk strategy.
Hi Michael,
I just received a notification that Lnvn is reporting on my credit for a navy Federal credit card that is from 2019. My questions is what does the negotiation process look like for this company.
LVNV is far more aggressive than Navy Federal. I often suggest getting help with a debt buyer like this. You can schedule a call with me to talk strategy here: https://calendly.com/debtbytes/15min
Hi Michael. I had a credit card with Citi Bank (Costco) with a $6.5k limit (28% interest…I know..) that defaulted into collections when I lost my job and went through a separation with my wife during the pandemic. I had other debt at that time, but I couldn’t keep up with everything, so I chose to pay other debt over this and it went into collections (Cavalry SPV I, LLC). It has been there for over a year. I am working now and trying to catch back up. I just received a letter from Gurstel Law Firm saying they are trying to collect a debt I owe to Cavalry and asking to contact them by December 7th, 2022. The total amount listed now is $9.1k. I can’t afford to pay that. I may be able to find a way to get $3k… is that even something that will be entertained now that a law firm is involved? My goal is to settle;I do not want this lingering over me any longer.
Gurstel is tough to settle with for that kind of reduction. I recommend getting some help on this. You can schedule a call with me using the box you see just above the comments here.
Hi Michael. I watched some of your youtube videos about how to negotiating debt and talking to collectors and being honest about your situation and the struggles that you into this situation.
I spoke to an agent at Gurstel about settling the debt I have. I originally said I could pay roughly $2k, then he said they would settle for $7800. I explained my situation and told him that amount wasn’t possible, but I would see what other options I have. I called back the next day saying I could pay $4100 (roughly 45% of the debt) and he said that amount was approved to settle.
I asked what the next steps are and he said I could go on the website and make a payment there. He said to not be alarmed when I log in and see the original amount, but to just make the payment that was approved and they would send a letter to me afterwards saying it was settled.
I want to be trusting and have this resolved, but I’m skeptical that my lump sum payment will just be used towards the total amount and they will still try to collect the remainder.
I asked if I could have that in writing and he said he would have an email sent to me (from Barracuda) in the next 24-48 hours.
My question to you: Is there anything I should be skeptical of or look out for in these next steps? If I get an email from Barracuda and not directly Gurstel, can that cause concern?
I also have both of my calls recorded for my own records.
Thank you in advance, and I appreciate you helping people in times of struggle.
Schedule a phone consult with me when your Gurstel Law settlement letter gets to you: https://calendly.com/debtbytes/15min
I can review it with you.
Hey Jordan, I am in a similar situation and wondered what ended up happening? Did they actually give you a settlement letter?
I am in a similar situation. Hope it worked out and they were honorable.
Hi Michael, I owe navy federal 28K 3 credit card. Visa, mastercard and amex. I called them 1 month ago and ask for financial assistance if they offer reduce payment because of my income change and i cannot afford to pay like 700 a month and they told me they cannot offer any assistance right now. Now i am 2 weeks past due. Never been late in my whole credit history. Will they sue me? like garnishment? Im in new jersey. Thanks
It is not out of the question for Navy Federal to sue to collect. I suggest you schedule a call with me to talk strategy for enrolling in a reduced monthly payment plan with Navy Federal. You can schedule the call here: https://calendly.com/debtbytes/15min
Letter states T-Mobile, account #, amount owed 905.28, “ This letter is to inform you that on 9/26/22 you agreed to a payment arrangement below for a total of 362.11.”, once all payments have been received by us and paid in full by your financial institution , Your account will be recalled by T-Mobile from further collection efforts. We are not obligated to renew this offer. Sincerely convergent outsourcing Inc. I worried about paying this because doesn’t state reduced amount offer. Makes it seem like just agreeing to a payment and then they can come back and ask for balance. It does say total of 362.11 in text as above.., but states once all payments …I’d rather it sa Specifically once 362.11 received.. Am I reading into this to much? They claim is standard letter and won’t change the wording. This also makes me Leary of dealing with them.. thanks for input
I would not be okay with that letter.
