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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.
Hi Michael,
I really want to start apartment hunting and I know that credit scores can play a big part in if you get approved or not. I have quite a few questions below for you and hope that you can advise each one….
-Which type of score (FICO, Vantage, etc.) do landlords look at when running a credit check?
-I have a credit card with Capital One, and they provide a credit score tracker. According to the tracker, I have a score of 616. I then checked my Credit Karma score and it shows a Transunion score of 673 and an Equifax score of 669. Why is the scoring between Capital One and Credit Karma so different? Which one is more reliable?
-Should I get my FICO credit scores from each of the three bureaus themselves?
-I had a Chase credit card that was charged off in June 2012. I received a 1099C at the end of January 2015 for a cancellation of debt (occurred 10/22/14) with the Chase credit card. I filed the 1099C with my taxes in March 2015. The amount of debt I had on my Chase card (approx. $5,000) is still showing as being owed on my credit report. I was under the assumption that once you get a 1099C that the debt you owed would change to “$0 owed” on your credit report, as the credit card company is no longer trying to collect from you. However, I called Chase today to discuss this matter and was told that the amount that was cancelled will remain on your credit report until it is paid in full or settled for a certain amount–and only then will the amount finally show “$0 owed.” I’m concerned that the debt amount showing on my credit report (approx. $5,000) will affect my credit score, thus ultimately affect my chances of being approved for an apartment. Do you feel it would be best to pay the full amount or come to a settlement with Chase? If I don’t do either, how long will this $5,000 amount stay on my credit report? All the other delinquencies/charge-offs I had have been paid and now show that I owe $0. This Chase credit card is the only one that shows as me still owing money. Pls advise.
-As of now, I only have one credit card–Capital One Platinum MasterCard. I got this back in May 2014 in order to start rebuilding my credit. It started with a $300 credit limit and in November 2014 it was raised to $3,300, which is where it still stands. As this is the only credit card I have, do you think I should try to get approved for another one as a way to continue to build my credit and score? Should I try to reactivate a Macy’s credit card that closed years ago because I hardly used it? Or should I just stick with the one credit card I have now?
Thanks, Michael. Looking forward to hearing back from you soon.
Best,
DMG
There really isn’t just one score available through FICO and Vantage. There are scoring metrics that get granular to a financial product (like a home or car loan), and there are scoring and measuring products particular to rental and leasing companies. The larger the management company and properties, the likelier they use a modified scoring and approval process. You can ask a company with report they may base their approvals on. And if you are declined based on how you appear on a credit report they used, you of course have a right to know.
I cannot know which one is more reliable. I do know that credit karma can be off by quite a bit though.
Before getting your scores from the credit bureaus (paying for them), have you reviewed your reports for being completely current and accurate?
As far as Chase goes, yes, it is impacting your credit and/or your ability to attain credit approval. You do not yet know if it would prevent you from attaining a rental contract. You could possibly submit a written explanation of the 1099c etc. to the property management company. If you determine that the Chase account is indeed holding you back from reaching your goals, I would settle it if it were me.
That Chase account will be there for up to 7and one half years from the date you stopped paying them. How much longer do you have to go?
Given what you shared, I might try to get moved and settled in to a new apartment before I look for other credit that will cause some hard pulls. But my opinion here could be adjusted the more I know about a persons situation.
Here is more about obtaining a rental with with credit.
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the quick response.
Yesterday, I signed up for a $1 trial period (7 days) with Experian where you can view your FICO credit score and report. My score is at 641 points. On the Experian report, I had to dispute one listing that shows a Citibank (Sears) credit card balance of $2,041 and the payment status says “late.” However, I paid this amount in full to a collection agency back in Oct. 2013, so the listing should be updated with zero balance being owed and closed. The Experian representative said she submitted the dispute and I should hear back within 30 days with an update on the matter.
I would like to see what my Transunion and Equifax FICO scores are, however, that will cost about $15-$20 for each, I believe. For now, I’m thinking I will just order either a free Transunion or Equifax report, since it’s been over a year since I got one from either bureau. I don’t want to get both at the same time, so whichever one I don’t get now, I’ll get in December to space them out properly.
As for the Chase card I mentioned in my initial post, the last time I made a payment on that card was Sept. 2011. So does that mean the Chase listing will remain on my credit report until 2018? If so, that means I have another 3 years left. With that, do you think it’s best for me to go ahead and settle or pay in full the $5,000 balance in order to get the balance updated to zero dollars with a “paid” status? If I go the settlement route, how much should I ask to settle for? Hopefully it’s significantly less than $5,000.
Thanks for your help. Hope to hear back soon.
Best,
DMG
Based on the dates and information you provided, I would expect the Chase account to drop off your credit reports between September of 2018 and March 2019.
If it were me, and I had the money to settle with Chase, and thought that it would help me achieve my near term goals, I would settle. I would target between 30 and 40 percent realistically, but it is possible to get lower given the circumstances.
Hi,
I have a VS Credit Card. My limit was very small and I had used it for holidays and gifts and things, but every time their fashion show came on they would raise my limit and interest rates without my consent. They also would raise it just because some new apparel item came out. I told them that since they wanted to keep raiding my payments from what they were and I continued to pay my usual balance and they ended up having a problem with it. And I haven’t paid in a couple months, mostly because I am a full time college student, in medical school and don’t have time to work. And I have no family or anything to help. How can I stop this? Its not much money (maybe 2000) all because they tacked up my bill because of unauthorized limit increases and increases in interest because of the limit increases. I have not approved for them to do any of this. Please help.
Is this something where Victoria Secret is sending you new items without your having placed the order?
As far as the interest rate increases, when did that first happen? Due to the Card Act, credit card companies cannot arbitrarily raise your interest rates. But they can once you miss two payments. Is that what happened?
Michael, Lynn, thank you for your input.
The notice I received;
ORDER VACATING NOTICE OF LACK OF PROSECUTION
This cause having come before the court and the court finding that
ten months had not elapsed since the filing of a pleading in this case and therefore
the Notice Of Lack OF Prosecution was entered in error, it is thereupon
Ordered and Adjudged…that the Notice is hereby vacated of record and shall be
of no further force or effect. – Had I known then…that I needed to petition the court
for dismissal I certainly would have. In the realm of such matters I would have thought
I would have received a notice to appear for a show cause hearing to be heard and state
my cause but I did not.
I think you were typing this comment at the same time I was responding to your earlier one.
I understand what you are saying, and I do not disagree that the short end of the stick is handed to many of us in these situations. You don’t know what you don’t know. But the courts are likely going to see your file as having been properly adjudicated.
If you have options, the experienced debt defense attorneys in your area, who know your court and its judges and clerks, will be best able to advise you.
Michael, thanks again for your replies! I probably ‘was ‘typing’ before while you were
replying, haha. This whole thing has driven me crazy in my attempts to devise
some approach to solving even after all these years, and yes, I guess you could
have called it an “Adar misunderstood up.” That’s funny. You had me laughing
on that one! You mentioned the 10 month time line window
as being more of a management tool for the court’s calendar and dockets.
Enlightening to say the least, and disappointing too. Seems I really have no leg
to stand on, even if stated in their own state’s rules of Civil Procedure.
1.420(e), (b) etc. etc. ?! Is it all just a whitewash? It’s merely a guideline.
I hate to say it but once again it’s not about the law,
“rules of civil proxcedure” etc. instead…it’s more about pushing through all the
litigory cases that have piled up as swiftly as possible, rubber stamping them
if you will in order to move on to the next, and the next. – –
Yes…please send me any debt defense attorneys from my area (MA)
that specialize in these matters and know the south Florida courts (19th
judicial circuit, St lucie County) –
Thanks again Michael, you’ve been very helpful.
Your not wrong Adar. Part of the business model of debt collection in the courts does rely on filing in bulk, and the scalability that assumes the vast majority of defendants will not respond, know what to do, or when.
I sent you an email with a half dozen experienced debt defense attorneys in your area.
It would be great if you post an update with how you progress.
Michael, Lynn, I do appreciate your input! I have this to say;
I did not ‘follow’ the dockets. I have not spoken to an experienced debt defense
attorney on this issue. The notice I received from the court was ambiguous at best.
Either 10 months DID elapse without any activity to prosecute or it DID NOT. How
can a court be confused on this? I frankly did not know how to respond to such a notice
when I received it in 2008 much less anticipate a judgement to follow.
Lynn, you mentioned you work with such matters everyday within the 20th
Judicial Circuit in Florida. Can you honestly say that what I’ve experienced hasn’t
occurred to others, probably more often then one would believe? All because of
some judicial mess up. I should not have been left to holding the bag without an
opportunity to be heard. How was I to have acted on such a notice not knowing then
the intent of it’s message? A snippet of the notice I received:
ORDER VACATING NOTICE OF LACK OF PROSECUTION
THIS CAUSE having come before the court and the court finding that ten
months had not elapsed since the filing of a pleading in this case and
therefore the Notice Of Lack of Prosecution was entered in error, it is thereupon
ORERED and ADJUDGED that the Notice Of Lack Of Prosecution entered herein
on October 20, 2008 is hereby vacated of record and shall be of no further force
or effect.
Unfortunately Adar, the courts will have expected you to consult with your own counsel, or to become informed on your own about how best to proceed. The court followed their own rules, and the debt collector, as a frequent player in the courts, did as well.
10 months is a guide to the clerks to use for calendar and docket management. It is not a set in stone timeline that prevents plaintiffs from further pursuing their claims. Courts give all manner of latitude to both plaintiffs and defendants for excusable neglect.
I cannot speak for Lynn, but I do know what you experienced does indeed regularly happen to others. You are calling it a judicial mess up, but it is actually more of an Adar “misunderstood-up”.
You really should run your scenario by an experienced debt collection defense attorney in your area. Most offer a no cost initial consult. I can email you any I know of if you like?
Thanks for your response. You’ve told me that the court’s notice, e.g., order to vacate
due to lack of prosecution was their response. Granted, however this came
over 1 year later. The notice was date stamped October 30, 2008. My Answer was sent
on October 5, 2007, and received by Plaintiff’s attorney per a copy of their date stamp on
October 8, 2007. I have read Florida’s Rules of Civil Procedure for the district/county
court, the 19th judicial circuit in this case.
Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.420(e) provides for the procedures for
dismissal of an action for failure to prosecute or to continue
pursuing an action. If no activity has occurred in an
action, such as the filing of pleadings, for a period of one
year, the court may dismiss, or a party upon motion may
request the court for dismissal. Dismissal is not automatic,
but must be made on motion, or by affirmative action of the court.
My defense is that the time lines for affirmative actions, responses, were not met
within the 1 year window and therefore the rules for dismissal for lack
of prosecution were met. To discover a judgement years later that you never knew
existed nor had any opportunity to defend against is wrong.
Forget the fact that I was not affored the proper notices. “Lack of prosecution” was
and is the issue here.
Thanks again for your reply & comments and for all the other readers here an
opportunity to receive helpful information and to learn something
Hello Mike, Outline of a previous civil complaint from a debt creditor.
Summons/complaint received. ANSWER sent within 20 days. Plaintiff’s counsel acknowledged
receipt of ANSWER. Only ONE response received from the Clerk of the courts over 1 year later
titled “Order Vacating Notice Of Lack Of Prosecution” – notice claimed order was entered in “error”
and therefore is vacated of record. Not understanding the intent, meaning, or otherwise direction
the case had taken from this notice, I made the assumption that the case was closed. This was back
in 2008! Late in 2014 while checking credit bureau reports, we discovered a judgement had been
entered on this case. This was hard to believe. I am claiming “defective process of service” since
NOTHING was ever sent to me in the course of the complaint other than the 1 ambiguous notice
referenced above. No response to my ANSWER, no notice to appear later in court to “show cause”,
nothing from plaintiff’s counsel, nothing period. I believe I have a case. In essence, a summary
judgement was entered against me in error without justification. I have researched and looked
at other case files. Do you agree? The second defense is that 10 months DID elapse without any
activity. My motion will be to Set Aside / Dismiss Judgement.
Have you run your scenario by an experienced debt defense attorney in your state?
Question I am currently paying off a debt each week till it gets paid off from cavalry portfolio services (llc). My question is if I finish paying it off can they still sue me or go after more money? Please help!!
Generally speaking, once you resolve a debt there is nothing else to pay, so no risk of being sued or of further collection activity.
Can you offer more details about the collection account with Cavalry Portfolio Services?
How much are you paying Cavalry each month, and what is the balance remaining?
I saw the fact that EBay doesn’t report as being relevant in the sense of having a much more difficult to remove charge off record on my credit history. Where CAs aren’t required by federal law to report like a bank loan or official line of credit would be, it seemed like a good situation for me to pay and clear the record should there be on incurred from the CA, instead of also trying to write EBay to see if a long history of missed payments and a charge off could be removed as well. I was making the point that a normal credit history item in this circumstance would be a double negative in showing late or missed payments, a charge off, then a new line with a CA.
I recently got stuck in the Swiss bank dropping there peg in a large currency trade. The result was a negative balance of over 700k unsecured.
I have a income stream of 20k a month profit. Can they attach a lien or frieze my business account which I depend on to pay my employees and collect money from my sole proprietor business. I am not incorporated. I do not own the building I use. I know they can garnish my income 10 % in New York. I am worried if they frieze my business account I will be out of business?
Unsecured debt would mean there is nothing securing, or set as some type of collateral if you default with payments. In order to collect form you, if you are unwilling to work something out, your creditors would have to sue you. With the little information you shared, yours is a profile that expect to be sued.
Who are the unsecured creditors that are owed, and what are the balances related to each?
Are you willing to come up with some form of plans for full or partial repayment?
Do you have the financial ability to work through this in the short to mid term?
My negative balance is with one of the on line forex brokerages in the US. I have not been sued and negotiations are under way. But if they fail and they win a judgment my concern is not only will they be able to freeze my personal account but can they freeze my business account which would put my in a difficult place to pay them or anyone else. Are there laws that protect business accounts that serve the public good if the debt is personal? I am not behind on any debt and have excellent credit. All my significant assets are protected from seizure or bankruptcy through ERISA laws and a new mostly unpaid mortgage with little equity. One last part: I read if your dept is not consumer debt no matter how large you don’t have to take the means test. Is brokerage loss debt considered non consumer debt. I was in it to make money?
https://www.forexcrunch.com/snbomb-reactions-from-10-forex-brokers/
Mine is apparently not one of them
Run this all by a bankruptcy attorney in your area, and perhaps even an experience debt defense attorney. I can help you locate one if you post the name of a nearby larger city.
Albany or Syracuse New York
I sent you an email with contact details for two experienced attorneys in Albany. Their practices are focused on consumer law, not business debts, but that also means they can likely address your main questions effectively. The first one listed also provides bankruptcy services.
Ask for a referral if the challenges you end up facing are strictly business accounts.
I filled out your background information section with a lot of details and then submitted my question. This was yesterday Jan 27, 2015 at around 5:15 central time. Did you get it? I haven’t seen it on here and I never got an email. I am new to this site and just want to make sure I didn’t do something wrong. Please let me know. Thanks!
I am usually pretty good about replying to all comments on a daily basis, even on weekends. Reader question submissions require me to publish a new page. There is a process to that nowadays that can mean several days before I publish, or an email will go out asking the person to copy and paste their situation and question as a comment to an existing page (to avoid duplication of content covered frequently already). I read over your submission and will send you an email requesting you copy that in to a comment with a link to the target page. Once I see the comment, I will respond with my feedback.
Will the email you send me have all the background info I typed. I don’t have a copy of exactly what I wrote. I also don’t remember the exact questions I asked. Hopefully you have it still. Thx so much.
It did have all of that. I already sent the email.
Hi there! I think it is so awesome that you give of your time and knowledge in helping people on here. I unfortunately also one who has no where else to turn for some advice and must add to your load here if I may. I will be as concise as possible.
I am applying to go to medical school later this year. I am very financially disadvantaged and will have to take out 2 loans to make this possible. Stafford unsubsidized, and student direct loans (both from US Department of Education). The direct loans have the following general terms for qualification: 1)No current debt exceeding 90 days overdue and 2)No student loan repayment defaults/charge offs/etc.
I fell into the Bill Me Later trap and had a debt of $3000. Since work while completing my undergrad was minimal due to full time school, and having a small family and wife with special health needs, my repayment over the past few years has been sporratic, but happening. Then we had a period of large medical bills, school expenses out of pocket, and a broken down car. It went 6 months of less than minimum due payments and I thought it would get me by for a little bit since it was all we could do. This landed the account being charged off to ACI as of a few weeks ago. They called my parents a few days ago and have not yet spoken with me directly.
As you may know, PayPal never entered the debt or records pertaining to it on my credit report. So as far as can be seen as of right now, the debt does not exist there. But I do not know how things will change with ACI now. I will have enough money to pay the debt in full by April, but have never been in a situation like this or had a debt charged off. I think my current credit score for my 10 years of history is about 700.
I am just desperately trying to glean advice into 1)How to approach ACI..2)Will they report the collection account, even if I am willing to not try and barter the cost down and/or pay what we can until April when I can clear the debt or 3) Is it possible to negotiate that in the event they report from the beginning, can they remove the entries once I have paid what is owed? My biggest fear is that I have invested my entire life to get to the point of being a competitive medical school applicant, and in the even I get in, I am basically terrified of the potential impacts of this PayPal/ACI thing disqualifying me from student direct loans—thereby making the prospects of being able to go of accepted, impossible, because I do not have someone to co-sign a $145,000 loan to cover living expenses and obviously cannot work full time while in medical school.
Please help! Sorry this was not as consice as I intended…any thoughts are valued as gold at this point:)
I am skeptical that a collection of the sort with Bill Me Later and ACI will prevent you from being approved for the federal government backed student loans. It sounds like you will have the money to settle with ACI in April, and that you are not applying for the loans until after that (correct me if I misunderstood). If a PayPal account shows up in collection on your credit reports, and is resolved to show paid (whether for less or in full – it is zero balance), I think you are still in good shape.
I am going to send this to a student loan pro and see if she wants to weigh in with anything different.
Thanks a lot Michael! I appreciate your time very much. I have learned a lot more about settling collection accounts and requesting removal of the records as part of a “If I pay in full right now..” offer. I will give that a try. From what I understand it’s a fairly appealing deal for them if you show the money and in consideration that debt collection accounts aren’t required by law to be reported to the credit companies (so I read). I have had more money turn up and should before I even get my tax returns back which I just filed, so we won’t even be past the “30 days assume the debt valid” period, so I think things should be nice, quick, and neat.
I agree very much with Todd Stark you really are a warm shoulder in which to find comfort & guidance. I also appreciate your knowledge and time you put to help each and every one of us with our individual credit issues. Thank you Michael!