You may want to file a bait and switch complaint against Convergent with the CFPB. More on that here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/filing-complaints-with-the-cfpb/
If they verbally agreed to a settlement for the 362, and are calling this a payment only, and the account will be recalled by the creditor, it is not what they said outload, which smacks of bait and switch to me.
When you file the complaint with the CFPB be sure to include the date and time of the call you had with Convergent. Include the number you called, or the number they called you from.
If you know the name of the Convergent collection rep you spoke with, include that too.
Be sure to clearly outline what was said on the call.
Hi, I have a Sallie mae loan of I borrowed from them 2k they billed to 10k I borrowed in January 2019 they said not to make payment nowu can make payment when u graduate, I tried calling them they says I need to make full amount. Is there a way I can settled this. I don’t want to pay extra 8k in wastebasket to them at13%apr.
I suggest scheduling a phone consult with me to talk through your situation in more detail. You can click the get help tab at the top of the page.
Even with a 25% default penalty, and with fees and interest added on, I have a hard time with the debt quadrupling.
If this is private student debt they will settle, but I would want to work from an accurate balance first.
Sounds good I will call you.
I owe total $10,800 on my Wells Fargo credit card. My current amount due is $934 on 8/13/21. I didn’t make a full payment in June so part of that is from a prior month. There’s no way I can afford the monthly payments even if I’m caught up because they are still close to $500. Would I be asking to settle the $1000 that’s due 8/13/21 or be asking to try and settle the total amount on the card of $10,800. And if so, what would be the best time to try and ask them for relief or help?
Check my article series on settling a credit card with your original lender starting here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/credit-card-debt-settlement-program/
You will get a better feel for why you should be trying to settle this after around months delinquency or later.
You will also have a better understanding of what to say, when, and why.
Hey Michael, I have 2 Amex cards that we’re both in collections being held by alltran. I just got notified today from Amex that one card with a balance of 12.8 got sent to Nationwide credit inc. and the other in the amount of 3400 got sent to gatestone & co. What is your experience with them both? And target settlements with them. Thank you
When did you stop paying on the AMEX accounts?
October of 2020, I just passed 150 days
In some instances we have been able to get 30%, but more common is closer to 50% with these 2 collection agencies on an AMEX account.
I’ve gradually increased my settle amount offer starting from 20%, but they’re both holding firm at 50%. Is it wise to accept or continue to push for lower. They keep pushing hard for 60 month payment plans and a payment today to stop late fees and reduce apr to 7.99, but I would prefer to settle. I’m tired of speaking to there “supervisors”.
Some of these can just get locked up at 50 percent.
Dealing with them now means you remove the risk of them going to a collection law firm next.
I am trying to remember the settlement process with Capital One that we talked about. I received a letter that one of my accounts is now 6 payments past due, and they are saying the next step is charge off, account closed, and full balance still due. At this point, I am still waiting for them to notify me of legal action and then I reply with a suggestion for a settlement and monthly payments, correct? Or am I missing some stuff?
I would not wait for legal action in this situation at all.
How much is the balance owed to CapOne?
How prepared are you to pay a settlement in the next 30 days?
In our previous conversations, I could have sworn you recommended that I wait the 180-210 days of delinquency before presenting settlement options–which would have been around the time they presented legal action like my Discover card did a few months ago. On the account I’ve mentioned here, the balance is $11k, but I have two other account with Cap One totaling $25k. I’m in no position for a settlement in the next 30 days, and probably not for another year or more.
You had mentioned that I could eventually set some sort of payment structure up with them, and then they would basically accept anything I could pay per month over the few years that the payments would be made toward the ultimate settlement amount. If I’m remembering correctly?
You can set up that settlement with Capital One by proactively calling them to negotiate that when you are just passed charge off (just after 180 days late). That is what I would do.
You do not have to wait for a legal notice to settle an account, virtually ever, though that is how things can happen when we have more accounts to settle than we have money for at a given time.
Please continue to post questions in the comments as you go, and at key inflection points, and when you want to better understand something.
You walked away from past conversations with some very wrong impressions that could prove very costly.