Michael, its so true i get anxiety snd sometimes panic. I need to learn to not be so fearful, Really the worst thing that could happen to us is we have to pay 2 or 300 a month on this account. Its not something we want to do, but if we have to do it, we will. Its not the first time we have had to pay on a balance. Thats why i was hoping to at least negotiate the balance down first. Calling one of the attorneys you gave me will most likely give me some peace. Thanks again!
Michael, being sued by Dynia is a real concern for me right now. Im not sure i can live each day for months waiting to see what they will do. I dont have money to make a lump sum settlement right now or this time next year. My only way out would be if I could get a reasonable payment plan now. Can consumer recovery help me negotiate with them on a payment plan i could deal with? To be honest, I dont think I can wait around to see if I will be sued in court then get on a payment plan.That is too stressful. I dont see how i could fight this in court either since i do owe the debt.
I understand why you have anxiety about all of this.
I am not taking files at the moment. I am going to email you contact details for experienced consumer advocate attorneys who have likely dealt with Dynia many times. All of them likely will offer you a no cost initial consult. I want you to call one or more and talk about what is going on, and your concerns about being sued, or setting up payments right now.
In my opinion, if you cannot negotiate and pay a reasonable lump sum settlement now, you wait to see if you are sued, and then work with one of these attorneys I am sending you to defend it. Debt collection lawsuits are frequently beaten back and dismissed for a myriad of reasons. Ask about those reasons, and gain your own comfort level with what I am saying, by speaking to someone about how they do it (if you need them to).
Hi Michael, I need some advice. I stopped paying a Target credit Card back in 2013. Just Monday (1-5-2015) afternoon I was served with what looks to be legal court papers showing me as the defendant and TD Bank as the Plaintiff. A legal team out of Plantation Florida is representing TD Bank. The summons or legal court papers instruct me to contact them in writing within 20 days. A phone call will not help me & to contact my attorney is also advised and if no attorney to seek an attorney referral service. I am very much aware of this old debt and I am very concerned as to how to proceed. I want to be sure this isn’t just another scare tactic to “get my attention” and I sure don’t want my employer to garnish my wages. Should I call the attorney’s office who served me and attempt to negotiate a payment plan or a lower settlement and/or proceed with seeking the advice of an attorney…..what should my next step be? I was looking into debt consolidation, but fear I may not have the time to do so with the 20 day time frame. I am scared. My debt is just over $7,500.00. Thank you in advance for any and all suggestions.
I would suggest talking with an experienced debt collection defense attorney.
What is the name of a larger city near you? I can email you contact details to nearby attorneys I know offer an initial no cost consultation to talk over your situation.
Thank you Michael, to answer your question I live in between Vero Beach & Melbourne Florida. I sure do appreciate any and all advice. My concern is if TD Bank sues me, what stops Target from coming back later and suing me again. My responsibility is to Target, not TD Bank.
I sent you an email with contact details for a couple of experienced debt collection defense attorneys in the area. Both likely offer a no cost initial consult so that you can discuss what is going on.
TD Bank bought up the Target card portfolio. TD bank has the legal right to collect as a result.
Sorry… I should add that TD Bank ownership of your account means Target cannot, and will not, also try to get you to pay.
Hello again Michael, After a ton of research which my husband devoted many hours to, we did reply to the courts and added our affirmative actions/motions (pardon the terminology may not be correct, I don’t have the paperwork in front of me), and in return we are set for mediation on 3-4-2015. Because of my work scheduling issues I called and arranged a telephonic mediation. I never did consult an attorney mostly because of monetary reasons, but my question is what should I expect at this point? Is there a possibility we could settle for a lessor amount than the suit filed against me? And is there anything additional I should be alerted to, to protect myself? Judgement? Anything you could share would be greatly appreciated. I want to arrange anything to avoid my wage garnishment or a lien against my home/bank account, etc.
Check out exemptions from judgment creditors, and if I have not covered your state in the comments, post your state in the comments on that page and I will.
You can negotiate a settlement now, or even after a judgment is entered. I would be targeting around 60 percent in this situation. How prepared are you to fund a settlement if they accept your offer?
Hello Mike- I don’t remember seeing the judgement for my state, but I do live in Florida. If you could post the judgement details for my state I would really appreciate your help on that.
Now onto the settlement of 60%. Would I be expected to pay it the day of mediation or do the courts usually allow 30 days? And how likely would it be I could negotiate the percentage?
The first 750 dollars of the head of household wages are protected in Florida.
Florida will protect up to 5 thousand dollars value of your car (1k, plus up to 4k of any unused homestead exemption, but that must cover household goods not covered by the 1000 dollar value of your personal stuff).
Your household goods are protected for 1k, but up to 4k more can be exempted depending on homestead.
Florida protects deposited wages in your bank account from levy.
Home exemptions have a limit on acres, but not dollar value.
If you do get an agreement to settle, I would want to have those funds at the ready. You can sometimes buy the time you need though.
I think you have a good shot at settling for 60% if you do not look all that collectable. Does your credit report show you are paying other credit cards on time, or do you have other unpaid collections on there?
no I am pretty good at paying everything else. My credit score is 661 & I am fairly current on everything but this Target debt. My debt to income is shaky….That I am sure of. Is this good or bad??? Tomorrow is my mediation. I will not have the 60% available tomorrow but can possibly have it within 30 days, (fingers crossed).
You look a little more collectable than someone with other debts in collection showing on their credit reports. You may be looking at a higher settlement percentage as a result. And sometimes… you just settle for affordable payments on the balance.
This is pretrial mediation?
Yes, this is a pretrial mediation (as far as I know, this is my first go around with anything of this nature)
Michael, my main concern with this mediation tomorrow is answering the questions posed to me correctly without further condemning myself in order to come out with a decent percentage?
With my affirmative defenses is it okay to admit to the debt?
Who starts the negotiating process the collection agency, me or the mediator? I am so green at this and it is unfamiliar territory.
Are there court costs added on?
I think after checking I will be able to have the funds in 3 days. Is this good or does it matter at this point.
ANYTHING you can lend will be greatly appreciated.
I hope you can post an update with what happened today Tammy.
Well today was my dreaded mediation. However with Michael’s generous knowledge and advice we plugged through and were able to come to a negotiation within a reasonable time frame, the attorney representing the plaintiff accepted our first offer. My original debt (including court cost of $360.00) totaled $7562.00 and we offered 50% which was accepted. My mediation was handled via the telephone because I wasn’t able to appear in mediation….I truly feel that was to my benefit, maybe not, but nerve wise, it felt better. I was given nearly 30 days to pay the negotiated amount in a lump sum. I am so happy with the outcome. But I absolutely couldn’t have entered the mediation feeling confident without the advice of Michael and the many resourceful tools available online which my husband and I spent many hours researching. Michael, you are awesome and again I thank you. Thank you seems like chump change when I just want to hug you and buy you dinner, a nice dinner.
I hope you know how much we appreciate everything you helped with, sincerely!!!
Thanks so much for the kind words and the update Tammy.
Great job getting this resolved and putting it behind you!
Hi Michael,
I have a charged off cc with Elan for $6,600. I stopped making payments about 3-4 years ago, and havent had any debt collection calls for about 3 years. I am now in a better financial status point in my life where we are starting to get ready to buy a house, and have been researching trying to settle it to get it off my credit. I am getting ready to send a debt vaildation letter and I have been then have been debating sending a sperate settlement request letter if I pay 20%. What are you thoughts or suggestions on this?
Who is it you are thinking of sending the debt validation request to?
What state do you live in?
Who is collecting, and whether the SOL to collect in the courts has expired, can impact realistic target amounts to settle for, and whether to call and negotiate is better than writing in (calling is better in my experience).
When is it you are looking to apply for a home loan?
Im in Wisconsin so I believe the SOL is 6 years. We are planning on looking at houses after our wedding so about 12 months from now.
When I checked my credit report it still showed elan was collecting. So I was going to use that as the address to send the debt validation letter.
The payment status says “bad debt placed for collection and skip” and anothrt line says “charged off as bad debt”.
It sounds like Elan still holds legal rights to the debt.
I would call and ask Elan who the account is currently placed with for collection. Post the name of the company when you know it.
If Elan has the account internally at the moment, you can negotiate the pay off amount with them directly.
If Elan has the account, they are the original creditor. There would be little cause for sending them a debt validation letter. If you call Elan and learn who the debt collection agency is that has your account, you have effected a validation of a sort with that call. Sending the debt collector a validation letter would not be all that productive.
There is nothing worse than having a process service come banging on your door unexpectedly. But if you are expecting it then its easier to handle. Its having no warning of it that can make you fearful. My question is, what is the warning sign that for sure a summons will be next. Many dunning letters are sent to you, but which letter actually means business when they say they will sue if you dont call to have this debt resolved? And since my bank of america account is with a collection group called Dynia and Associates, does that mean they will eventually sue because they are a group of attorneys?
If the account is within the SOL in your state to sue,and you are hearing, or receiving collection notices from, an attorney licensed in your state, the odds you could be sued have increased dramatically.
I would say your risks of collection suit are higher with Dynia. But you can often fight collection suits successfully, and for less than it would cost to settle.
I have been able to settle two cards lately with a lump sum because I had help from a family member. Those two cards balance were 8600 and 14000. I was able to settle with them for 1200 and 10,000. But only because I had help. I still have this 18000 hanging over me. I’m not going to get any lump sum help with this one. I don’t know what to do but ask for a lower balance and spread it out over 3 or 4 years. Is that possible with Dynia? If I had to pay 280 to 300 a month then I will just have to. Of course if I could go lower than that it would be great. Have you ever seen this kind of balance of 18000 being knocked down to 10,000 or less and pay it out over a few years ?
It is possible to get the balance reduction along with payments that extend a couple or more years. But it is not all that common.
There are instances where you just hold tight and save up each month as much as you can, with the intent of settling later. If the statute of limitations runs for Dynia to legitimately sue in your state, you have less to worry about, and can still negotiate a settlement more on your terms if you want. If you receive a letter from a collection attorney in your state before the SOL to sue is passed, things are likely getting escalated. But court may be where you get the payments you can afford.
I do not like long term payment plans with debt collectors for the following reasons:
You can reset the SOL to sue.
Life happens and you could miss making a timely payment, and thereby lose any settlement/balance reduction agreement.
If it were me, I would wait it out until I had about 25% of the balance to offer as settlement, the SOL ran out, or I were being contacted by an in state collection attorney.
Thanks for the good advice. I will do that.
It’s interesting you mentioned in state collection attorney. If I was ever to be sued, the attorney has to be local? Or in the state? I ask that because I got served some papers from Stephen Bruce Associates who resides in Oklahoma. I live in Louisiana. I did eventually settle with them because I didn’t want to get sued.They were representing Discover. How were they able to sue? I’m just wondering.
The attorney suing you would need to be licensed in your state. The attorney for Discover may have held multiple state licenses (many debt collection attorneys do), or had satellite offices in your state.
There are also large attorney collection networks out there.
I have a B of A card that we stopped payment on 9 months ago. The balance is 18,000. It is in collections now with Dynia and Associates. Is it possible to get them to settle around 50% or 60% without a lump sum but instead with a payment plan?
I often advise against monthly payments, but you can often settle debts for less with debt collectors like Dynia, and get time to pay. What amount of money can you afford to pay monthly?
What can I do when I my account has been charged off when it was in good standing? I opened the CC account with US Bank in 1991. In 1998 I added my then wife. In 2009 we got divorce and I took the CC debt. In May 2010 my ex filed for bankruptcy. Since my ex was still on the account and despite the fact that I made every payment as required, US Bank charged off the account. I found this out when I tried to get a student loan. In order to get the student loan I had to show proof that I paid as I should have. I got the loan. Later I call US Bank to complain about this. Finally I was able to talk to Mr. Joseph Blair, Recovery Manager at US Bank. Mr. Blair put my on hold for about 20 minutes returning to the phone to tell me that me account should have never been charged off. However US Bank has not made any attempt to undo their mistake.
What can I do at this point?
Tim
File a credit reporting complaint against US Bank with the CFPB here: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/. Be thorough with the dates and times of all that transpired. Once your complaint is submitted, it can take a few weeks for USBank to respond back to both you, and the CFPB.
I suspect this will get straightened out without the need to do much more than that. But post an update with what happens and lets go from there if need be.
Hi Michael, thank you for being such a font of wisdom on these topics!
I have a debt for just over 14k that I let get out of hand through a combination of unexpected family crisis compounded by marginal record keeping practices and plain old ignorance. The debt was from a credit card last used in 2007 and was originally less than 7k, but has grown to its present size due to the original interest rate jumping from 4.5% to 28%, and then being placed with CACH when I was unable to keep current with payments.
So due to the family crisis part of this story I had maintained a temporary mailbox (one of those places like Mailboxes Etc.) in the state (CA) that the debt collection action ultimately took place – I lived in a different state at the time and was traveling back and forth while I awaited resolution of that crisis back in 2007. The resolution, expected to be a few months at most, dragged on for years and I updated and forwarded most of my mail forwarded (most – it seems not all mail forwards reliably) to that temporary box until I could figure out exactly where I would need to live to best address the issue bringing me here.
It turned out to be a bad arrangement because when I finally did move to CA, living arrangement circumstances were such that the temporary mailbox became impractical to visit on a regular basis, and I began to forward and update all my addresses once again to my new physical residence. Late into this second transition, I was served at some point with a summons, but it was served to the rented mailbox rather than my actual residence, and by this time I was collecting the mail at the temp box only once every few weeks as most of it was junkmail by then. I had declined to take the box rental renewal but the owners of the mailbox shop still collected stray mail arriving there as a courtesy (that’s just a guess – and if true I don’t think it was personally done for me, as I hardly knew them). The last bundle of mail I picked up did not have a summons in it, but from what I have learned this is not that important – substitute service is apparently given a fair bit of guideline leeway here. Suffice it to say I was sued unawares and didn’t show for the court date I had no idea existed. Count me as one of the 90%.
I only discovered I was sued when I received a letter from my bank saying they had been ordered by court to freeze my accounts, and that a total of under $50.00 had been seized from them (the entire balance at that time). This was by a lawfirm located far from me in the state, whose name I cannot recall at the moment, but the case has been transferred once or twice since then and is now with one that is quite close (Mandaritch).
After speaking with them I offered to pay as much as I humanly can, but I am out of work and had just I spent the last year settling and paying all of my other debts. I explained that I am willing to do the same with this one, but after some calculations and favor-asking of my contacts I explained on a subsequent call that I simply cannot come up with more than about 50% of the amount they are asking for, even if I include selling off of some nonessential personal effects and gifts. They didn’t seem remotely interested and in fact took the opportunity to order another freeze on my bank to collect again, and again it was a pittance compared to the amount owed but still a significant hardship when I am trying to stretch every dollar until things improve. I have not continued the conversation since, as there’s presently nowhere for it to go but downhill.
Ok – now for my actual questions. Sorry for the long sob story! : )
First, is it at all realistic to expect that I can get a judgment-enforced collection settled for anything close to 50% of the current balance (which happens to be just about double the original amount)?
Second, is there any reason to think that I would have a chance at having the judgment vacated due to the substitute service being performed at a location I was only marginally connected with at the time of service? I do not actually want to avoid paying the debt entirely, but prefer to negotiate it on a little less lopsided of a footing if at all possible.
Third, I am very likely to be moving out of state soon for yet another developing family emergency, and it coincidentally is a state with extremely short SOL for judgment collection (one of the two shortest in the country). If I move to this state, what happens to the judgment in CA? Does it automatically convert to its equivalent in my new state of residence? Does the time prohibition start over fresh in the new state, or does the SOL get considered to be expired the moment I become a resident of the new state (as it would be aged already a year or so past the SOL there, even though it hasn’t passed it here in CA)?
Thanks again for your inestimably valuable insight and advice you provide -free- to a bunch of strangers like myself!
You can often settle judgment debt for around 50%. Why the Mandarich law firm is digging their heels in on such an inflated balance is possibly going to be their loss… as you can often vacate a judgment like this.
I am going to email you contact details to an attorney who regularly works on vacating judgments older than 1 year in California. Call him for a no cost initial consult and get his opinion after you share the facts, and also a feel for what will be involved. Ask Adam your questions about moving. But the judgment from California would likely have to be filed as a foreign judgment in the new state, and maybe with fresh legs as far as the SOL goes.
Hello Michael. Thank you first of all for taking the time to answer so many questions here. This site is a wealth of information and I’ve learned a tremendous amount simply by reading your responses to others. I would like your opinion on my specific situation. I live in South Carolina and, due to a series of personal difficulties, I have fallen behind on most of my credit card bills.
I have three accounts with Chase. I have entered into a no interest balance liquidation program with them that I feel comfortable with. I also have two accounts with Capital One. Both have charged off. One is about $500 and one is about $700. They are with United Recovery Systems and Alliance One. I cannot afford the payments they are offering.
My other concern is my JCPenney card. I believe it has charged off as well, but I have not received notification yet. I owe them about $600.
I know even charged off accounts can results in lawsuits and I’m looking to avoid that if at all possible. Would the small debts make it less likely for the original creditors to sue? If the creditor sued, and they received a judgment, I am completely protected based on South Carolina’s exemptions. Do creditors research if an individual is collectable before going to court?
Thanks so much for your time.
I see Capital One lawsuits for under 1k. And there are debt buyers that will sue for balances under one thousand dollars.
You and I would think suing for lower dollar amounts would be a zero sum game at best. But as an aggregate, the performance and return for suing on smaller accounts is measurable.
Most collectors will apply some collectability logic (often using software). The decision to sue someone, who on paper can be seen as uncollectable, may have something to do with:
1. People do not always remain uncollectable. Financial setbacks are often not permanent. A judgment today could become collectable 15 years from now.
2. Debt collection law firms have to pursue the files sent to them, even when doing so does not make sense, if they want to continue to get files.
Hello;
My question is, I recently found out a summons is trying to be delivered to me. I was bored and looked up my name on the county clerks website only to find an open case against me! I had ZERO idea this was happening before this. I have a charged off account with Dell as of 11 Jul 2011, for 5,579$ and Midland LLC., a national collection company using a lawyer out of their Plantation, FL (four hours from me address) office making it look like they’re acting on Dell’s behalf as lawyer, bought the account in July of 2013; after a series of other collections have bought it. According to the clerks website, a case was filed against me 13 May 2014 and a server tried to summons me 21 June 2014. The thing is my job takes me all over the country and this is my parents address and I use it as my home of record, since I don’t really have one, because I live pretty much all over the place. I use this address for my family to live at, in addition to mail, vehicle registrations, etc. My dad apparently told them I live in Colorado, which I did at the time. It was annotated on the servers description on the clerks website that I live in Colorado. An alias summon was issued in August and a Plurius summons issued 13 Oct 2014. Except the address listed on the clerks papers for both those summons, shows an address I’ve never lived at in my hometown. There is no judge, date or time listed, on any of the summons (all blank), the only address for which court to go to is on the alias summons and its crossed out. There are no court seals on any of the PDF’s I saw, only the lawyers signature and a bar# stamp with someone name. So to date, I have not been served and am afraid because of my traveling job I will miss some automatic court date because they couldn’t find me and I automatically lose. Lastly, this is for a dell CC, according to their company statement, they follow Texas state law, I live in Florida. The SOL for an open account in Texas is four years, my last payment to Dell was 06 Jan 2011. This Jan. I understand it becomes time-barred and legal action is past due. Florida is five years. Does this fall under Texas or Florida SOL? Do I have to worry with so many unanswered summons an automatic court date being made? I’m the sole provider for a family of four, I make just enough to live, most times. I have no money to pay them/settle/ make payments or for a Lawyer, so I’m thinking I’m kinda screwed here, if it comes to that. If it does fall under Texas law and it does go time-barred, do I put all my papers together and send the lawyer notice of this to stop the summons? If anyone could give me sound legal advice I would truly appericate it thank very much for listening.
You want to run all of the SOL questions by an experienced debt collection defense attorney that practices in Florida. I can help you locate some that offer no cost initial consults. Just post the name of a larger nearby city and I will email the info to you.
The attorney practicing in Florida courts, in this particular area of consumer law, will know if an originators home state SOL has been applied effectively in your courts, or if that is a dead end defense. They will likely have already dealt with Midland and the attorney many times.
Thank you, for the response. I live close to Tampa, but Bradenton or Sarasota would be better. Also, I noticed in Dell’s term of service that they require arbitration, that neither they nor their customers would take any matter to court and the arbiter findings would be final.
I sent you 3 attorney contacts in an email. Distance should not be an issue with your type of case (all are in Tampa). It would be great if you were to post an update with your progress.
Hi Michael,
After some months now, one of my credit cards has increased my limit from $300 to $3300. I was happy to see the increase, as I’ve been making full payments on time for the past 5 months (which is how long I’ve had the card).
My first question to you is, what is the maximum amount I should charge to my credit card per billing cycle? I’ve read numerous things, like you shouldn’t charge more than 20%, 30%, etc. of your credit card limit, so I’m unsure as to which percentage is the one to follow. I’m happy that my limit has increased, but I just want to make sure that I’m not charging more than I should.
Secondly, is there a set time when credit card companies report to the credit bureaus?
And third, I’ve paid all my Cap One monthly bills on time for 5 months I’ve had it so far. The first couple of months, my credit score would increase by about 5-7 points, per Cap One’s Credit Tracker feature. However, the last few months there was no increase–the credit score always stayed the same. Do you know why my score isn’t increasing anymore, even though I’m paying in full and on time each month? This is the only cc payment I have. I have a student loan payment and I pay that every month, too, so I’m not sure why my score appears to have stalled at the same score for 3 months now.
Thanks for your help. Hope to hear from you soon.
Best,
DMG
I would not be overly analytical of the amount of purchases and charges to your open credit cards, as much as I would focus on having less than 30 percent balance utilization, or balance owed carry over from one month to the next.
How long it takes a creditor to update information with credit bureaus can vary widely. 30 day intervals is common.
You credit score is factored on many bits of information. What are your scores? What negatives show on your credit reports? Were your student loans always current? How long have you been paying on them?
It is not uncommon for credit scores to stay nearly static if there is nothing new added to the mix of factors the scores are based on. And 3 months is not all that long.
You will want to have more than 2 open and positive trade lines eventually. What are your credit and finance goals over the next couple of years?
Michael,
I just received a civil summons from my local county sheriffs dept for a card credit debt that was written off about 2 yrs ago as a result of a divorce and being a single parent of 3 I could not make payments any longer. I had two other cards at the time that I was able to pay off with a repayment plan that was agreed upon between the card company and myself; however GM HSBC (bought out by Cap. One) was not willing to work with me in the same manner as the other cards, so I had to make the choice of providing food and shelter over paying this debt. Now I am being sued by CACH, LLC for the debt they bought from HSBC in the amount of $6,800, my financial situation hasn’t changed in 2years and still don’t have the means to pay it. I have received solicitation letters from local attorneys stating that they will help in keeping CACH from leaving my bank acc or garnishing my wages, however the summons papers don’t state those facts it simply says I have 30days to answer this complaint with CACH’s attorney Lazega & Johanson before judgement by default is taken against me. All of this is taking place in athens, ga. Do you have any suggestions or attorneys I can talk to in this area that have experience with CACH and can help dissolve this action and possibly the amount owed?
I sent you an email with contact info to an attorney near you. Call him and discuss your options. Post an update with how you progress.
Thank you! Do you have any others in my area that I could try contacting? I tried the one emailed to me but it takes me straight to a voice recording, I did leave my name and number; however that did make me a little uneasy. Do I have any bankruptcy or dispute options? Should I try calling this other law office working on behalf of CACH? Do I have to have a court hearing or anything for them to garnish my wages or levy my bank account?
I too am being sued from Cach, LLC i just go the summons paper today at my house , i am afraid , i barely make money . can they sue for a debt of $1,200 that was from best buy ?
I see collection lawsuits for that low and lower all the time.
What is your goal with this account?
Hello Michael Bovee,
I recently sent this information to an attorney’s email provided on his site (Floria Civil Rules Of Procedure) asking him for his yea or nay on my direction. This was just sent yesterday so I have not
ruled out yet whether or not he’ll respond. My question and scenario is in regards to a former civil
suit filed against me for creditor debt owed. Perhaps you might be able to offer your insight on this,
and if so, much appreciated. ~ Here is the situation and what I sent the attorney… ~ ~
I’m in the process of submitting a motion to the 19th Judicial court of Florida
after discovering six years later in 2014 that a default judgment had been filed against me in a
civil debt suit filed in 2007. After sending in my Answer to the suit within the 20 day window, the plaintiff’s counsel acknowledged receipt of my answer in the same month through proper certificate of service. The only response I received from the court thereafter was a notice over 1 year later stating “Order vacating Notice Of lack Of Prosecution”..and it read..that the court finding that ten months had not elapsed since the filing of a pleading in this case…and therefore the notice of lack of prosecution was entered in error, it is thereupon…
ordered and adjudged that this notice is hereby vacated of record and shall be of no further force or effect.
What did this mean?
At the time, I took this notice as meaning that the case had been closed! I never received a summons to
appear for a show cause hearing or any other notices, pleadings, or otherwise to the original suit.
My defense is defective service of judicial process and that any summary or default judgment entered for non appearance should not have been entered in the first place and should be void. As the defendant in the case, I had an inalienable due process right to notice of summary judgment hearing, which I was denied since i did not receive any notice to appear for a show cause hearing.
Pursuant to Florida’s rules of civil procedure rule 1.540(b), I am motioning the court to set aside default judgment.
Please reply Michael with any insight you may have regarding civil process and the route I am to
undertake. I do NOT intend to retain an attorney to file a motion, I will be doing this.
Thank you!
The notice from the court was correcting a prior error it may have made regarding what sounds to be the clerks calendar and docket management efforts. It is common for courts to drop/dismiss cases from their dockets when there is no activity for certain period of time. Many courts will dismiss for lack of prosecution after 12 months or so. Yours appears to jump on this a little earlier than that.
I do not know of too many success voiding judgments when they are that old, and especially when the defendant made at least an initial appearance. The successes I am aware of are not in Florida.
Michael, no luck with settling with Midland on the $6605. They said my account is in recovery and can only settle for 80% or 5284. We can not do this. Our letter says it will go to an attorney on 11/16. Now what? We offered 25% expecting them to counter, but they stuck to their original offer. What do I do?
It says the balance is zero and that it was a CO and purchased by another lender. The original CO balance was $4873 but the balance on the CR is $6605 according to the CR. Not sure why. I do not want to drag payments out forever so I do need to settle for as little as possible so that I can settle on another charge off that is on the CR. First Source has this account but it is not showing on CR yet by them. They did do an inquiry though. I just want to get this behind me and get our finances straight now that I have started to work again. How much should I tell them in negotiating the settlement to get the best offer? Also it is odd that the credit card companies are paid by their insurance companies for defaults so why do they sell the accounts to collect again? Just curious. Seems like double dipping and that it would be illegal.
That means Capital One’s credit report entry of charge off will stay as you see it for up to 7.5 years from when you first missed your payments. Any other credit reporting associated with the account, like a debt collectors, should fall off at the same time. The exception to that would be if sued and a judgment entered in court, which would be a new negative credit report entry as a public record.
Banks do not take out credit card default insurance in the context most of us would think of insurance as.
Ok. The balance is roughly $6605. How much do I offer to settle for? I may be able to come up with some cash but would rather split the settlement over several months. Additionally, I just looked and this account was a GM account that was bought by Capital One and then sent to Midland. I also need help putting a settlement offer in writing. Can you tell me exactly what to say? Do I pay with money orders? Can the collection account be taken off my credit report if I request it and do I try to call Capital One first?
Do I ask them to validate the debt or if it goes legal, do I ask the attorney to validate the debt?
Sorry, but I am clueless on what to do and want to have a paper trail between us and Midland.
Midland Credit Management is part of Encore Capital. which also owns Midland Funding (larger debt buyer). Midland Credit generally collects on purchased debt owned within its family of companies. Calling Capital One about anything from here, other than to confirm they indeed sold the debt to Midland, would not serve a purpose.
I regularly see settlements with Midland between 40 and 60 percent. Negotiating a settlement lower that 40% is doable with hardships that are evident from your credit reports, and when you communicate your financial troubles well. Assume you are able to split the difference and settle for 50%, then are able to split those payments up over 3 to 6 months. How doable does that look to you?
I would encourage you to negotiate the deal over the phone, and get a settlement letter from Midland Credit sent to you prior to payment. You can read more about what to look for in a settlement letter here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/debt-settlement-letters-agreements/.
You can pay Midland using money orders. I like to see folks use the most convenient and traceable methods for settling with debt collectors. I talk about payment methods much more thoroughly here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/paying-your-credit-card-debt-settlements/.
It is unlikely you will be able to negotiated Midland removal from your credit report. Not if it is already on there. But Midland Credit will update your credit reports to show the debt is now resolved and no money is owed. They have to, as that would be the newest and most accurate information about the account. Paid collections lose their credit score sting fairly quickly, and some newer scoring models no longer factor in paid collections. In other words, try not to get hung up on credit reporting.
If your goal is settling, I would not send Midland Credit a debt validation letter, not any attorney it lands with.Not unless you need to buy a few weeks of time in order to raise a bit more money to pay the settlement. It is fairly simple for them to meet the their validation requirement, and with Capital Ones history of providing supporting documentation, save the cost of mail.
Thank you for such great info! I will contact Midland by phone and try to negotiate a settlement with them. I assume they will talk to me as spouse. I intend to share our woes with them and hope they will settle for a minimum of 40%. I hope to pay it over 6 months or if they want cash on the spot maybe they will settle for less. Once settled and reported as paid on the credit report, will Capital One note the charge off as paid also? Again, thank you for your advice!
Just be aware that debt collectors will often see a file that needs longer payment terms as someone who can keep those payments up even longer than you are saying you could/would. And that could (not always) mean they try to hit the higher side of settlement amounts.
The charge off from Capital One is what it is at this point. It should already show zero balance owed if Midland bought it, so nothing to update. Can you confirm that is what you are seeing on your credit reports?
My spouse received a letter from Midland Credit stating he has 2 weeks to pay a debt of 6 grand. If not paid it will go to an attorney in our state. Will they send it to an attorney? I had lost my job and we fell behind. The card was charged off and I assume sold to Midland. We cannot pay this in full and could possibly make arrangements to settle on a payment plan. I think the original creditor is Capital One. I as spouse have just gone back to work. It is going to take us a while to get back on our feet. What do we do?
Debt collectors like Midland Credit cannot threaten suit if there is no intention to follow through with it. I would say the risk of you being sued, if you do nothing, is close to 100%.
Midland Credit is one of the more reasonable debt collectors about setting up payments you can fit into your budget. Let me know if you run into problems with that.
Of course, settling with debt collectors for as much savings as possible is favored over payment plans, but does require upfront cash flow you may not have. Can you pull together 2 to 3 thousand to settle with Midland Credit and get this debt behind you much more quickly?
Hi Michael,
I am so happy to have stumbled upon this website. I have $10000 debt on a Nordstrom Credit Card, $2000 debt on a Wells Fargo Credit card, and $1300 on a TJX Marshalls Store Credit Card. I also have a unsecured loan of $27000 from Kabbage.com which I took for business expenses but the loan payment is divided into 6 months and I can no longer pay for that. I am current on payment for Wells Fargo, and TJX, but I just missed my first payment for the Nordstrom card because I had just signed a contract to https://www.usacredit-solutions.com/ debt solution company to negotiate and get a lump sum settlement for the credit card debts. But after reading about all of this information on your website, I am getting wary and concerned about what to do with my debt and if I can end the contract with the debt solution company because of fear they might not help or worse, take my money and run. Is there a way I can save up a lump sum and settle with my Nordstrom card in 2-3 months and deal with them directly? I just had my first missed payment for Nordstrom and I don’t know what to do next!
Also, for Kabbage, is there any way I can negotiate for that? I don’t know what to do about that. Ive always worked from home on ebay and decided to open an office and took out business loans from Kabbage, but with low sales I can no longer afford the payments. The loans are issued through their bank, Celtic Bank. They are charging my bank account and I am getting overdraft fees because of the automatic payment method they require. I don’t know what to do!
Your advice is greatly appreciated! Thank you so much
You can negotiate and settle with your creditors on your own. Let’s look at the cost and time involved.
What amount of money are you set up to put aside each month with USACredit Solutions? Now… how much can you really save? I ask this way because debt settlement companies generally use a soft sell of monthly affordability payments to make the programs look more affordable. Watch this video for more details on this concern.
If you can access more money for your debt settlement war chest, other than from monthly income, how much, and can you have that extra money at the readu within the next few months?
As far as what you signed up for with USA Credit… what were the sign up fees, how were those paid, and have they already sent any letters to your creditors (which is what their website appears to promote)?
Hi Michael,
I have not made an payments yet but they are asking me to pay $300 a month for their services and I am getting wary about the company and whether they will even help. They have not started sending out letters because a payment has not been made. I just signed the contract yesterday.
If I stop making minimum payments, I can save up $1000-1500 every month to make a settlement payment. But I don’t know how to go from here. I would like to get the largest amount out of the way. My Nordstrom card with$10000. I can hopefully save up $4000-5000 within 3-4 months. Do I just stop making minimum payments and call them before going into stage 2 and work directly with them to settle?
Michael, I have a total of $5,200 in outstanding debt that I neglected for more than seven years. I’ve decided to change my poor financial habits and would like to repair my credit. The debt is a culmination of one credit card, one small student loan, and outstanding unpaid balances for other services. You can already guess I’ve been forwarded to collection agencies. My monthly net income is $2,050 and I have just got around to saving $1,500 that I put to the side. What are the most viable options for me to begin paying down the down while improving my credit? Debt consolidation loans? Also, I have an outright ownership to a home and property with no mortgage on it at the moment and I do live in the home. I’m careful not to create any new debt until I fix the “old” debt. Your advice is greatly appreciated.
The debts being more than 7 years old means they may not be showing on your credit reports now. Can you confirm which of these collections are still showing?
With the exception of perhaps the student loan debt, or any account the ended up as a judgment, you may not want to do anything to resolve these old accounts. You could actually have a difficult time locating the legitimate owners of the debts after this long.
Was that a private student loan, or federal?
When, and who, were the last debt collectors you heard from on each account?
I live in SC and have several credit cards in varying stages of delinquency. I have not been served with any official complaints or judgments. Total debts from all cards is about $3500. I know they cannot garnish my wages. I also know they cannot seize any property as I only own half equity in a home with less than $60,000 equity in total. My concern relates to my bank account. I know bank account garnishment is legal in SC. I work full-time and my employer only offers direct deposit. What type of limits (if any) exist for bank account garnishment? Once I pay my bills each month, I have less than $200 for groceries, food, and gas. The only other deposits include student loans (which I believe are exempt from garnishment). I would appreciate any information and advice.
Once those student funds are mingled with other money, they cannot be differentiated from those other sources. You can fight to get that returned, but it would be better to avoid the hassle.
You cannot have your bank account levied without a judgment. If you are sued for collection, you can navigate that process one at a time, and even avoid a judgment all together by defending, or settling the debts on a priority basis. But you should be ready to change some banking behavior if a judgment is entered.
I have a 3-4 part question
I have a foreclosure from Nov 2010 and I am in the process of repairing my credit?
Will I qualify for a home loan with a previous foreclosure?
I have sent our numerous pay for delete letters to have item removed from my credit report approximately 11…in your experience how long does this process take and how many points will my credit score go up?
The foreclosure is not being reported on my husbands credit; would he qualify as a 1st time home buyer or could we just get a house in his name only?
And last I have 3 judgments that are due to fall off early next year. 2 are from the same plantiff for the same amount of $1084 and the other is for $1368. My question is what do i do about the one being reported as a judgment twice and should i pay the other if its due to come off next year? the two for $1084 the judgment was filed January 2008 and the one for $1368 was filed February 2008. I live in Richmond, va
Yes, you can qualify for a new home loan having had a previous foreclosure. Some general underwriting requirements are that 3 years have passed, so you are a likelier candidate for an FHA style underwritten mortgage loan.
Your pay for delete efforts are probably a waste of time. PFD is not common at all, and with 11 accounts… I would just save the stamps.
What is the nature of each collection account? In other words;
When was last the last payment made?
Who was the original creditor?
Who is collecting now?
I can help you narrow expectations for pay to delete, and settlements in general.
If your husband can qualify for the size of loan you will be looking for based on his income alone, I see no reason not to go for the loan that way. But if you need your income, they will likely pull your credit too.
Can you provide more details as to why the court record would show two judgments for the same debt?
It is common for the judgments to show up on a factual report for underwriting, so just because the judgments would not show on your credit reports, does not mean that they are not visible. It would be a good idea to factor in settling the judgments into your over all plan, and the total costs.
Wachovia last active Nov 2011 reporting now is jeffcapsys
Comcast last active Oct 2010 reporting now is Eastern account system
Medical bill last active august 2012 reporting now is PMAB SRVC
Comcast last active December 2013 reporting now is Eastern account system
T-Mobile last active April 2014 reporting now is enhanced recovery co
City of Richmond utility sometime in 2010 reporting now is ALLIANCEONE
Medical bill last active November 2013 reporting now is capio partners LLC
GMAC sometime in 2010
Verizon 2010 reporting now is AFNI
City of Richmond march 2014 reporting now is Harris Harris LTD
I’m not sure why I have the same judgment from the same company in the same amount
We got a letter from a lawyers office threatening to sue. This is on a credit card debt from a credit union. We are 4 months behind on payments. We had sent the collection agency a debt validation letter and now the collection agency has gotten a lawyer group to send us a copy of the original credit card application. And they threaten to sue. We were wondering if you could tell us of a consumer lawyer in our area? We live in Acadia parish, louisiana.