Thank you for the reply. I will continue to post the questions here. And I have two more about the Cap One accounts right now. So, I have three accounts with Cap One. Two are at six months and going into discharge the first week of April. The third account is at four months behind, so two more months until it discharges. Do you suggest that I call into to suggest a settlement plan on the two accounts going into discharge now and wait on the third? Or should I attempt a settlement negotiation on all three in April, even thought the third account will only be at 120 days?
And clarifying a previous point you made in our first conversation: Cap One will probably offer me a settlement over a three year span? And as long as I send them some sort of money each month, they will be satisfied, as long as I pay the remainder of the settlement at the end of the three years?
How long they allow a settlement to stretch out often depends on the balance owed, but they tend to offer payment plans ranging from 3 to 36 months, and I do see them allow you to configure the payments with flexibility to miss a month, but no more than 2 months in a row, and where you can send a lower amount some months, as long as you make it up at the end.
The above is what I see when a professional negotiates, which often translates to you being able to.
No, you would not settle all 3 accounts in April after only 2 have charged off. Settlements on accounts that have not charged off yet are typically only going to allow 3 months payments on the whole settlement amount. This is because of an OCC rule banks follow.
You can get longer than 90 days to pay on charged off accounts only.
Thank you! This has been very helpful. I wouldn’t be opposed to having your team negotiate these settlements for me–to ensure I’m getting it right. But maybe I try for the settlement myself, and if I don’t get what you’ve mentioned here, then maybe I can bring it to you?
Sometimes it works just fine when people try on their own and get stuck, but we can still get outcomes we expect.
Other times things were not handled correctly and we cannot get expected outcomes.
Ideally, if you thin you want help, I would just start off with that.
Got ya. Thank you for clarifying. I would at least like to discuss cost and process of your team handling the negotiations. Is that something you would clarify in these comments, or should I make an appointment to discuss those details with you?
It would be more efficient to talk over your strategy on a phone call. You can schedule the call with me here: https://calendly.com/debtbytes/15min
Michael, am I remembering correctly that you said it would be likely that, if I can find the cash upfront for CapOne, you could potentially negotiate a settlement for me around .05 cents on dollar? If that’s the case, then I might be able to find the money to go that route.
No one really settles for 5 cents on the dollar. Least of all Capital One. I often see settlements with Capital One between 30 and 55 percent of the balance. That is if we catch it before it goes to an attorney for collection.
There are really good long term payment plans on the settlements that will vary depending on how much is owed, so that can help people accept a deal they cannot pay in a lump sum, and still avoid attorney placement for collection.
Michael, you and I had discussed that I can’t file Chapter 7 bankruptcy because I did so in 2015. But what are your thoughts on filing chapter 13? I believe I’m eligible.
Chapter 7 is ideal, while chapter 13 is often least so, but it does have its place.
When we spoke, is it that you do not have a way to settle your debts within the next 2 to 3 years? If that is the case, yes, I would talk to a bankruptcy attorney about chapter 13.
Synchrony bank sold a $30,000 debt to Midland in Nov. of 2019. They have just recently showed up on my credit report. Does that mean anything like that they are getting ready to sue or something? And the last 2 letters that I got from them are in Spanish & I am not hispanic, but I could tell that they were offering 10% off of the balance & this was in Oct. 2020. A year ago, they wouldn’t discuss any kind of settlement but wanted me to make any kind of payment which I did not do. Should I call them now & make a settlement offer or continue to wait? I haven’t talked to anyone there for over a year.
Can you confirm the account balance is 30k?
If Midland has time to sue based on your states statute of limitations, I would be highly concerned about it. They sue a ton, and the deals when trying to settle are terrible compared to if you settle with them before the account goes to an attorney.
When did you stop paying originally?
What state are you in?
Yes, I can confirm the balance. I am in PA. The last payment made on the account when it was with Synchrony was 2 years ago.
Thanks. Midland Credit is likely the worst debt buyer to have your account go to an attorney for collection, and that is highly likely to happen at this point.
Debt collectors have 4 years from when you stopped paying to sue in Pennsylvania. They are within that time.