Thanks
Why did you send a debt a validation letter?
What are your goals with this account?
The answers will help me to locate the right attorney to consult with.
I feel certain this creditor will sue. They are located in lafayette la. I live 20 miles from there. I didnt want to ignore the dunning letter the collection agency sent me. Every advice you read says to send validation letter especially if you feel they are going in the direction of a suit.I am afraid now that I might have started something. I probably shouldnt have sent one.
I am fairly certain they are going to sue to. And I also believe your letter instigated that decision sooner than may have happened otherwise. But don’t kick yourself. Your credit union may be one where your risk of a collection suit was high to begin with (as many are).
I do wish there were less places advising people to send debt validation requests at every turn. For many folks, it is counterproductive to their goal.
I sent you an email with contact details to an experience attorney in Baton Rouge (closest I could find). He should offer a no cost initial consult to discuss options.
You did not answer about your goal for this debt. Being sued by your local credit union is not an easy case to overcome, even with experienced help. Can you pull together money to settle?
If we get sued from this collection agency, we would like advice and help from a lawyer. If this leads to some kind of settlement in the end that would be alright. We dont feel confident in trying to settle this ourselves and feel like an attorney could lead us in the right direction.
With that goal in mind, call the attorney and talk this all through. He would be able to help you settle now, and later.
Thanks Michael! I will call him!
Michael we are so happy because within the next 30 days, a family member will give us money to help settle this debt with the credit union that we are so afraid is going to sue. How much should we settle for?What would they consider reasonable? This debt is 4 months delinquent. The balance is 14,200.
What is the name of the bank?
The credit union is section 705 federal credit union. The collection agency is southwest collection services in lafayette la. Should i call the collection agency or the credit union?
The collection agency is under contract with your credit union. You could start off with a call to the bank, but it should result in them referring you to the collector.
I do not see credit card settlements with small local and regional credit unions go much lower than 50% very often. When settlements are lower, it tends to be from hardship scenarios that result from medical issues, or immediate and long term loss of income. I do also see some great deals get done by folks who are able to relate their financial shortfall well.
If this is your out of pocket expense after insurance they cannot give you a discount it is illegal rebating. Did you use insurance for this care?
Yes. This is after insurance coverage.
How is it possible that they can’t settle is my question? They said that the hospitals will not take settlements at all.
They cannot settle because it is part of the contract with your insurance carrier. You are contractually obligated to pay your out of pocket portion. They are contractually obligated to collect it. If they give you a discount or settle for less after insurance paid based on the contract it is illegal rebating. Carriers have sued providers who give an added discount to subscribers and not the insurance carrier as well.
Legally the hospital cannot settle this account with you for less than you are contractually obligated to pay. Many patients fail to realize that their insurance coverage is a contract between themselves and the carrier as well as the providers who agree to see them under that policy. When the provider bills $1000 for care and the insurance carrier pays $500 based on their contractually guaranteed rate and determines the patient owes 20% or $100 based on their required co-insurance then that is what you have to pay. The hospital cannot decide to settle with you for $50 and not give that same discount to the carrier. Since they have already agreed to a lower rate as part of the contract they are not going to give further discounts or settlements.
I have 2 outstanding debts from 2013 to two different hospitals. It has been turned over to a debt collector. The company is State Collection Service Inc, In Wisconsin. The letter states that it will go to an attorney if not taken care of in 10 days. I have read many of the threads stating these companies may settle if you have a 50% ish lump sum to payoff. The debt is $3200. i just spoke with them and was very cordial with the woman. She stated there was no movement and that all she could do was offer a monthly payment plan of $200. Any recommendations regarding next steps?
Thank You for your help!
I forgot to mention that yes, these are valid debts that have been outstanding for a few years. We have had many many medical bills and these were not able to be paid when received.
Thanks
Is it normal for a collection agency to hold off giving you a settlement/deletion letter and payment received information for 90 days? This is not the original person who had the bill it’s a 3rd party. I’ve asked them several times to send me some kind of letter but they refused until 90 days are up. I settled with them and they ran my credit card for payment. It has already processed but they still refuse. I just want to make sure this is normal. This was a medical collection and they only took off $800 for a $3000 bill and gave me 24hrs. to pay it. Very concerned about their 90 policy because I am trying to buy a home and get the collections corrected.
This collection is from Nationwide Recovery Systems.
I want to be sure that I understand what you did.
Nationwide Recovery called you. You negotiated a reduction on the phone with them. They said the payment needed to be in within 24 hours for them to accept the settlement. You paid them within that time frame. They contend that they cannot send you the agreement, or account paid documentation for 90 days.
Is that correct? And what was the date the payment went through?
Yes that’s all correct. I paid them Sep. 19, 2014. They gave me an authorization # over the phone that same day. The payment went through Sep. 20,2014
When settling, I generally see credit reports updated to show a zero balance owed within 30 to 60 days. But the settlement confirmation letter is rarely 90 days.
Do you have a loan office you are working closely with? Is there a closing date?
Yes. My loan officer is the one that wants the letters. Closing date is set for the 25th of November. It’s enough time but cutting it really close to have this letter they refuse to give me until the 90 days are up.
I am torn between waiting to see what happens in the next 45 days, and filing a complaint with the CFPB (because I know that will lead to Nationwide Recovery having a responsible and reasonable set of eyeballs on your file).
I suppose you could wait 30 to 45 days, and if nothing shows up, get ahead of this and file the complaint with the CFPB.
90 days is an unnecessary delay for credit reporting updates, and for sending you written confirmation.
You will also have an opportunity to dispute the entry with the credit reporting agencies and providing proof of your payments etc. Your loan officer could be useful here submitting your file for rapid rescore.
Hello and any help would be appreciated!
I have spent the last year paying off over 100k in debt and I only have 35k to go! I was very close to bankruptcy but instead started pinching pennies! I have exhausted all avenues of money sources to pay off debt without getting back into any debt. With that said, I have Wells fargo which is 11k credit card debt. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get to them with all the other monies being paid to other smaller creditors and now have been sued by them. They are being represented by a collections attorney. I went to my first court date and it bought me about 2 months of time. They didn’t file their bill of particulars on time, I DID file my grounds of defense on time. I have also sent them certified documents trying to settle the debt with NO response from them whatsoever! If they don’t settle with me, I am going to be forced to file bankruptcy since I have NO other options at this point! and I can not afford a wage garnishment, I would lose my house! My question is, Do you think wells fargo would be willing to work with me and settle the debt even though they have hired a lawyer to represent them? If I call wells fargo and explain that the lawyer will not work with me, will they settle with me and have the lawyer drop the case? I know that wells fargo still owns the account, but have hired a lawyer to represent them.
Thank you!
There is little chance of your calling Wells Fargo about how the attorney they are using will not work with you to settle, and have the result in them dropping the case, or work with you directly, rather than through that same attorney.
You can likely still settle, or get them to agree to payments. But that could mean you confess or stipulate to a judgment (the monthly payment route). I cover settling when sued in much more detail here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/can-you-negotiate-and-settle-a-credit-card-debt-if-you-are-being-sued/.
Sometimes you can choose which accounts to settle ahead of others in order to lower the risk of being sued, and sometimes this cannot be avoided. Anyone who is going to take more than 12 months to settle all debts should have a realistic expectation that a collection suit could be part of their debt settlement plan.
You settled more than half of the debt already! Before giving up on all you have accomplished, lets look at what you have going on:
What amount of money can you offer to settle in a lump sum in the next 30 to 60 days?
How many settlements deals are you paying on right now? How much are you paying, to whom, and when will those payments stop?
Who is left to settle with other than Wells Fargo?
Thank you for your response. I actually called Wells Fargo and they spoke with their attorney, the attorney is going to send me settlement papers for 50% of the balance. We don’t have any settlement payments out right now and have all other credit cards at zero balances! Some of them have credits on them for over payment! When we settled with bank of america, we paid it in full on the spot. We are about to do the same with Wells Fargo(thanks to finance savvy parents.) We have one more debt to figure out what to do with and then we are done! It’s a big one though 23K! Compared to how much we actually had in the beginning less than one year ago! I guess we are doing good! Now it’s time to get rid of the rest of the debt, and start cleaning up the credit report! I want my 750 score back! Thank you again for your advice! I appreciate any bit of it I can get!
Awesome!
Who is the creditor or collector on the last debt?
I owe $58,000 over several credit cards (GE Bank, Barclay, Citi, First Premier, Discover, etc.). The highest balance is about $8400. I could no longer pay the minimums as of this month as per my income was cut in half. I pay almost $1600 a month in CC payments. I originally got into debt when I lost my job. I am working again, but without the help I was receiving from family, I cannot pay everything. It is a mess!
How long should I wait until I try to reach out to the CC and attempt to settle?
I know I can file for Chap. 13, but there are some dilemmas with that, too, I would like to avoid.
I am terrified of being sued. I have been told most of my balances are “low” so being sued is less likely. My home is protected through Homestead and I am Head of Household.
Signed,
Terrified and Confused
Review the first stage debt settlement section of the site starting here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/what-is-debt-settlement/. Click through to each new article at the end of each piece. You will then know when to make first contact with your creditors, and when you would typically start negotiating with them.
I like settling debts as an alternative to chapter 13, but I am also not a big fan of debt settlement plans that stretch too long. Chapter 13 takes 3 or 5 years. The vast majority of 13’s go 5 years. If you can pull together roughly 26k to settle your 58k of credit card debt, try to do it in 12 to 24 months if possible. How possible is that going to be for you?
You have higher risks of being sued by some creditors over others. You are welcome to post the creditor and balance owed on each credit card. I can then share how I see your list of banks in order of priority to settle with first through last.
It is not true that lower balances will limit whether you are sued. Some banks sue on accounts less than 1k.
Be sure to read the last few critical debt negotiation reports I have listed here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/debt-relief-program-reports/
Thanks so much for your reply. I could come up with maybe $15-18k in two years. Realistically, $26k would be 3ish years away. I am frantically saving every dime right now. Consolidation would be a great answer, too, but unfortunately, from what I have found, you have to have good credit to do that, too. I don’t have bad credit, but the balances have hindered my score…and the late/missed payments should be showing up soon!
Here are the cards/balances my husband and/or I have:
Target Store $132.68
Walmart (Ge) $293.59
Household Bank (Now Capital One) $298.53
First Savings $296.83
First National $348.98
First Premier $399.34
Household Bank (Now Capital One) $405.81
Comenity Bank $427.56
Capital One $458.70
Old Navy (GE) $473.08
Barclay $479.29
Paypal $496.85
Target Visa $498.29
Paypal $599.23
Merrick Bank $1,018.36
Credit One $632.13
Sams Club (GE) $675.79
First Premier $697.44
First Premier $698.38
Amazon Store $698.72
JCpenney (GE) $882.74
Credit One $998.87
Dell Financial $1,069.72
Tires Plus $1,111.82
Citi $1,198.34
Kay Jewelers $1,255.86
Capital One $1,497.82
Capital One $1,511.35
Jcpenney (GE) $1,663.00
Discover $3,999.00
Carecredit (GE) $5,172.26
Citi $5,799.40
Chase $5,994.49
USAA $7,000.30
Barclay $8,399.50
Wow, I am in deep. Thanks for any advice!
More than half of those accounts listed are not good targets for settling. I outline the reasons smaller balance accounts (less than 1k-ish) should be kept out of settlement plans when possible in this report: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/credit-card-debt-to-include-in-settlement-plan/. Review that and raise your questions and concerns about the issues in the comments on that page (I ask to do that on that page so others with similar things to consider can learn from the exchange).
I want to help you prioritize your creditors, but that necessitates identifying those that you will settle with, which means the exercise on the other article.
When you work through your monthly budget, what is it you have available to pay all of the unsecured debts you listed? What is the amount you know you can save up each month aggressively in order to settle?
At this very moment, there is about $600-800 to work with AFTER all necessary bills are paid, like electricity and insurance. That is if I pay NO credit cards at all. I may be able to save a little more later in the year as per one debt I am paying ends in Nov. ($75 a month) and electric costs will go down.
I also have about $1000-1500 saved already. Not sure if it is best to use that on the smaller cards, or save it for the bigger cards.
I have talked to a lawyer about bankruptcy. Chap. 13 would be my only option and given some unique circumstances (I will not detail it publicly), he advised me to avoid that if at all possible.
Using the best known concessions available on all accounts in order to repay them working with a credit counseling program, or debt management plan, means coming up with roughly 1100 a month, and without any skepticism for being able to do that for 50-ish months. That means having enough of, and a stable income. Using a combination of savings, and monthly budget for these debts, you can make it maybe 3 to 5 months. That means a part time job, or some other source of income added to the household in order to avoid all of this by gutting out payments.
I want to work with you on the other thread, as this one is more of a catch all. I posted a question to get started on the other post. If you can answer over there, I can offer the next step. I will then have some additional things for you to evaluate and respond to, and then we can get into some of the creative stuff and timelines you should be planning for on your way to settling.
Hi Michael, My husband and I had a timeshare; we spent 6,000 out of 10,000 owed. On vacay in S.C. (we live in PA) they stopped in at our room to say we needed to have our timeshare moved from us to our daughters and to see an estate person downstairs. 7 hours later we signed paper to give us a vacation every year instead of everyother year. We sold the Florida timeshare for a South Carolina timeshare. They were very deceptive because we never saw the estate planner. They kept on changing the numbers on the paper. Needless to say, they put our contract in a backpack we never looked at it and then received a bill from bill me later for 14,000.00 and a 14,000 debt from Wyndham. We were shocked and contacted them to desist. After contacting our district attorney and citing deception in real estate law, they (Wyndham) stopped their account. Bill Me Later stopped invoicing us but we also told them that Wyndham stopped and closed the account. We received a 1099C in the mail. Today someone from SRS tried to contact me. I didn’t answer but called the number later and it was a debt collector. What is your experience with BML? They were clearly deceptive but we signed a contract. We don’t have any savings and I just received my PhD and having school debt to pay. I am really furious with being taken by these scammers. But, we need to know what to do if they contact us again.
Thanks, Hope
Are there any entries of collections regarding any of this on your credit reports? Check your husbands too, post an update, and I can then offer some actionable feedback.https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/wp-admin/edit-comments.php#comments-form
Hi,
I have a debt being held by a debt buyer (Mediation Recovery Center ) for about $1500. I suspect this debt may be past the 4 year SOL in Calif.
It is past the 30 day initial limit to send a verification of debt letter. Some have said that sensing V of Debt letter may single me out for a lawsuit
Should I send this to the debt buyer or are there other ways to determine the age of the debt ?
If this debt is under the SOL , I’m willing to make an offer of settlement and have $ set aside
I just want to determine my next steps
Thank you !
Who was the original creditor, and do they show on any of your credit reports currently?
It’s been a few months since I’ve received a letter from the debt buyer I Dont know who the original creditor was. The debt buyer has begun to start calling me again
I’m wary of talking to them but should I at least call them to determine the original creditor ? Will they give me the date the debt is stemming from ?
I’m sorry if these are silly questions but I’m just dipping my feet into the water on this
There are very few silly questions when it comes to debt collections.
I would call them, or send the debt validation request letter, and determine who the original creditor is, and if the debt is even yours (it may not be), before doing anything else. They should provide you with the information you need.
Does Mediation Recovery Services appear on your credit reports?
I’ve just placed an order for copies of my most current credit reports. I will call them when I have a chance to look at them
I’m a bit wary of calling them but I expect it to be a fairly short conversation . Basically, just getting the debtor information. Of course, we all fear being strongarmed
I know that fairly few accounts go to litigation. I just don’t want to do anything that will accelerate that process even though I suspect the debt, if valid, may be beyond the SOL.
We have all heard the horror stories of unscrupulous companies suing for old debts without much documentation
Well, I received all 3 of my current Credit reports.
Only acct currently in collections is Comcast for $183 placed in collecctions in Oct 2013
And currently with a collection co which is not MRC
One credit card acct in Good Standing but closed in 2007 from Capitol One which I remember paying off
so…. I’m thinking this is an old debt
The Experian report showed MRC with a review request from 6/2013 and then 08/2014.
Thoughts ?
Thank you !
Brian
Based on what you shared, it is probably something from years back that is too old to show on your credit reports, which would mean it is way passed the SOL to sue in California.
You can ignore there collection efforts, or send a cease communication letter when certain they cannot sue. Use certified mail return receipt when sending letters to a collection agency. Keep a copy of your letter and the green return card you get back in a file.
Hi Michael,
I am looking for some advice about debt I have accumulated in the US before I return to my home country. I am not making enough money to stay any longer, there just isn’t enough work within my narrow visa field.
I currently have credit card debt of the following –
Capital One $1300
Citibank $2500
GE $1500
Chase $1500
I have been working to pay off all these cards and have reduced the debt by around half. All accounts are in good standing, although Capital One is overdue by a few weeks. I spoke with Capital One to try and organise a settlement, explaining that I will not make enough money between now and when I leave to pay the full amount and wanted to leave with it being all sorted out. Because the account is not delinquent, they can not offer a settlement. I haven’t called any of the other credit companies because I assume the same applies. I can continue to chip away at these bills but by the time I close my US bank accounts in December, they just won’t be fully paid off.
I also have student loans, some of which are actively being paid off (to Citibank & Discover aprox $22,000) and one which has been sold a few times and which I lost track of at some point and then it went to the debt collection agency NCO, that is for $50,000.
I plan to pay Citibank and Discover from home, via paypal. NCO is another matter. I have tried talking to them about what is the best course to take and they have basically been pretty awful. They said they couldn’t help me unless I proved to them that I had applied for a loan through my bank to pay off the debt in full. That was an absurd prospect, and I would in no way have been approved. My credit is bad because of the NCO delinquency and no one would loan me any more. At some point I spoke to someone there who agreed to take $100/month in payment. I received advice from a lawyer that it was a bad idea to take that deal because it would never be enough to pay off the loan and it would reset the statute of limitations on student loan debt. The debt was originally from a private student loan company whose name I can no longer remember, it was sold to IDAPP before I even completed my degree and then off to someone else before ending up at NCO.
I really don’t want to just abandon all this debt, and I am afraid NCO will pursue me in another country also. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
MD.
You generally need to have missed a few monthly payments before a legitimate settlement negotiation can occur. And in with most major creditors like you list, your best opportunities will come between 150 and 180 days late.Read more about settling with original creditors in that section of my guide starting here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/settling-credit-card-debt-is-a-race/.
How much money can you pull together by December in a last effort to settle your credit card debts before you leave?
What state are you living in?
What is the likelihood you will return to the US at a later date?
Thanks for your speedy response.
I believe I would only be able to pull together around $2000 before I leave, things are hard and the costs of moving exacerbate the situation. It doesn’t seem like that would be anywhere near enough to settle the debts. Possibly I could try for more.
I am living in New York city. I am honestly not sure what the likelihood is that I will return to the states. At the moment it seems unlikely although closing the door forever is a bleak prospect, especially if its because of debt I should have been able to pay back in the first place.
It is not that you close the door. If you had said you plan on coming back in 2 years, my feedback would be different is all.
If you have 2k to work with right before you leave, you can perhaps settle a debt or three before leaving. The issue will be that you are only 4 months late, and not closer to 180 days when the better deals are likeliest to be negotiated. I cover settlement targets for all but one of your creditors that still apply right now here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/review-top-7-credit-card-lenders-best-offering-debt-relief/
GE Capital target is 40% to 50% more commonly, but depending on the age of debt, and agency you deal with, there are instances of settling for a bit better savings.
You may be able to settle with GE Capital early if they place your account with a debt collector early. If not, you can settle with the debt collector later, and from wherever it is you land. Do you plan on using a mail service or friend in New York to communicate mail to you? You can also use one of those mail drop services where they scan and email anything that comes to you. It would help you stay organized while you try to save up for the last couple settlements that the 2k won’t cover (I estimate you will need roughly 3200 to cover all of them.
You may come back to the private student loan waiting for you, or there may be developments with unpaid private loans that develop in the future that will benefit you. Keep saving up money in order to be prepared for any beneficial options that come up,or for when you would return to the US.
Thanks again.
Perhaps I can keep an account open for a while and do the negotiations at the optimal time abroad.
Do you know if NCO is likely to seek legal action against me overseas?
Highly unlikely to be sued abroad for debt originated in the USA.
Hi Michael,
I put myself in a position of a serious shopping addiction. I’m stressed out & unemployed. I have many store credits that have closed & debt collectors calling me hour by hour during 9 am – 6 pm.
Any advice on how bills should be payed? Should I focus on larger bill amounts first or pay the ones I am able to work on first?
-Timmy
Please post the name of the creditor, the balance owed, and when last paid. With that information I can offer the kind of feedback you are asking for.
Also include what amount of money you are confident you will be able to dedicate to your debts each month.
Hi Michael,
I’m debating if I should pay my balance from Bill Me Later. Long story short, because of some tough time in my life, the last time I made any payments to them was last year sometimes mid-summer. I recently gotten a letter from a collection agency (SIMM Associates, Inc) in which stating that they are representing BML in regards to my outstanding balance of $2,400. Now I also found out that BML does not report to the 3 credit bureaus so they don’t affect my credit score. Now with it being in a collection agency, will it affect my credit score/report? If it does affect my credit, it would be wise for me to pay it off correct? If it doesn’t, what should I do with the debt? Thanks.
Sarah – The debt could end up on your credit reports by a debt collection agency, or a debt buyer, even if Bill Me Later is not reporting it now. Is your number one priority your credit scores? If so, negotiating a settlement with SIMM Associates will make good sense. You get them to agree to settle the Bill Me Later account for less than what you owe on it, and potentially avoid the negative showing up on your credit reports.
Hi Michael,
–So are you familiar with United Recovery Systems collection agency? Are they pretty difficult to deal with, meaning they are likely to sue if I don’t choose to take the settlement offer with them at this point in time?
–Do you have any thoughts/assistance you can provide regarding issue 2 I addressed in my initial post above?
Thanks so much!
DMG
I am indeed. You have no risk of United Recovery Systems trying to collect from you in the courts. The settlement offer you got from URS is about as good as it gets.
Both the Citibank, and the account with your current bank, are extremely unlikely to remove any negative reporting they are making. There are folks that encourage sending a “good will” letter where you politely request negative items be removed, or adjusted to reflect less poorly, but banks are not going to respond well to these (Citibank anyway). What is the name of the other bank?
Negative credit reporting, like resolved accounts that reported negatively briefly, are factored more heavily into your credit scores in the first year and two from the occurrence.
Thanks for your help, Michael
Hi Michael,
I actually have 2 different issues I wanted to ask you about….
Issue 1: I have a charged off Chase credit card in the amount of $4,846.52. It’s been sold to collection agencies and is now with a collection agency named United Recovery Systems. I got a settlement offer letter from them last week offering a settlement of $969.30 (total) in 3 payments over 3 months. While this is significantly lower than the amount of the debt I owe, I’m not sure if I should take the settlement.
-Is it worse for your credit report/credit score to settle for a lower amount than to pay the full amount that you owe?
-I’ve read/heard that you have to pay taxes on the leftover amount you don’t pay in the settlement. Is this a good or bad thing?
Issue 2: I had a Citibank credit card that was charged off, and instead of settling, I paid the full amount of $2,042. I finished making the monthly payments back in November 2013. I wanted to know if it’s possible to get this negative mark deleted from my credit report? I’ve read about some success stories in getting negative marks deleted, although I know many people are unsuccessful in getting such a thing done. Would I have to reach out to Citibank about getting the mark deleted, or the collection agency I paid the full amount to? I also had a credit card with my bank in the amount of $2,194 that was closed due to me not making payments on it, but was never charged off (thankfully!). It stayed with the bank and I paid that card off in full by making monthly payments, of which the final payment was made in March 2014. While it shows “pays account as agreed” on my credit report, it’s still showing as a negative account. Is it possible to get this deleted as well?
I appreciate your help with this matter!
Best,
DMG
There is not much of a difference between settle for less, and paid in full, as far as credit reporting goes. This late in the game, and with United Recovery Systems collecting, getting your credit reports to show zero balance owed is the main goal. If you can save money when doing that, it makes sense to save as much as possible.
Paying taxes on forgiven debt can be a good and bad thing… it depends on your perspective. It means you saved money on the debt, so good in my opinion. But you may not even owe a tax on the debt if you are deemed technically insolvent. Read this report for more on that: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/debt-forgiveness-taxes-settled-credit-card/.
You can learn more about these collections on your credit reports, and how long they will stick around, or even impact you after a couple years here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/collection-accounts-age-off-credit-reports/
Michael, just wanted to add a note to the last reply to you asking how much is owed on the
judgement? I’ve done some checking on court’s terminology in attempts to understand
the response I got from the court (about ten months not elapsing since the filing of the
original pleading) – I understood this as meaning if their was a response from either party
concerning the case within ten months ( the time limit in these types of civil cases) – if there
was NO response in ten months (in this case from the Plaintiff) to my Answer filed, then
the case would be dismissed. I DID NOT receive any response during this period, instead 1
year later from the court for: “Order Vacating Notice Of Lack Of Prosecution” telling me that
ten months had NOT elapsed since the filing of a pleading in this case. – – – Do I need to
address the court in this matter Michael? I appreciate your time! I don’t know if you can
answer this but I’m asking.
It would appear that the court made an error, and then attempted to correct it. From that… and/or from there, the attorney for Capital One would have filed additional entries with the court, and failed to provide you with notice.
What is the name of the collection law firm?
You would generally contact the firm to settle this, if they no longer have the file, contact Capital One. But you may have a shot at vacating the judgment even though this amount of time has passed. You will want to consult with an experienced debt defense attorney about your options in this regard. Your initial consult is normally no cost, but the cost to retain the attorney to attempt to vacate the judgment is a concern. And you will want to compare that to what would be roughly 50 to 60 percent of the judgment balance today (what you may be able to realistically settle for).
What is the name of a large city near the court where the judgment was entered?
Michael, you asked: What is the name of the collection law firm?
The law firm for Capital One was Bray & Lunsford, P.A.
Copy of the “Order Vacating Notice” I received went to Roland Kaiser of the law firm.
What is the name of a large city near the court where the judgment was entered?
The firm was apparently out of Jacksonville, FL. according to all the paperwork.
I see the same error Michael. In any case, I see that the time limits for responding/serving notice were not met on the attorney’s end which I should support my case in having the judgement vacated.
I could file a Motion and Declaration to vacate Judgement. I then have to cite reasons to support the motion.
It’s what I understand basically from recent research. Do you agree? As far as retaining an attorney, that’s out.
Don’t have the funds for that. I would do it on my own based on the merits of my case.
“If” the court granted a vacating of judgement, would this mean I would not owe anything?
Vacating a judgment that is part of the court record a few years is not a gimme. And may be a waste of time in some state courts, more than others. The reason to talk about the process with an attorney whose practice involves consumer debt defense is to get feedback and assess how your courts have ruled on similar circumstances in the past. You may learn something that is greatly encouraging, or may learn that you can save yourself a lot of time. Your initial consult (fact finding effort) is typically no cost.
Was the court in Jacksonville? It is best to talk with an attorney who is likelier to work in the same court as where the judgment is entered.
Thank you Michael for your reply! The copy of the Final Judgement I pulled from Florida’s
county court records was dated May of 2009. Principal sum of 4456.03, incl costs of 276.50 and
atty fees of 540.00 + pathetic pre-judgement interest of 2563. This was in 2009. Can imagine
what’s been added to it. We have some funds but not much. My question: Do we contact the
banks’s attorney or the bank itself to offer a settlement? Also Michael, please if you can “decode”
what the court’s reply meant that I posted. Again, this was the ONLY reply I got a year later after
filing my Answer to the court. Can’t I have this case thrown out? Re:
ORDER VACATING NOTICE OF LACK OF PROSECUTION – This cause
having come before the court and the court finsing that ten months had not elapsed since the
filing of a pleading in this case and therefore the notice of Prosecution was entered in error, it is thereupon…Ordered and adjudged t6hat the notice of Lack Of Prosecution entered herein
on Oct 20, 2008 is hereby vacated of record and shall be of no further force or effect.
Thank you!
Sued by Cap One back in 2007! Sent ANSWER accordingly on time to the courts in Oct of
2007. Received 1 (ONE) reply from the clerk of the court more than one year later in Oct of
2008, letter entitled ORDER VACATING NOTICE OF LACK OF PROSECUTION – This cause
having come before the court and the court finsing that ten months had not elapsed since the
filing of a pleading in this case and therefore the notice of Prosecution was entered in error, it is thereupon…Ordered and adjudged t6hat the notice of Lack Of Prosecution entered herein
on Oct 20, 2008 is hereby vacated of record and shall be of no further force or effect.
– When I read this years ago, I interpreted it then as being done. Not the case! It was only
when my wife and I tried to prequalify through quick & Loan to see if we could get financing
down the road to buy a house. They told us that we had a judgement in our credit records.
I since went to reserach this, went to the courts county records to pull a copy of the judgement
to be mailed to me. We since received the copy. It was a Final Judgement. Cap One
moved for summary final judgement and stated that the “court finding that the defendant, having
failed to appear” is indebted to the plaintiff. Again, I received ONE reply a year later from the
court after filing my Answer to the courts. I never received any summons to appear for a
“show cause” hearing (which I researched would have been the next step after filing my
Answer, correct?) Instead, a default judgement was issued against me! To discover this years
later is monumentally disturbing! My wife and I just don’t know what to do at this juncture?
Can we try to settle? Incidentally, we originally received notice of Cap One’s suit through
their their reprentatative law firm. This all occurred while we lived in Florida. We now
reside in MA. – I learned that default judgements occur more often than one would think,
for any number of reasons.
Please help. Your reply and assistance is greatly appreciated.
What is the amount owed on the judgment today? How much money can you raise to settle in a single lump sum?
Hi, I’m in very bad situation because of lot of issues financially & personally. Now i’ve huge CC debt on my head which i’m currently not making payments due to my circumstances. I’m being called, harassed with collections. I’m being sued by several companies for not making payments. What are my options? Do i need to respond to the summons or ignore? Currently my finance position is very bad that i lost everything because of severe financial problems. Even if i respond, i’ll probably get a default judgement. No savings or property on my name. If i ignore the summons, i heard that the collectors will get default judgement against me. What happens if they get default judgement as i’m unemployed without a property. Can they garnish my wages in future when i get an employment or put lien when i purchase property in the future? How long is the judgement valid? For lifelong or limited time? What about 401k? Can they go after that? Please advice. Thanks for your help.
Joanne – Review the reader Q and A, and the many comments that are informative, on this page: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/can-you-settle-credit-card-judgements-like-other-debts-stressed/
If you have questions after reading through that page, post them in the comments and lets go from there.
Hello, I have three items listed on my credit report that have been there since 2007. They are credit cards that had an original limit of 300 dollars. These accounts have apparently been sold and resold to debt collectors and the amounts have increased dramatically. The opening dates for each of these accounts on my report show this year and last year. Which the orginal date for opening these cards was in 2007. I understand that a debt can be sold to a collection agency; my question is after 7 years does that automatically go away on your report? If so how to I correct this problem on my credit report? Also, I was married and my spouse added my name to her credit cards, I was issued a card. The cards where issued with her credit. We have been divorced for a few years and the balances of her accounts still show on my credit report, How do I correct this so her balances do not show on my credit report?
dg – Your ex wife will need to speak to her creditors and remove you as an authorized user on her accounts.
Are those original creditors from 2007 still showing on your credit reports, along with the collection agencies reporting them? If not, do you have a copy of an older credit report with them showing?
The debt collectors that buy up those unpaid debts do not get to report for their own 7 years. The credit report entries should fall off as each collection entry coincides with each original creditors reporting (an exception would be if you were sued and a judgment entered in court against you).
Given the time frames you have shared, if the original creditors are no linger on your reports, the collection agencies should not be either. You can dispute them as passed the time allowed to appear on your reports.
Hi Micheal
I am being sued by Capital One, via Hyatt, Hyatt & Landau of Miami for ~$1500. The last payment made on the card was in Sept 2009. The case was filed in 2012, but I was not served until 2014. I went to a mediation session in May which did not go very well to negociate a lessor amount and a payment plan. I think the case is dismissable due to the statue of limitations within FL (my residence) having been reached,which is 4 years from date the demand for payment was made (last ‘bill’). The amount is so small that I am on the fence if i should just pay the $1,500 and get the case done and over with or run my luck at trail (July 22, 2014) and present the statue, bill from 2009 and case precedence showing similar circumstance. The other option that I have is to contract a lawyer to represent me in court, but because of the small amount, an attorney may cost me that is not more with the possiblity of lossing and then having to pay the suit plus their attorney fees. HELP!! I don’t know what to do.
If you are certain that the SOL expired, fight it, and use an attorney with debt collection defense experience. You should at least consult with the type of attorney you need. Most offer a no cost initial consult. You may even learn that they will take your case free of any retainer if they see collections violations worth pursuing.
I can email you contacts info to some attorneys if you like?
That would be great! Please send me their contact information and I will contact them.
Hi. I am looking for advice. Just found out that Calvary SPVI I llc is suing me for $7200. I have not been served yet and only found out about it because an attorney sent me a letter saying he could represent me. I have no idea who this company is but have found numerous issues and complaints concerning them online. Are there certain things they have to prove or document that this is my account? I did have an identity theft issue several years back so that is a possibility, or it is an old account I had through my business, but was opened in my social because I did not have a tax ID yet. Account was updated with business ID when I got it. However, I fell victim to a scammer who worked with my business and was forced to dissolve and close. It has been over 4 years at least since I last paid on that card, and I just figured it was gone at this point, or uncollectable. Have you dealt with this company before and what are my options at this point? I do not have the money to pay it, and cannot borrow from anyone to pay it either. This is a Maryland civil case presided by I guess a collection attorney? Thanks!!
Michelle – Calvary LLC is not too hard to deal with when you want to resolve a debt they bought. If this is a result of identity theft, you should not have too much trouble either. That is the first thing you need to do… find out the nature of the debt. You can go to the court you are being sued in web site and search for your name in filed cases (if they allow this on the site), or go there in person and look up the case.
Post an update when you identify the debt as yours, or it resulting from the ID theft, and lets go from there.
Please advise! A credit card co got a judgement on me. I am disabled, do NOT collect disability, or work. I have a husband and 3 grown children. This week they levied our joint online bank account for $1600., put a hold on our local bank account for $45.00 AND at that same bank holding one of my sons accounts for $650. ($100 says legal fees)!!!!!
We have stopped my husbands direct deposit to the online account, and will close the local bank account if we can tomorrow. My questions are: can my husband open an account in his name only without them touching that? How can I get my sons account money unfroze? I have nothing to do with that account, although we are connected online so we can transfer monies between us… Also that same situation is with my mothers estate account which I am exec for, I am taking out that money tomorrow if it is still there.., I was told they can touch that.?
I want to settle this now. I can borrow the money from my sister, who do I settle it with and do I have to pay the entire amount!
Thanks so much
Eyelene
I am in nj
Who sued you (name of plaintiff), and what is the total amount owed today?
Just got the notice today from my online bank it is from unifundccr llc. It is only for me, not my husband. Including all the fees$8,614.85. They froze our balance of $1644. On another joint account they froze $45.00. On an account I was connected to for my son while in college they froze $266.00 + $100 attorney fee.
Today my husband opened his own account.
Thanks so much
Unifund CCR is not all that friendly to negotiate with. That is made more so when there is a judgment.
You may be able to settle this at 50%-ish, or lower due to the disability. But I would wait a few months before you approach negotiating with Unifund, or the attorney collecting. They just got paid some from the bank levy, and may not be all the eager to give a discount on the remainder. If you are in a hurry, you could probably settle for between 60 and 80 percent now (though not a gimme).
Thank you Very much.
I am scared because if I didnt have bad luck, I’d have none.
The order says to Glenn Mass, court officer is ORDERED to levy execution against goods and chattels, then it gives a list of all the things they can take like vehicles, bank accounts, jewelry, fur coats, instruments, electronics… Etc. to be sold. Local police are asked to assist in this writ, which expires 5/19/16. This does not authorize entry to the residence with force.
How likely is that to happen? And how soon could it happen?
Thank you
Eyelene
Eyelene – Would you mind taking this discussion over to this page: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/social-security-pension-state-exemption-debt-collector-garnishment/
I answered that reader question last week, and would like to see state collection exemptions be the focus. Your question,when posed in the comments over there, will help me address Massachusetts.
I recently borrowed from my 401k to pay back debt. I have not spent the money and have now been advised to file Chapter 7. Can I just pay back the 401k loan before filling?
Have you talked about this with your bankruptcy attorney? Do you have one yet?
You can also ask your 401k provider about what your next step should be.
Hi Michael,
I need your help, I went to the collection agency to pay off all but one account I have with them. I ask for paid in full letters for each account. I was then told I could not receive a paid in full letter until all of the accounts I have with them are paid. Is this legal for them to do that and not give me a letter for the ones I did pay in full?