If your account is not in a legal, or pre legal status with Midland, this would be the time to get your best settlement outcome.
If you cannot get anywhere decent with them let me know right away if you want help. If the account is still in the right department, negotiators here can get you a 45% deal, or 50% with up to 24 months to pay.
Do not wait too long for help though. I think things will move rapidly toward escalated collection from here, if they have not already.
I have several charged off accounts that will be going off my credit report in the next few months. I am wondering if there are ways to settle these accounts and how best to go about doing that. They have been charged off for years, I have been paying regular small amounts but would like to find a way to just be done with all. All amounts are under $6,500 together they total about 15K. The debts are to Bank of America (2 different accounts), American Express, and a USAA credit card. I am wondering if I might be able to get a settlement agreement and pay them off for less than the whole balance. I watched your videos and read the articles but my situation seems a little different in that these are old debts. All accounts closed and charged of for longer than 4 years. Once the companies stop reporting them negatively, what happens? Any suggestions about how to proceed?
I would set up a phone consult with me here Sloan: https://calendly.com/debtbytes/15min
Be sure to put the details of the situation in the text box of the calendar app.
I want to talk through the payments you have been making, and the timing of them.
If the accounts have been derogatory for 7 years, and are rolling off in a couple of months, that is great fro your credit score! But recency of payments can still mean you could be sued for the debt, so settling could still makes sense.
After receiving a civil summons from a lawyer claiming to represent the creditor, 6 or more months after an accounts been unpaid, how does one find out if the debt has been bought by a debt buyer or not? On credit report it’s only stated that debt has been charged off.
When an original creditor sell the debt they will typically show the charge off, but a zero balance due and owing at the moment, because they sold it.
You can always call the creditor and ask if they have sold your debt, and to whom.
Most creditors do not sell debt.
wells fargo charged off my sons credit card debt app. $1500 5 years ago. how can he find out who bought the debt? he is trying to join the coast guard and they require that this is settled.
Wells Fargo has not been selling debt for longer than that. You can likely call Wells Fargo and they have it internal and you can resolve the debt with them. Let me know if that is not the case and we can go from there.
I owe 17000 to bmo credit card company. It is getting very hard for me to pay the min payments. I have missed some payments on a line of credit but try to make sure I never miss my credit card. I would like to try and do the lump sum payment, what should I do
How long will it take you to have about 40% of the balance on your BMO credit card? What is the interest rate on the card?
I am wondering, if I take a temporary lower rate, because it will help to stop accruing interest faster than I’m making minimum payments, will my credit score be effected?
Typically not, but that assumes you have not missed payments to date. It sounds like you are enrolling in a temporary hardship plan with just one creditor?
Hi Michael, I just wanted to know
1) if you recommend sending in debt validation / disputes letters?
2) I get the feeling that most American don’t do it so I’m not sure if there are any down sides?
Best,
Andrew
I am not a fan of sending dispute letters and validation requests. Not even to play hot potato with debt collectors because you cannot afford to, or have no desire to, resolve a debt. There are some limited times I would suggest using one for strategic reasons when trying to resolve a debt.
I cover the downsides in that link.
Got it thank you!
Just one follow-up question, what are the limited times that you would suggest using dispute letters?
The obvious instances are when there is something to dispute (legitimacy of the debt, balance, credit reporting inaccuracies, etc).
As a strategy, and certainly not limited to this, I may use it when I know the outcome may be the account will go back to the lender for placement with a different debt collector (can depend on where you are at in the collection life cycle), or as a measure to stall for a limited time, like 30 to 60 days, in order to gather up the money I need to settle.
I have a debt that has been places for income tax garnishment. Can I negotiate a settlement to get this account gone.
What is the nature of the debt, who is collecting it today, and how much is it for?
Hi Mike,
I have a AT&T wireless account which went to collection agency for not paying around $300 payment. Once I pay this amount, Is there any way I can get rid of it from credit report?
Please help!
Is ATT showing it with a balance owed, or a zero amount due? Is there a collection agency showing it too?
Thanks for your response.