What state do you live in? What is the name of the collection company?
I owe $650 on a GE Capital credit card. They closed the account last August and I recently got a call from a debt collector. My question is should I pay the amount in full or should I try to negotiate a lower settlement?
This far along the damage to your credit score and reports from not paying is done. You can pay in full or settle for less. Both will result in your account being updated to paid and zero owed, which is what you need to start to heal your credit. If it were me, I would look for the additional benefit of saving money by settling for as little a pay off as possible.
Hello Michael
I just last week received a summons from Suttell & Hammer a law firm in WA where I live, on behalf of Cavalry Portfolio Services for a Union 76 gas card debt I owe. I know I owe the debt and I do have the money to pay it but I would like to settle it for a lower amout. The total amount owed right now with interest is about $3,000.
My question is will they be willing to still settle? If so.. how low will they go? and also am I better off calling them myself or having my lawyer call them? Who will get the better deal?
Corey – You can still settle with Suttell and Hammer. Negotiating an agreement to pay 60 to 80 percent in a lump sum, if you can convey a financial hardship, is a realistic expectation with debts you have just been sued for. There are also instances where you will not be able to get even a 20% reduction, but I mostly associate that with someone whose credit report shows they are able to pay all other debts on time (and some outlier stuff that is rare).
If your attorney is familiar with how to defend against debt buyer lawsuits, or would like to get familiar, you could let him/her handle the negotiations for you. Putting on an initial defense to the lawsuit tends to soften settlement targets with debt buyers (not always with creditors). If your attorney does not do any debt defense, or consumer law, you may fare better negotiating the debt yourself compared to paying someone else.
Thanks Michael. My attorney is good with this stuff. I had him settle another card debt for me in the same instance last year for about 40% of the amount. I just wasn’t sure afterwards if I could have done the same thing myself and not had to pay him. He didn’t charge me much only $100. It might be better to have him do it anyway because I tend to get angry with the bill collectors even if I call them to try to settle, they are always very rude and try to make u feel like a dead beat. Even when you are calling to pay them. I have called to pay off a debt before and gotten so mad at the way they were acting that I hung up without paying. Are they paid to act that way?
I have also been throwing around the idea of filling for bankruptcy instead of trying to pay off my credit card collections debt. I currently have several things in collections. probably totaling about 30,000. I have means now to pay off all of them hopefully by end of this year. My question is how will it affect my credit? If I pay it all off with my credit to back to being good? or will it take just as long to build it back up as filing bankruptcy?
Corey – What credit/financing goals do you have in the next 24 or so months?
Well I own a auto repair shop and I would really like to purchase the building I am renting. Also I got married a few months ago and we would like to buy a house in the near future, but the business comes first. Also now that we are married I have inherited her debt as well which is prob 20-30k. We both own our own businesses and both are doing well right now. We have a plan of paying off all of our debt by the end of this year. I have been doing well now for a few years, but all my debt has taken a back seat to building our businesses. I do have the option also to do a owner contract on the property where my shop is which I do not needed credit for a few years, but will. My credit score before the economy took a hit was a high 700, I would like to get it back there as soon as I can.
If you can qualify for chapter 7 (both of you), I like that option far better. You save many thousands of dollars. The shop the owner is willing to carry is great. You can look to typical FHA styled underwriting for a home loan 2 years after the chapter 7 discharge.
If you do take the settlement path to debt relief, and given what you know about yourself, let the attorney handle the negotiations etc. He sounds affordable.
My last payments to these accounts was in 2009. I wish 5 years ago when all of this started I would have filed bankruptcy. I would have not had to pay a few of the debts i already have and my credit would already be good again. Is it still 10 years a bankruptcy stays on your credit? Is it true after seven years all of these accounts will be erased from my credit? With the letters my wife and I have received over the last year offering settlements of these accounts it looks like we can pay it all off for 15 to 20k. if after 7 years it would be wiped clean and its been 5 already. I’m going to sit down tonight and go over everything I know is in collections and the amounts and see truly how much it all is. How do you find out what all you debt is and who you owe it to? What is the best way? I get my Experian credit report monthly but it doesn’t seem like everything is on there. and i keep getting new things especially for my wife which we didn’t even know were in collections and don’t shop up on credit report. I need to know everything if we file for bankruptcy right?
No use focusing on the lost time, which I agree with your assessment. Focus on the goals you have and the time in front of you.
Read over this report that gets right to the point of comparing debt relief options and the impacts to your credit score and access to credit timelines: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/credit-report-score-rating-debt-relief-programs/ – the 10 year thing is true for chapter 7, but the wrong thing to focus on for many people.
What state are you in?
I live in WA.
I checked my credit report last night thru Equifax and my current credit score is 650. Which is higher than I thought it was right now. I checked my report and it only shows 2 accounts in collections, the cavalry account and also one with midland credit management. There are several others I know are in collections, is it normal for them to not show up? I receive letters from them almost monthly. I tried to sit down last night and figure out exactly how much I own and to who, but I’m not even sure who some of the accounts are with or how to find out. After 7 years what happens if they are unpaid? And is it 7 years since they were charged off?
Hi Michael,
Thank you for your site, very informative…I have fallen to Financial hardship, I owe to Discover $9,218.28 I stop making payments in Dec,2013. I received a letter from them stating in big bold letters
(Attorney Placement Pending). They said, they been authorized to forward my account to an Attorney to secure the current balance I owe on the above account… It also, states it can be resolve by me calling making payment arrangements.. If they do not here from me by May 30,2014 my account will be forward to an Attorney to obtain a Judgement against me. My Question is Michael is to late to settle with them???.. I live in California they are in OH.. Can I settle with them 3,000?? Is that too little to settle with them??
I forgot to ask you one more thing Michael, if they let me settle do most of the cc do it in 90 day term or 180 day term???
Discover would prefer the settlement to be in a lump sum, where other banks will settle with 90 day terms when you negotiate and make the first payment toward the settlement prior to charge off. 180 day, and even longer terms for settlement arrangements, are possible, but mostly after the accounts hit the outside collections agency pipelines (at least currently).
ivette – It is not too late to settle your Discover card directly with the them. What is your hardship? How long has your Discover card been open? How much of that 9k balance was due to charges in the 6 to 12 months prior to missing payments? The answers to those questions may change your approach to settling, or timing your negotiations.
Settling with Discover for 1/3-ish is a bit over optimistic. I would be looking at between 40 and 60 percent as a more realistic expectation. Discover settles lower, but not consistently.
Went thru cancer Insurance thru cobra ran out and new insurance was too much from July 20 until now I had no insurance bills are about 30 thousands and getting ready to go to collections I’ll have to sell my house to pay this but I’m willing to do that However want to settle for less Who would be the best to deal with the hospital or the collections people and what percentage should I shoot for?
Settlement amounts can be a moving target. What to aim for can vary from one account to the next. I tend to aim at 50% of medical debts as my negotiation target, but some accounts can be a bit under, while others much higher. When you are settling balances that total this much, I would encourage you to get coaching through the process. If you want to consult with a specialist about this, fill in the consultation form here.
Hi Michael –
I had a GE Captial Gap card about four years ago. I believe the balance was about 1200 dollars. I was contacted by a collection agency once, and responded to them through mail once. After that, I never got any response. I tried contacting Gap directly, left voicemails, and no response. I felt there was no way for me to contact anyone or pay it.
Now, four years later, this is impacting my credit history and me being able to rent a condo. How do you recommend I go about fixing this?
This far into the life of a collection account, I would look to settle this for as much savings as possible, and get the pact that there is zero balance owed on it reflected on your credit reports. Can you look on your credit reports and see who the collector is that has it now (it probably is no longer held by GE Capital)? What is the balance showing owed? And also post what amount you can pool together to offer as a settlement.
Hi Michael.
I am in need of your advice. I have a Walmart GE Capital Retail Bank Credit Card with a balance of 3477. it is now at collections for the third time (it went twice before and bounced back each time). they are telling me that my account is prelitigation and if I do not pay the full amount it will go to an attorney. I attempted to get a loan to pay it only to find out that it has been charged off. I had told them multiple times I want to pay this off, just that the min. payments are too high. they say this will be sent to an attorney in my area (massachusetts). what does all this mean for me and what is by best plan of action?
Jessica – What is the name of the collection agency you are in contact with?
CAC Financial is the name.
The reference to placing the account with an attorney is credible. This could mean you will be sued, but not necessarily. In my opinion, given trends with GE Capital, and the collector involved, I it is likely.
You can settle with CAC Financial for a lower pay off amount, or set up a payment plan they will agree to. Can you raise, say, 40 to 50 percent of the balance and settle? What would an affordable monthly payment look like (consider they are not going to want to agree to something that stretches payments out too far)?
Do you have other outstanding debts? What do those add up to? Are you current on other unsecured debts? What is the total on those?
I am current on all other unsecured debts which add up to about $13,000 (not including this walmart card and this does includes my car loan) I have tried to set up a payment plan and CAC has said they are unable to do a payment plan and they were instructed to get the full amount. they have offered a settlement of 2600 ( debt is 3477) but I do not have anyone to borrow money from nor can I get a loan since I have a charge off on my report
Settling for the savings is the better path. How close can you get to what CAC is offering? I would be targeting roughly 40% to settle this.
If you cannot do it, it just is what it is. You would likely get a good opportunity to set up payments that are more affordable through the court, but that should be avoided if possible. If you cannot get anywhere on this immediately, try them again at the end of the month.
CAC told me that Monday it is being sent back to walmart and then going to an attorney in my area
do you believe they will let me set up a payment plan through the court? I tried to so one through CAC but they refused. should I prepare anything for court? I don’t have funds for an attorney.
Also, when this does get sent back to Walmart is there a supervisor maybe I could try to talk to about avoiding court and trying to set up a payment plan? I’m sure they would like to avoid court too. I will be on vacation away for a week in May and am worried that they will set up a court date for then and I will miss it.
Walmart will not get the account back, but the servicer, GE Capital would. You can try to contact them to see if you can strike a deal before it gets placed for more aggressive collections. The window of opportunity to do that can be small.
You will have to be served the lawsuit. And most attorney collectors will send out one collection notice in the mail.
Jessica – People who participate in the court process are often able to get payments set up that they can afford, but not always. Here are two additional resources for you about dealing with collection lawsuits and judgments:
https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/can-you-negotiate-and-settle-a-credit-card-debt-if-you-are-being-sued/
https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/can-you-settle-credit-card-judgements-like-other-debts-stressed/
and silly question – they have to serve me in person correct? so if I am gone on vacation it will have to wait till they can serve me? and advice for talking to GE?
You will want to speak with an attorney in your state, or refer to your rules for civil procedure, about what would perfect service. It is not always you that has to be physically served. Someone 16 years or older in the household could be served, or even service by publication (in the legal notice section of a newspaper), are a couple of varied ways you could be served in some states. You need to know what those ways are for your state, as they could be different than mine.
When you talk to GE, be ready to make a deal and payment if you are trying to prevent any more collection activity.
1. Okay! I did all those things so awesome!
2. I am asking how to remove them after they are paid and closed, but they are still showing negative marks on my credit.
3. The lien is paid, so I will just wait!
Once the old medical bills that went to collection are paid, and the credit reports reflect a zero balance owed status, it is also a hurry up and wait scenario.
There are some who suggest sending dispute letter after dispute letter when the accounts are not really showing anything inaccurate, out of date, or incomplete. It is a waste of time and stamps for most situations.
Michael! Hi!
So, here is the situation. I am trying to clean up my credit report and raise my score. I have a 1 year old son, and I now need to have providing options for him. So here is where I am at. My score is very poor, most of the accounts are student loans-which did go into default at one time but for 6 months I have been making regular payment-however it still is negatively affecting and I know that that just takes time. Below is really my issues and most of it is just lack of knowledge.
1. I have a mark for LB GRAY LLC for an apartment. I paid the balance with the original lender-the apartment I owed to, and per a fax from them to my new apartment manager the debt was paid in January 2013, however the mark is in collections on my score. I sent the agency holding that debt currently a copy of the fax and a letter requesting the account be closed. So my question is, was that the right thing to do? And, how long should I wait? Should I do anything in the meantime?
2. I have 5, I believe, medical marks for accounts that show they are closed, but they are negative marks on my score. Can I call the agency to have those removed? How do I remove those or change it so they reflect positively? I believe the accounts are held by Eagle Accounts.
3. The most devastating, I have a STATE tax lien (Indiana). Now, I paid on time (it was a small amount for the lien of 110.00$). I have the receipt and proof of payment, but its still on my score. How do I get this off of my report? What steps do I take to remove the lien?
1. I would send a dispute letter via certified mail return receipt requested to LB Gray LLC, and to each credit reporting agency showing this. It is not that you were not sent to collections, you were, but that the debt is paid.
2. Are you asking about how to get medical collection accounts off of your credit report because they are paid, or get them off even though they have not been paid?
3. If the state tax lien shows as paid or resolved, there is not much to do but let time go by. The paid negatives will impact your credit less and less, and will then drop from the credit reports.
There is no quick fix to recovering credit that went south due to financial setbacks and collections. Time and smart moves to reestablish credit are your best tools.
I have a card with GE Capital and my balance more than doubled due to the end of a promo on my account. I wanted to settle the balance but they said I wasn’t eligible for any of their programs. I’m wondering if the only way to settle is to let the bills go until a third party gets involved, or am I better off just paying the $850 balance. Please advise, thanks!
Camilia – Do you have the ability to pay the debt today? If you have the choice between paying or not, paying is better if you are not more than a few months behind. Otherwise… yes, you will often need to be late enough with payment to GE Capital for them to place the account with outside collectors before a good offer to settle would be available.
Dear Michael Bovee,
I see your video on youtube which is talking about debt settlement and getting feer information about it at your website. I currently have $20,000 credit card debts with 5 cards (American Express: $3,300 + Bank of america : $4000 + Chase 3 chards : $2300+ $3200+ $6000) I aslo have checking account with Chase. As of today, I never miss any payments, and my credit score is excellent.
My story: I am undergrad full-time students as well as a full-time worker with $11 per hour. My income mostly cover my mortgage, car, utilities, and food. Soon, i cannot afford the minimum payment of more than $500 per month (for all credit cards). Currently, i have saved up to $4000 cash on hand and i want to make a settlement with all my 5 banks (total $20,000).
My question:
I understand that after i stop my minimum payment on my 5 credit cards, there will be late fees + interest will add up together, and i will owe higher amount that i see right now. Do you think $4000 is reasonable amount to settle for all 5 cards with total $20,000 ?
What is your opinion about how much should i have on hand to settle all my cards?
Within 180 days, when is the best time to make settlement? is the 4th or 5th month best time to do settlement?
Within 180 days, how much (or at what percentage of money) should i have to settle with them?
Is it reasonable for paying 30% of what i owe within 180 days with American Express, Chase, and Bank of America?
After 180 days, there will be an charge off. What if, within 180 days, they don’t do settlement, what should i do? My target is to do all settlement with original creditors (chase, bankofamerica, AX) for all cards within 180 days. What is your advice before i do settlement?
I currently have the car that i am paying monthly. I didn’t miss any payment. Do they (credit companies) can take my car away from me ?
In your opinion, what should i do before i am going to stop paying my minimum payments for all my cards?
Please help me.
Thank you so much for your time to read my financial problems.
Thanks
Leo
Leo – Using 4k to settle 20k total of debt is 20% and is not a realistic expectation. Current trends with Chase mean settling at 35 to 40% (more than likely). Bank of America can settle for under 30% if the situation is right, but you have not shared anything that suggests to me the lower end of BofA settlements are within reason for you. Amex may/may not settle with you. If they do, it will likely be after your account is placed with a debt collection agency, and for between 40 and 60%.
Your best efforts at negotiating with this list of creditors for the best savings (other than AMEX) will be in the 5th month of your late payments, so between 150 and 180 days late. There are exceptions to this, but that time frame is a good rule of thumb.
Your car is not at risk from these creditors, or later collection agencies, when you still owe money on it, and perhaps not even if you own it outright. In any case, they would have to sue you first.
Before you proceed with your plan, I recommend you start reading through the debt settlement section of the debt relief guide. Follow through the entire first section from page to page. Post questions along the way in the comments.
Thank you for your reply.
Thank for answering all of my question.
Taking your advice, I already find my way to pump up the amount to $8000 in hand for settlement all my cards with $20,000 balance.
– Hopefully i can survive this settlement within 180 days.
AMEX is the creditor that i am concern because i heard that AMEX is difficult to make a settlement with them.
Thank you for your advice. Thanks so much
I am planning to negotiate settlements for about $60,000 in unsecured debt. Based on my low income (200% of federal poverty level), my willingness to sustain credit rating damage, and my access to funds, I think I am the ideal candidate.
I have done quite a bit a reading and I understand that now I must stop making payments on the CCs. I have a few questions about the timing, since all my accounts have been in good standing for years.
1. Is there any advantage to asking for forbearance in anticipation of default, or does that just delay negotiation?
2. I am at least 90 days from the ability to begin negotiation, and I believe I will need some professional help with some of the accounts (because they are large and with difficult bank negotiators). Since I am at least 90 days from the ability to begin negotiation, does it make sense for me to delay enrollment with your company until it is time to play ball?
3. Is it necessary to default on all CC accounts? Can I continue paying one that I think is within my means? And will I be able to keep a CC account that has a -0- balance and a high credit limit during this process, or is the CC company likely to close or freeze that when they see what is going on?
Susan – Congrats on being so methodical with your research and questions.
1. Forbearance is the sense of unsecured credit card debt has its place in very unique situations. Offering up a single month payment to delay charge off with a creditor that is known to sue a lot at that time is one way to buy time for a strategic purpose. Enrolling a couple of accounts in some type of hardship plan after 4 or 5 months of missed payments can also make some sense depending on your list of accounts (looking for small regional credit unions here). But generally speaking, asking for, or enrolling in special programs will not serve a strategic purpose for most peoples situation.
2. I shut down debt settlement services and direct from CRN one on one coaching last June. But you can contact CRN specialists directly and work with one in the same way CRN has always worked with our members. Just complete the contact form in the right side bar of any site page. I would recommend you speak with a specialist now, even though you are not ready to negotiate the settlements. There are reasons to communicate with your creditors this many months before any meaningful negotiations begin.
3. You can definitely keep cards open that have a zero balance. Just do not use them at all while going through the negotiation and settlement process. There are reasons to not include some accounts in the settlement program. Smaller balance are a good example. See this post for more about that: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/keep-credit-card-open-when-settling-debt/
Greetings Michael,
On March 10, 2014 I paid the judgment in full (12,464.75) to a law firm in
Lubbock, TX for Citi Bank (South Dakota). Before I send the amount I advise
The Law Firm I was sending the full payment in lieu with a written statement
of release of judgment. Presently, the debt collection department is stating
4 – 6 weeks for them to mail a notarized receipt of payment to the county clerk
office for release. If I am correct the Status of limitation in Texas is 4 years
on a credit card debt. Does 10 years hold true for a judgment of character, although amount
has satisfied the judgment? The payment was a certified check with a letter stating
request of full release along with several phone calls to the creditor’s attorney detailing my concern.