I have not paid the amount yet so it is still showing as “Amount Due” in AT&T systems.
There was a collection agency involved initially in 2013 but I do not have any information about them.
Okay. So looking at your credit report now, only ATT is showing?
Just checking the Credit Report and I realized that collection agency name is “ENHANCED RECOVERY CORP” and “AT&T” name shows as creditor. Please advice on next step!
If Enhanced Recovery is not involved in the collection any longer, I would sent and credit bureau dispute to get them off. I would still want to resolve the debt with ATT, and would contact them to do that first.
If you find out Enhanced Recovery is still collecting let me know.
Thanks for your quick response, Michael.
In my Last credit report that I pulled in Nov 2016, it is showing 1 account went to collection agency and that is Enhanced Recovered Corp.
Is there any way we can find out whether they are still collecting or not? Please let me know.
Also, if they are still collecting, what is option?
Thanks for all your help!
Hi Michael,
I spoke to AT&T and I was told that my account was given to Enhanced Recovery Corp for collection. AT&T folks given me their number too so I called Enhanced Recovery Corp and I was told that if I pay the amount, they will update my credit reports fir this account as “Paid in Full” but they were not agreeing to delete this “Collection Record” from my credit report.
Can you please advice?
Thanks!
Currently, that is all you can realistically expect for updates to your credit reports when resolving collection accounts. The good thing is that is often all you need to make progress with your credit reports and financial goals.
Thank you very much, Michael for your time and support.
I really appreciate your help!
God bless you…
I live in South Carolina and received a letter saying I have 5 days to return a completed form listing my real and personnel property being sued for Credit card debt of 5500 . I am on disability and still owe over 35.ooo on my mortgage ( 18years )and only one vehicle Blue book value of 1500-2000 . No other assets can they take my home or car?
South Carolina courts will automatically file property liens in your count when there is a judgment. That does not mean they come and take your home, but you do have to resolve the judgment before you can sell or refinance your home.
Your car value is protected in South Carolina up to about $5600.
In 2003, I had a credit card charge off with the limit on the credit card being $4000.00, from a Georgia credit union; the debt is now at 16,500.00. I offered to make a settlement of $4000.00 and they denied the offer and will only accept $8,500.00 I was also told; the offer is only good for five days. Are there any other options are available to me in this matter?
Who is the collection agency you are dealing with?
What is the name of the credit union?
Is this a judgment debt?
I live and have a car loan in PA thru Fulton Bank. The car was repossessed for 4 missed payments.
Fulton Bank would not accept my offer to make a payment of the delinquent amounts (including repo costs). They will only accept total payout which is 18,000. I thought I read somewhere I could possibly sue them for not accepting payment to bring the loan back to where it should be.
Each state will have redemption rules about how to cure a default and get your car back. You may have acted too late, or they may have screwed up.
I am emailing you a list of consumer law attorneys with lending/leasing/repossession experience in PA. Talk to one or more and get a feel for the situation and what your options are.
Documents were forward on 10/27/15.
Have you checked with the CFPB to see if there is an update on their end? I ask because I tend to see the CFPB respond to consumers in a few weeks time. Enhanced Recovery would likely have responded to the CFPB by now.
Hi Mike,
When we previously converse, I stated that ERC would settle a debts. What I should have mention is that there were three invoices. When we Enhanced Recovery Company (ERC) talked about settling, I thought it was for all three since three invoices was one the form. Eddie states that my settlement would only be for the $657.00. The other amount of 40.00 and 38.50 would not be included in the settlement.. He stated that they could not report the $40.00 to credit report agencies. Well I settlement for the $657.00 Then a few weeks later, I received a letter ERC stating that I owe $40.00 and I had 30 days to reply. So now I am upset. I call the hospital and my insurance company. Both tells me that my bills were paid. And I the patient had no responsibility to pay. I call ERC and notified them that I had no patient responsibility. I fax all paper to them and have not heard anything from them. Can I obtain a lawyer to suit them for my money. I have report this to CFPB, and they have not responded to me. Do you know who I can contact to get this resolve.
When was your complaint filed?