The law firm is procrastinating on forwarding the satisfaction document to the court. Please forward
names of attorneys to whom I can contact to pursue my next attempt of the getting the judgment off
my homestead?
Thanks GD
GD – If you paid off the judgment amount 2 weeks ago, it is fairly common to have the law firm schedule that work flow a few weeks out. I do not think 4 to 6 weeks is a great time frame, but it is still within reason based on my experiences. I am happy to send you contact details for attorneys with debt defense experience. Are you also in the Lubbock area?
Hi Michael,
Thanks for your site, very informative. First off, a quick brief on my situation. I’ve accumulated approximately $45,000 of credit card debt due to high medical bills for my kids, my wife transitioning her job, and procrastinating about dealing with the mounting debt. Fortunately the medical bills are being paid off slowly (two accounts are now paid off), my wife’s income will be stable in the next few months, and I have “excellent” credit and dependable income. I believe my best option is to “consolidate” my debt vs. “settle”. I think the Debt Rollup could be a good option, however I feel it’s better to consolidate my debt at a lower rate now because the Debt Rollup method could take some time.
I had a follow up question based on one of your videos on Debt Consolidation. I understand your first caution of consolidating debt and paying off credit cards, but then not having enough dependable income so having to start using the credit cards again. But you also cautioned about which debt consolidation agencies to use because a lot of them will want to “settle” your debt rather than “consolidate” your debt because that’s how they make money.
So, I’m wondering if you could recommend a couple agencies to use? Or alternatively, would I be better off to just go to my local B of A or Wells Fargo and try to establish a debt consolidation loan through them? Because do debt consolidation agencies even provide consolidation loans or do they just refer to other lenders? Or how about Prosper? Where I can find the best rates?
Thanks!
CN – What are your credit scores currently? What flexibility is there in your monthly budget (whats left after all bills and necessities are met)? Add up all of your rates across unsecured debts, what is the average interest rate you pay?
Hi Michael,
My current Experian score is 774…I haven’t checked the other two recently. In regards to flexibility in my budget, I’m still figuring that out. But to start, I’m paying about $350 per month in minimum credit card payments; and I’m hoping I could pay an additional few hundred dollars toward paying down the debt. The average interest rate I’m paying on unsecured debts is 13.55%.
Thanks,
CN
CN – You would be considered prime for lending purposes if that is your average credit score. You would not have much trouble consolidating. But getting a competitive rate to make it worth the while is the first order.
I may not be clear on your situation. Is the 45k debt you refer to mostly in the form of bills owed to medical establishments, or is the 45k consisting mostly of credit card balances? The 350 monthly minimums is too small for 45k balances.
Thanks Michael. Sorry, should have better clarified the debt situation.
The 45k is all credit card balances. And you are correct the 350 monthly minimums is low because one of the cards (with about a 17k balance) is currently 0% interest, but that offer ends next month so the minimums will jump to about $530/month.
Then on top of that we’re paying an additional $350/month in medical bills that are setup on payment plans. Fortunately those are 0% interest, but still a fixed monthly expense.
Assuming debt consolidation being the best option, what are your suggestions for finding the best rates? Local banks like B0fA and Wells Fargo? Online like Prosper? Others?
Thanks!
CN
CN – Thanks for the clarity. 10 years ago you could throw a dart blindfolded and hit a creditor offering consolidation loans for your situation. After the recession hit, that type of consolidation was pulled back significantly and has not returned in any real meaningful way.
I am not sure the interest rate benefits from Prosper or Lending Club will be enough of a benefit given your average rate of 13-ish percent. But that sounds like it will change when the intro offer you have on the larger credit card expires. Lending Club has a higher loan limit than Prosper (last I looked). You also have the opportunity for debt consolidation with Wells Fargo or Bank of America. Do you bank at either today? If not, where do you bank, and have you asked about any consolidation loan products there?
If you do apply to more than one lender to see how competitive you can get rates, try to do that all at once (in the same week or so).
It would be great if you posted updates about your progress. I really should move these comments to the debt consolidation section of the debt relief program, and may use this comment thread as an excuse to take the comment moving plugin I installed last year for a spin 🙂
Thanks Michael. I bank at BofA and called them and sounds like they don’t offer a product for debt consolidation. I also called Wells Fargo and they do, so am planning on stopping by in person to my local branch.
Happy to keep you updated with my progress, and to be used as an excuse for you to use your moving plugin 🙂
One last question I thought of; if I were to establish a debt consolidation loan with any of these lenders, do you think it would negatively affect my credit score? Or hurt my chances of purchasing a home in the next two or three years? I wouldn’t think so because I would be decreasing my credit usage.
Thanks!
CN
CN – I do not think this approach to debt consolidation will hurt your home loan goals 2 to 3 years from now at all. In fact, using the best path to paying down debt and improving your overall debt to income now, is only going to help you in those efforts.
Hi Michael,
I had a credit card that was charged off and sent to collections, and I paid it off in full (monthly payments were set up) last Nov. 2013. I also had another credit card with my bank that was closed/revoked (never got charged off) and I just finished paying that card off in full (monthly payments) today! I had a third credit card with another bank I bank at that was charged off and sent to collections. I haven’t made any arrangements to pay this card off, as I’ve been focusing on getting the other two cards that I previously mentioned paid off. I do plan to pay this third card off in full, but I don’t have a set date of when. Having given you all that info, I’m writing you because I’m really wanting to get another credit card SOLELY for wanting to build my credit. I just want to have one to make small purchases with and pay it off in full each month.
My question to you is, how likely is it that I’ll be approved for a credit card at this point? For months now, I’ve been getting credit card offer mailings from Capital One, saying that I’m eligible for a Capital One Platinum MasterCard. I didn’t see anything in the letter stating anything about this being a secured card, so I’m assuming this is an unsecured one. There is no annual fee, o% intro APR until 2014, and 22.9% variable APR after that. I’m just unsure if this is something I should take advantage of or not. I know that when you apply for a credit card, it dings your credit score some. So if I end up applying for it and don’t get approved, that will have been for naught. Another credit card option I was considering is applying for a new one with the bank I bank with (the one that I just finished paying off in full today). Their unsecured credit card has no annual fee, 0% intro APR for 6 months, then 10.24% to 20.24% Variable APR. Their secured credit card has a $49 annual fee and 18.24% Variable APR.
Should I try applying for any of the cards I listed above? And if so, which one would be best? Or are there other good cards you know of that I should look into?
Thanks in advance for your suggestions on this matter.
Best,
DMG
DMG – How long ago was the credit card you still owe on last paid? How much is owed on that account? Who is collecting on it now if not the bank?
Capital One does indeed fill a void by offering and approving new credit cards to people with collection accounts (paid and sometimes unpaid), and lower credit scores. They fill a void left by sub prime credit card lenders that shut down several years ago.
Do you know what your credit scores are? Is the collection account you reference the only one out there unresolved?
You can use your debit card like a credit card for a while more, until the other account is resolved, or get the secured card with your bank if Capital One declines you. But depending on what your answers are to the above questions, my hunch is that CapOne would approve you, even if only for a lower credit limit.
Hi Michael,
The last payment I made on the credit card I still owe on was on Oct. 2011. The amount owed on the account is $4, 846.52. As for who’s collecting on it, it’s been through a couple of collection agencies, but right now it’s with an agency named MRS Associates. I honestly don’t know when/how soon I can resolve this account. Do I need to resolve it before applying for a credit card?
I don’t know what my credit score is, as I’ve never ordered it due to having to pay for it. Is there a way to receive a legit credit score? I’ve only ever requested my credit report—one from Equifax back in June 2013, and one from TransUnion in Dec. 2013.
Aside from the charged off account that I owe $4,846.52 dollars on, I have student loans (currently in forbearance) and two medical bills (one for $492 that was placed for collection in April 2010 that shows up on both the TransUnion and Equifax reports, and the other for $580 that was placed for collection in April 2010 that only shows up on the Equifax report for some reason). I’ve never before received collection letters from any agencies about the medical bills, nor has anyone ever contacted me about them. They’ve both been just sort of stagnant, I guess.
Having said all this, do you still think it’s okay for me to apply for a credit card? If so, which card that I mentioned in my previous post do you believe will be best at this point? Also, how badly is your credit score dinged when applying for a credit card?
Thanks for all your help.
Best,
DMG
DMG – It is possible you would get approved for a Capital One credit card with a low credit limit. You would increase your odds by resolving the debts. You can settle these old collection accounts for less than the balance owed. Paying the full amount is up to you, but you would not likely get a better credit score bump by paying them fully vs settling for half or less the amount owed. MRS Associates settles debts for less regularly.
Credit inquires from applying for credit cards can drop your score a few points. If you start hammering the credit applications it can impact the score more. But each credit profile is different.
Hi Michael,
So between applying for a new unsecured card with the bank I bank with (I had a closed credit card with them that I just finished paying off in full). that has no annual fee, 0% intro APR for 6 months, then 10.24% to 20.24% Variable APR, or applying for the unsecured Cap One that offers no annual fee, o% intro APR until 2014, and 22.9% variable APR after that, which do you believe is the best way to go? Does it seem like I’d have a better shot being approved with one over the other? The bank credit card obviously has better incentives/rates, but I’m just not sure they’d approve me for another card after having closed the first one (even though I’ve now paid it off). I’m nervous about being rejected and having the application inquiry ding my credit score.
Also, as I mentioned in my other post, I’ve never gotten a credit score before. I know Credit Karma says you can get a free credit score, but do you know if that company is reliable? Is it best for me to just pay to get one from one of the 3 major credit bureaus? And should I find out my credit score before even applying for a credit card again?
Thanks,
DMG
DMG – My assumption is that you are getting the new credit card as a rebuilding tool first, and the utility function second.
If you are worried about approval, you have a better shot at the Capital One card given what I have seen recently. But taking a shot at the other one, and being turned down, will not hurt your credit all that much. And I do not think that application will be the sole reason Capital One would turn you down if your bank does not approve you.
If you want an accurate credit score you should pay for one from one of the three majors. If you want to work from a free one, I like credit.com and their credit report card more than any other similar product (like credit karma etc).
Hi Michael,
Thanks for your advice. I’m thinking I’m going to try for my bank credit card first since their “rates” are better, and if I get rejected, then I’ll go for the Capital One card. I just got another offer in the mail from them earlier this week (I’ve been getting one like every month for quite a while now, so I’m thinking my approval chances are pretty good).
I will also check out credit.com in regards to the free credit score. I’m always unsure about sites that claim to be “free,” so thanks for some reassurance.
I will keep you updated on the outcome of my credit card application.
Thanks again,
DMG
Thanks for keeping this updated DMG.
Credit.com does have paid stuff for credit reporting, monitoring, new accounts etc. But there free one is just that… free.
Hi Michael, I am behind on some credit cards thats taking a toll on me which are in my name. I am embarrassed and ashamed that it has gotten this far but due to changes in our finances; I neglected to take care of my bills. They are in collections and the total of debt is about $30 grand. We have a mortgage but are current (never missed a payment) and he is current on all his obligations. He is active duty with top secret clearance so I’m not sure if this will impact his career; I am hoping it doesn’t. I have been in contact with the collection agencies who are trying to collect and been asking for validation of debt so I can buy time to gather up some funds. The other day I received a letter on intent to sue from a debt collection law firm. I need to know if bankruptcy is an option for me or if you have other suggestions and how this will affect my husband. I don’t want to go this route because I don’t want to lose our home because of my stupidity. Please help. Thank you for your time and assistance.
Ace – You can settle debts one at a time, rather than waiting to have money saved up to settle all of them. How much is the balance on the one the attorney is contacting you about? What amount of money can you pool together to settle this account? How long will that take? Who is the attorney collecting for?
As far as bankruptcy, it is possible to file separate of your husband. Are you near or on a base?
Michael, The law firm is Hunt & Henriques. The balance according to the letter is $4402.72. I can pull $1500 in about 2 wks to see if they will accept that settlement amount. What do you think? Also, yes we are near a base but I want to avoid going that route if possible. Thank you.
Ace – My feedback can be impacted by who Hunt and Henriques is working for. But they do sue, and regularly. 1500 settlement on that balance is not all that likely at this stage of collection. I see some options for dragging this out to buy time to save more, settle at a better rate, or even win if they do sue. But that would depend on their client (and on you too).
Let me know who they are collecting for and lets go from there. Also, are any of the other debts placed with local attorneys for collection?
Michael, in the letter it states their client is Portfolio Recovery associates, it’s regarding a GE Capital Retail Bank (a gap credit card); I assumed GE sold off debt to portfolio?
Thanks ace. I would realistically target 50% at the low end for a settlement today, given the circumstances, and the players involved. But start lower in your negotiations, and hit the military family concerns. If you cannot come up with the extra money to settle, it is what it is. If Hunt and Henriques sues for PRA, post an update. There are some reasonable cost options to look into that could still possibly help you avoid bankruptcy.
I would suggest talking with an experienced bankruptcy attorney too. Most offer a no cost consult. Perhaps Jeremy can refer you to one he knows nearest you. Just because you talk to one does not mean you are filing.
Thanks Michael. I will see if I can pull funds for half. Do you have referral for an experienced bankruptcy attorney in my area? I am in Oceanside, CA. Just want to make sure I have other options along with any other reasonable cost options you can give me. Thank you for all your assistance.
ace – You can reach a BK professional at 877-278-8117. You can also search http://www.nacba.org (National Association of Bankruptcy Attorneys) for a member attorney in your area.
Hi Micheal,
Yesterday I was checking the status of my MI state income tax return and saw that it was garnished, it was under $200. Today I received a disclosure that Cach Llc placed the garnish with the state against a 1849.00 debt. The only company reporting a past due balance on Credit Karma was Capital One, it was $485.00 report 01/2014. This is the only thing I can think of it would be regarding. But the balances don’t make sense, can they legally inflate it that much? What recourse do you think I’d have? Is this even legal without some sort of advance notice, summons or legal work? I believe the last activity on this account was sometime in 2009, if it’s even about this issue. If I contact Cach Llc, would it restart the SOL clock? I’m worried they may go after my normal bank accounts, from what I’ve read about them. Thank in advance for any suggestions or advise you might be able to offer.
Steve
Steve – I would contact a consumer law attorney that specializes in debt collection issues about what is happening here. Based on what you shared in your comment, something is not right. Post the name of a nearby larger city in Michigan. I will email contact info to the type of attorney you will want to consult with. Most offer a no cost initial consult.
Hi Micheal,
I’ve gone some stupid money management issues and urgently trying to fix them. I have a GE Capital/old navy card with a balance of $1950, it’s currently 161 days past as of today. I’ve tried settling with them late January but unfortunately I didn’t have the money to settle. Now Ive saved a 50% lump sum payment and I’ve tried for the last month to settle and every time they say ” Settlement offer is not available on your account” How do I get back to a settlement time frame. I’ve heard everything from wait till the 179th day and try again all the way to I should make a payment that brings my account within 150 days (similiar to late January settlement)Time frame so that they see I’m trying and then they’ll be able to settle.
I did settle with Chase in early January; though it was them that reached to me and I agreed.
What’s your advice in dealing with GE/old navy?
Tina – Settlement with GE on the Old Navy account could happen anytime between now, and their charging off your account, then dropping it in their collection pipeline (which can also happen anytime, and generally before your account is considered 180 days past due). If it were me, I would keep at them every 5 or so days. If I could not lock up a deal and complete it with them, I would wait to hear from the collector they place the debt with for collection (or who they sell the account to), and then negotiate and settle with the third party. 50% is a good dollar amount to be prepared with to settle, but I think you can come in a bit under that based on trends I see, so consider starting a bit lower.
Thanks so much for the quick reply Michael I truly appreciate it!
I wasn’t too sure on the time frame to settle or what percentage to settle for once it went to collection agency. I settled my chase account for 67% then later found out I could have gone lower. So thank you for that advice. It’ll save me some money if I can start at a lower point Would 30-40% be a better starting point?
Also what have you heard about settling with USAA? I have 2 cards total $19,000 160+ days and will be in charge off within the next 2 months. I know that there’s a high probability that my membership will be reduced or closed all together and that’s fine. Have you heard whether they are a simple or complex bank to settle with?
Tina – I would target settlements with GE on the Old Navy account at 40%, but have seen some come in between 30 and 40.
I have not found USAA to be as difficult to settle with as other large credit unions. I would target them at under 30% if there are severe, and documented hardships. If just a tough financial patch, I would target settlements with USAA at about 40%. The big question here will be what other accounts, insurances, and loan products you may have with USAA other than these credit cards? That answer could change things a bit.
Hi Michael
My husband and I are set to close on a coop purchase (401k loan,no mortgage,buying from a family member).When reading through the sample contract of sale,it says we as purchasers must provide a judgement and lien search to seller before closing.
The coop did an extensive background check with lexisnexis and some judgments against myself showed up.I resolved those issues(except one-pending case -no judgement )(that is another question I will ask you about in a bit)and the coop approved us finally last week.
It wasn’t easy because of poor credit history but we did it.
I purchased an identity guard service for myself and my husband last week and was surprised to see a judgement for 4000.00 from 1996.It was filed in august,1996, according to identity guard court records section.it shows up under both our names.
But we declared bankruptcy 3 weeks earlier.We had our court date for bankruptcy hearings in July 1996-that shows up in identity guard as well. And I am sure the debt had to be included in that process .But we do not know who the creditor is and can’t find it on nys ecourts at all.We also moved that month as well .
We never received any notices or were served any papers in regards to this and I was shocked to see it last week,especially since it never showed up anywhere before.
It is not on our credit reports and did not show up in coop financial check, I am so nervous it will show up in the judgment and lien search.I know that it is meant more for the seller to make sure they are clear and we do not have a lender to worry about.But it is in identity guards records under court filings.How should I handle this ?Will it show up in this search or is this search purely for checking out the seller?We did not use an attorney for any of this sale ,so I don’ know how to handle this.
We have to call the coop this week to set up a closing date and am so afraid it will all fall apart at the last minute.The amount owed must be huge now and I can’t possibly pay it off before closing.We paid off everything that showed up to get this approval.please let me know what you think,I would really appreciate it.
PS I do not have my bankruptcy papers-we lost them in hurricane sandy and I am afraid to even disturb this nest as the judgment limit runs out in a little over two years.