I have judgment from CACH but paperwork was filed in a different county than the one I lived in at the time. Is that grounds for dismissal. I can’t afford to pay judgment or even settle.
It can be. You will want to run your entire situation by an experienced debt collection defense attorney. I can send you contact information for any I know of in your area if you post the name of a larger nearby city.
Hi Michael, you proved to be very helpful a few months back when I was served a credit card judgement. Now that it is behind me, I wish to clean up a few credit card balances & I wondered if you could offer a reputable credit card consolidation company to combine my debt into one monthly payment. I’ve done a little research on my own & I do not want to get in with a company that drags their feet only to negotiate a lesser amount to settle. I am not behind on my payments and I still wish to hold the credit card open with a zero balance, for emergency purposes. I simply wish to combine the debt & have one lower monthly payment, with plans to pay it off sooner.
Is there such resources available to me? Would I have to re-finance my home in order to do this?
You do not appear to be looking for credit counseling help to consolidate credit cards, but something more along the lines of a debt consolidation loan to pay off all of your combined balances.
You do not have to refi your home and get cash out to do this. There are alternatives, but qualifying can depend on your credit scores. What shape is your credit it in?
Good morning Mike, I finally made settlement offer to ERC. I have received my settlement letter to paid $327.00. They will in turn report this as a “paid settlement” to all credit reporting agency. I could not get it deleted but paid is good. I have forward a money order CCRR. Just awaiting for them to do their part.
Thanks again.
Nicely done SherrieD! It can take a few weeks for them to update the credit reports after your payment clears. Pay for delete is a long shot at best in these situations. Getting the account to show as resolved and nothing owed will allow you to make progress improving your credit.
I just wanted to jump in and let everyone know that I went to court today against Midland Funding LLC and I won. Well not completely yet but I had the Affidavit removed and the judge told them to get their act together and they have to come back with documentation. It was in Tennessee and I asked the them if they had a license in TN and she wouldn’t answer. It was a good day for the underdog. Now I am thinking about counter suing for violations with FDCPA. What do you think? Everyone had a smile on their face when I was done and on the way out the door I told another guy to do the same thing I did against them. Haha
Good job. Just realize that the collection attorney still can get there act together, but if they do not (and I am skeptical they will), they will likely dismiss it themselves, or the court could some time from now due to inactivity.
Hi Mike,
I have a cell phone bill on my credit report that has multiple entrylast payment was 3/2012. I contact Transunion and dispute the older entry which was Diversified. And two weeks later disputed Enhanced Recovery Company ERC. Transunion removed Diversified and claim to verify Enhanced Recovery Company. ERC has placed multiple flag on my credit report. It seem to me that they are trying to hurt my credit. Since January my credit score has increase. Can a collection agency post flag to your credit report every 3 months. What is the SOL for cell phone?
Debt collectors are generally reporting in order to hurt your credit.
Is it that they are posting a “most recently updated” every 3 months?
The SOL to sue for collection will vary from state to state. The SOL for a collection item to remain on your credit reports can also vary a bit, but generally speaking, an unpaid cell phone in collection can stay for as much as 7 and one half years from the date you stopped paying.
I thought in Louisiana the SOL was 3 years. Is there anything I can do concerning the flags on my credit report every 3 months. I want to negotiate but I have read that this company does not respond to negotiation. Once a payment is made the account is reactivated. Is this correct?
Not for credit reporting it’s not. You may be confusing the limits for filing legitimate collection lawsuits on open accounts in LA, with the limits for how long derogatory items can stay on your credit reports.
If I understand what you mean by “flags” on your credit report correctly, no, not really. Enhanced Recovery will settle debts for less than the balance owed. The problem can often be that they, and many other debt collectors, do not offer great pay off reduction on smaller balance accounts.
What is it you mean by an account being reactivated?
You are right! I am talking about this company flagging my credit report every month as a past due account,
Great if they settle for less. But I have read that they will accept payment then reactivate the account. This is not what I want., But I guess this mean that I will need something in writing from them.
Thanks Mike I do appreciate you time.
Mike should I validate the debt
and then negotiate.
If you know the phone company sent or sold the debt to Enhanced Recovery, and your goal is to resolve the account, I would not request validation, as I essentially have that.
If you are concerned they are legitimately collecting than yes, by all means I would request debt validation from Enhanced Recovery.
Thanks Mike,
This debt has been transferred to 4 collection agencies. I recently disputed with Transunion because there were two entry on my credit report. One was cancel and other was verify and remained on my credit report.
The funny thing is for 3 months I received telephone from them. Now the calls have stop and the debt is being reported as seriously past due. I have not talked with ER and the debt is scheduled to be removed in 2019.
I just want to resolve the debt. What is the best way to proceed in clearing this debt. What shall I do request validation from me and then negotiate?
People are often more comfortable sending in debt validation letters and waiting for the reply in order to progress with resolving the account. I support that.
Sometimes your debt validation request can case the account to be place with another debt collector, or placed with the legal department.
If your comfortable that Enhanced Recovery is the legitimate collector on the account, and your goal is to resolve the debt, I would call them and do that.
Thanks for you have help me a great deal. This has happen to me, I request validation and the debt was transferred to another collection agency. I though it was the OC whom transferred the debt to another collection once a year. This is my last question for awhile.
Thanks again.
Your debt can get sent off to a different debt collector at different intervals. There are many variables that will cause collectors to change, and sometimes knowing that information will help you.
Good morning Mike,
I call ERC to set up settlement payment in exchange for deletion. The agent wanted me to settle for 327.00 which included $9.00 processing fee. Then, she inquired to whether I still had my cell phone. I told her that it was lost. But she could not give me answer on deleting from my credit.report.
She place me hold to get her supervisor assist, who stated that he could only report my payment as paid in full. But he would not give me anything in writing until I made payment to him. And then he would send me an email referencing paid in full. Because I would not give him credit card information, he question me about not paying in 3 years. He stated that I could give him post dated check. I told him that this was illegal. He stated that his company does all the time. What do you think about my conversation with him. Is it illegal to give an collection agency posted dated check.
Pay for delete is hit or miss (mostly miss).
An alternative to getting any agreement in writing is to record the phone call, and let them know that you are and why. Keep the recording until you receive written communication and then keep after that too.
I am not sure I would define the scenario as a post dated check if you are giving payment information over the phone and with a set date, say three days later, for process. Talk to an experienced debt collection defense attorney in your state about that, and what or if, they have seen your courts rule on about that.
Hi Michael,
Thank you for the information on your site.
The information here is very helpful but not easy to find. I had several tabs opened and when I closed them, I was not able to locate the information again.
I have several credit card debts and 2nd home loans that are now with collection agency or JDB. These are all several years old, from 4 years ago or more. I don’t want to disclose much more information as this is open to the public.
With the debts several years old and that they change collection agency, I plan to go through my credit reports and make a spreadsheet to get a handle on the amounts I owed.
I also want to call the OC to see who has my account. You had an article about speaking to the OC. Can you provide the link in case I can’t find that again.
What information should I give and not give out when calling OC?
How do you know if a debt is assigned, transferred, or sold?
And how do you know if it is a JDB?
Jared Strauss mentioned in one of his articles that a full credit report is different than the ones from Credit Karma. I didn’t know this. I have already obtained all three free credit reports from annualcreditreport.com four months ago. How do I get full credit report like these? Do I go to the individual website and pay for one from each credit agency?
I had another question posted today also about links to your services and fees. I was not able to find it on your site.
Thank you very much.
You can use the search box in the upper right of any page to find what you are looking for on the site.
With the questions you are asking above I would recommend you read through the article I wrote for another site covering the topic of finding out who you debt collector is. I should have covered the topic more thoroughly here on my site by now, but have long postponed adding the debt relief guides on second and third stage collection while waiting on highly anticipated regulatory changes in the debt collection industry.
If you are at a point where you are making plans to deal with your debts I would indeed pull accurate credit reports. If you have not already used up your one free report each year available at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/ I would use those before paying for them.
You are welcome to post in the comments of the different pages you read throughout the site.