Thank you nancy
nancy – You need to run this all by an experienced consumer law attorney, like can be found at http://www.naca.net. My thought is that the judgment would be considered part of your 96 bankruptcy, so not able to impact you today in the ways that are concerning you. But I am not an attorney, so talk to one and remove the angst you are feeling.
Hi,
I’m looking for your expert advice on my situation. I’m looking to get a home mortgage loan in Spring 2015. My current credit score is 548 pulled from Experian and my goal is to reach 650. A few days ago I did a “pay for delete” that will wipe off 5 negative accounts entirely from my credit history (Each of these accounts were medical in collections and were a few years old totaling $1000). I currently have 13 defaulted accounts including the 5 mentioned above. 4 of the negatives are student loans through the Federal Government. I consolidated those last month, and that is still in process. My understanding is that all 4 of these will be listed as settled and turn into 1 “in good standing” account through my consolidation lender. This will leave 4 negative accounts. Two of the negative accounts were opened February 2008 according to my Experian report. I assume they will drop off in February of next year (the 7 year mark). Is that correct? If not, how can I tell when they will drop off? They are both charged off accounts. One of the accounts was Capital One and led to a judgement being issued, and that court judgement is on my credit report. The Judgement was filed 8/11/2011. The other two negative accounts I will pay in full in the next month. They total about $1000 and are only a few years old. My main questions:
How feasible is it to get my credit score raised 100 points in 1 years time?
Do you think the two negative charged off accounts I mentioned above will actually drop off in 2015?
What do you advise I do to help get my credit in the right place?
Stephen – The negative credit reporting collections will typically drop off of your credit reports within 7 to 7.5 of the date of first delinquency, not the date the account was opened. When did your first payments get missed? Do the credit reports you are viewing provide a date the negatives are set to me removed from their respective reports?
How much is the judgment balance as of today (may be higher than what is appearing on your credit report)?
Settling the other two accounts for less than what you owe is often going to have the same credit reporting impacts as paying them in full.
I do think it is possible to see a fairly dramatic increase in your credit score given all that you shared. The student loans going from negative to positive on your reports several months from now will be great. Do you have any open accounts that are showing as positive on your credit reports right now?
All things considered, if you resolve all the collections, have some positive, or ad some small ones now, I like your chances. But even if you fall short of conventional financing, if you meet FHA home loan standards and the CFPB’s new ability to repay rule, you could qualify through the FHA for a home loan.
I can offer more detailed feedback if you post a comment with answers to the above questions.
Thanks for your response. I don’t know the exact date that those 2 accounts went into delinquent. I had just turned 18 at the time and I was very careless, so I would assume I didn’t make more than a few months payment. The accounts were most likely delinquent by May 2008. The judgement balance is $1600.00. Do you advise that I attempt to pay this?
On the other two negatives, I will attempt to settle those but will consider the option of paying in full if that’s what it takes to delete the accounts from credit history all together. Will that give me more benefit?
I do not have any current open accounts in good standing. I’m not sure how to obtain any with my credit in the current state it is in. Any suggestions there?
Thanks again for your help
Hi there-
Looking for some helpful info. I have a GE Capital Retail account that is in collections. I called and spoke to a rep at the agency, and was offered over the phone a settlement offer of approximately 45% of balance due. I had done my research before calling, and told them I was willing to work with them, but wanted a letter in writing from them detailing the terms of the settlement offer, and releasing me from further liability. They refused, saying that GE Cap Retail doesn’t do settlement letters.HUH? I have been in business for myself, dealt with attorneys and such and ANYTIME there was a settlement offer, there was paperwork detailing it. What do do? Everything I have read tells me that if they aren’t willing to send a settlement letter, they are being tricky. What are your thoughts?
Erin – Check out this report, and the many comments exchanged about getting settlements documented, and setting up payment for a date far enough out to get the original creditor like GE Capital to kick loose a letter prior to payment date.
Hi there, I know I asked a similar question in a feed, but I can’t find my original inquiry. I am wanting to pay my debt in full to Cach LLC (but it is with an attorney’s office). They originally told me that they DON”T report to the credit bureau and that I would I have to do it myself. I found that odd. So my question is: How do I go about this? This is the only collection agency that I felt uneasy about. If I offer to pay them in full which is around 1700 do I ask for the letter first and what should it say? I have had such a bad/horrible experience with them. Also, I read on-line forums that it can be particularly difficult if I were to personally report it myself. Is that true? I also asked them if I could call Cach and they said that they can’t release their client’s info. So I’m confuse on how to approach this. If you could give me some insight (which you always do) that would be helpful. Thank you.
Jennifer – The attorney cannot do anything about credit reporting themselves, as collection attorneys are not the ones reporting. Cach LLC has an obligation as a furnisher of information to the credit reporting companies, to provide accurate, complete, and up to date details. If you pay the debt off, look for your credit reports to be updated within 60 days of that. If the report is not updated to show paid and zero balance owed, it is something you can get fixed yourself. Wherever you read about that process being difficult is probably dated, or not all that experienced. It has become increasingly simple to get those updates, for a situation that you are describing, done yourself. You do want to be sure you get any payment you negotiate, whether in full or as a settlement, documented before paying anything.
If it comes to needing to get your reports updated later, post a comment update and I can offer feedback from there.
My wife recently received a summons for a citibank card that she owes 7500 on. She works only part time making about 150 per week. The card is in her name only. Is it possible to settle for a lower sum at this time and keep this out of court? If so, what do you recommend we start off with? Her court date is on the 16th. Thank you.
Tony – It is possible to settle this out of court. How much can you pool together in order to fund an agreement?
Thanks for getting back to me so fast. We can probably scrape together around 40 to 50% of the total right now. I would like to keep it out of court if we can. But she has a part time job, at best, and has really no assets in her name. Just curious to know what they can do as far as judgements go? Thanks again.
Tony – It is possible to settle when sued for 50%. The fact that her income is only 150 a week would be a supporting factor in their settling for that. If you are trying to avoid a judgment you will want to be prepared to fund that settlement in a single lump sum, and get the agreement documented first.
As far as what they can do to collect on this if a judgment is entered in the court, it varies by state, and your situation. What state are you in?
There are good details in this article about settling judgments.
We live in Missouri. I had lost my job a few years back. I am employed but not making as much as I was before. My wife has worked part time for a while now because child care is so expensive and it worked for our schedules. We do have enough for a lump sum but can’t really afford to go over the 40 or 50% number.
We offered 3000 and the company did not take it. I am not sure what more we can do at this time. I will probably counter with 3200 and see what that does.
Tony – Sometimes you have to create a better foundation for why a collection attorney would settle for less, or for the most savings. As far as they are concerned, at least at this point, they are going to get a judgment against you. If that is the way the file looks to them, they will go that route and look at payment and settlement after they have something legally enforceable. In other words – They bothered to start the legal process, and are most often going to see that through, unless you give them a reason to view your file differently than how roughly 90% of collection suits are viewed. See this post about settling when sued for more details on this.
Post any additional questions about this particular issue in the comments of that page that is dedicated to the topic once you have read the Q and A. There are about 800 comments there to glean details from as well.
Hi, I just got served papers from the court reguarding a 1600.00 citi bank credit card debt. I got the card in 2008 and lost my job shortly after. I’m not sure what to do I want to pay it and possibly settle it before the court date. This paperwork didn’t even come to my house. It went to my sisters which I have never resided it. I live in PA. Is it possible that if I settle this before the hearing that I won’t get a judgement against me? The court documents must be returned to the court house within 20 day from today, then I’m assuming they will issue a court date. I plan on settling this on the 19th of December when I will have the funds.
Nicky – You can settle a debt at this stage of collection and avoid a judgment entry. If you miss the court filing deadline you do risk the case progressing. Getting the deal negotiated can be accomplished by calling the attorney debt collector next week if you want to get a jump on it.
See this post and the many comments for more information and tips: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/can-you-negotiate-and-settle-a-credit-card-debt-if-you-are-being-sued/
Michael, can you please give me a name and phone number of a lawyer in Los Angeles, CA that can represent me againts the Law Firm Lang, Richert & Patch.
Thank you
Mike – I sent you an email with contact info to an attorney with experience defending against collection suits brought by Land Richert and Patch.
correction…
*they literally offered them,
Hi Michael,
I am juggling several debts which total around $8000. So far, I have been able to (just barely) keep up with slightly over minimum payments. The highest interest account is a GE Capital/Amazon card which I (stupid, I know…) let get up to 2200. The interest alone is almost $50/month. Right now I have about $2000, which I would like to use to pay down my debts. I am considering just using it all to pay off the Amazon, as the interest is ridiculous (26%!!!) Do you think there is any wiggle-room to settle the debt for less than what is owed, when I have kept up with my monthly payments thus far? They have charged me over $400 in interest just this year alone…and nearly $500 last year. I would love to be able to pay off something other than just Amazon account, or at least part of something else which is at lower, but still much too high interest (Bill Me Later, $1200 at 20%…) I feel like such an idiot for getting suckered into having these accounts…the literally offered them, then kept raising the credit limits (on their own, not at my request….) until I can barely make the minimum payments and will be paying on them for ever. I know, just because they raised the limit didn’t mean I had to use it…I think I finally learned that lesson this time. I also don’t want to totally destroy my credit rating….
What do you think would be the best course of action for me to take?
Thank you!
Suanne
Suzanne – You are in good shape to apply a debt roll-up strategy to rapidly pay down the balances and not impact your credit score. You could also consider consolidating your debt through a consolidation loan, or by simply getting your interest rates lowered and your monthly payments reduced through a credit counseling program.
Settling debt requires you to miss payments. Missing payments means a hammer to your credit score. That is not something you want unless you have no other options. I would look at the debt roll up strategy first. Applying the 2k you have on hand to your debt, and continuing to budget and pay off the other debts using the same amount you budget for today, all the way through to paying off your final debt, takes commitment. But you preserve your credit and can develop some rewarding habits around managing money in the process.
Thank you for your prompt response, Michael…I looked over both those options and I have a couple of questions. On the Debt Roll-up, would it not make more sense to pay off the account with the highest interest first, rather than the smallest debt?
For the Credit Counseling option, I actually looked into that earlier this year. They gave me detailed information on how much the interest rates would be reduced, and how much I would be paying them to manage my accounts. It sort of looked to be somewhat of a wash, in terms of what I would be paying. For instance, they said the GE/Amazon interest would only go down to around 17%, but I would be paying them $10 a month to manage each account (up to $50 max). The only one of my creditors that they said would go down to the range mentioned on your Credit Counseling page (1.5-2%) was Chase. In fact, they said CapitalOne would not make any concessions on their 15% interest rate (I have 2 accounts with them-one which was originally Orchard Bank…and one of the two has now increased the interest to nearly 19%) at all.
I just saw my credit score this morning (667), as I had tried to apply for a debt-consolidation loan from Prosper, for which I was notified that I was not approved because my score was too low. If I do the debt roll-up, starting with paying off Amazon (right away) and then applying what I was paying them to the account with the next-highest interest rate (Bill Me Later), and continue down the list, how much would that help boost my credit score compared to using a Credit Counseling program?
Suzanne – It does indeed make the most “cents” and sense to pay the highest interest debt first. There are reasons people will opt to pay the lowest balances off first too. I can argue both sides, but it really boils down to the person, their habits, and the cash flow.
Lump sum pay off dollars like you have can be used to pay down high interest debts to get the most savings from the process, and can also be used to target debts that, were payments applied correctly, could bring your account utilization to a recommended level that could bump your credit score too. You are not far from the score you need to get approved for either Prosper, or Lending Club.
Credit counseling payment reduction proposals are partially scaled to automation, but not fully. Each persons situation will dictate what interest rate, and thereby what payment reduction, you would achieve through the DMP. In other words, in many instances the interest reduction is needs based. That is not always going to be the case with all creditors. Some just will not reduce the interest. But I suspect the information you provided the credit counselor did not show you as someone on, or near, the financial edge.
Credit counseling programs are not going to boost your credit score. In fact, because the accounts enrolled are closed, you don’t really impair your score, but remove active and open revolving accounts, which does close off some positive attributes to your credit profile.
If you want to post each account balance rounded to the dollar; the account balance limits; and the interest rates for each; over in the comments of the debt roll up article, I can offer some additional feedback on meaningful credit bumps you can look to accomplish. I can also send you the excel sheet with formulas I use for the exercise you see as the example in that post.
Michael,
I would really appreciate your advice on this…I will post the account balances, creditors, etc. in the comments on the Debt Roll-Up page on Sunday, and I look forward to your response. I will hold off on paying off Amazon till then, even though their interest rate is really making my blood boil…(it’s my fault, I know…I think I finally learned my lesson…)
Thank you!
Look forward to it.
Hi Michael:
Just touching base to see if you have had a chance to offer any feedback on my DIY-er plan to recover my spouses credit! Thanks in advance!!
Melissa
Hi Melissa – Thanks for your patience. I posted my feedback with questions for you to answer in the comments of the new page. See https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/how-best-repair-credit-score/
I am being sued by a collections agency in Miami, FL.The original creditor is Bank of America and the amount is for 1450.00 they sold it to CACH, LLC. I have a pretrial set for October. I am a single mother of two small children and I am currently on welfare. Thankfully i am not unemployed but i currently do not make enough money to pay off my debts. With that being said I cannot afford an attorney to help me with my situation so I am going to try and do this on my own. I need help as to what I should do please!!!
Hylde – I cannot offer you effective feedback on what to do’s from the other side of the country. Qualifying for different welfare benefits means you would likely qualify for low income legal aid. I would encourage you to consult with Dade Legal Aid, or Florida Legal Services.
You may not have to work your way through this on your own.
Hi Michael,
I wanted your thoughts/advice on the following… I have 3 credit cards that are closed (2 of those are charged off, and 1 is closed but still with the bank). I’m currently making monthly payments on one of the charged off cards (will be done paying it off in November), and I’m also making monthly payments on the closed card with the bank (won’t be done paying that one off until early next year). I only have 2 debit cards now (I bank at two different branches), but I really want a secured credit card. I’ve been reading up on secured credit cards and am interested in getting one. I ONLY want one for necessity purposes, like when I rent a car or need to book a flight. I have absolutely no intentions of using it for shopping or frivolous things, as I’m not trying to get into more debt–ever again!
What are your thoughts about applying for a secured credit card when, at the same time, paying off current debts? Am I likely to even be approved for a secured card if I do apply? Will it make my credit report look worse, having a secured credit card on there while still paying off debts?
Your help is appreciated.
Thanks,
DMG
DMG – Applying for a secured card prior to accounts in collection being updated as resolved may/may not be difficult to get approved for. You may want to check with one of the two banks you have accounts with about what secured card products they have first. I have worked with people who had been turned down by others based on accounts outstanding in collection, but get approved with their bank they have a checking or savings account with.
I would not expect your credit to look “worse” by adding a new secured card. Having an active card like this is a tool to recover your credit over time. But with unresolved collections still on there, any positive impacts will likely be imperceptible until several months after those negatives are updated as paid and a zero balance owed.
Whats up with the third account you mentioned?
Hi Michael–thanks for replying back.
1.) I have a credit card through a bank that hasn’t been charged off, but the bank closed it. The account is still with the bank and I am currently paying the debt off. This bank does offer secure credit cards, but I’m not sure if I’d be approved for one since I’m currently paying off my unsecured credit card I had with them (the one that’s now closed). From past cases you’ve heard about/seen, do you think the chances of me being able to get a secured card right now with them are low?
2.) The second credit card was a credit card (not through a bank) that was charged off and I’m currently paying back the debt on that one. I will complete all my monthly payments this November. Can’t wait to be done with it!
3.) You asked about my third account…that’s another credit card through a bank, but this one has been charged off. I’m not currently paying back my debt on this one because I’m working on paying off the two previous mentioned credit cards. Also, just FYI, this bank doesn’t offer secure credit cards.
Having given you a little more insight into my status, what do you think my next step should be? Should I apply for the secured card with my bank? Should I apply for a Capital One secured card (I read that this is a pretty good card)? Or should I not apply for a secured card altogether?
Thanks,
DMG
DMG – If it were me I would not apply for any credit until I had at least one of the 3 updated as resolved on my credit report (likely 2 of 3).
The other account that is not being addressed is likely with a collector now, or soon will be. You will appear more collectable when you have hard inquiries on your credit report (collectors have access to your credit reports). If your intent is to settle or otherwise resolve that third account, I would probably wait until I have something locked in with them.
The above, combined with the lower odds of getting approved right now, would mean waiting a bit more to begin the credit improvement makes sense.
Thanks, Michael. I appreciate your follow up!
Yes, just being vigilant. Always wanting to better my score if possible. I appreciate your time.
My credit score is actually 692, so not bad. I want to know if this is still out there, but don’t want to call and stir it up if I don’t have to.
I hear you. It is sometimes better to let things lay. Are you just being vigilant with monitoring your credit, or do you have a credit product goal in the near future, say one to two years?
I will have to pay for another report because I did the annual one this year already. At that time I believe it said charge off. I haven’t heard anything in 6 months or so was curious and checked credit karma and quizzle. Both show Wells Fargo acct closed $0 bal- obviously to them. Would it show who it was sold to or in fact if there was a judgement at this time even?
Slk – The free reports out there, those you mention and others, show most of what is on your credit report, but there can be gaps and things missing. Based on who is collecting now, it appears the debt was sold to Midland Funding LLC, and MCM is trying to collect on that. This fact will show on your credit report with a new entry from the debt buyer more often than not, but there are instances I have seen where it doesn’t. As far as a judgment showing, were you sued?
No, I was not. Would that happen first? I haven’t received anything of that nature.
The collection lawsuit comes before the potential judgment that would appear on your credit report.
What is your current goal? I know you are concerned about your credit. What are you looking to accomplish?
I had a charge off with Wells Fargo 2-3 years ago. I received a letter from mcm stating to pay them. I sent a debt validation letter and finally received very little info back 6 months later and have not heard anything since. I checked my credit report today on credit karma. It says Wells Fargo-account closed. This area says 0 derogatory remarks and scores me an A. No where on my report is there anything showing neg actions.
What does this mean?
Ski – I would have to be looking at what you see to offer anything beyond a general comment.
CreditKarma may not be showing you everything that is actually on your report. I say this because an unpaid debt to Wells Fargo would have been charged off. That is a a credit report and credit score negative, and should not score and A in the traditional sense. With MCM collecting, it looks like Wells Fargo sold the debt. In that case Wells would show no amount owed because nothing is… to them. They sold the legal right to the debt.
If you have not already, access the free reports you have every 12 months from the major 3 bureaus. Look to see what collection accounts are reporting.
I have been reading your posts and I hope you can help me..I was just served by capital one..the court date is in August I owe 11,000. The came and phone number of the attorney is in the paperwork. Along with a verification from capital one. Can I contact the attorney before the court date and work out a payment plan?? I can’t afford to pay them all at once. I got this credit card over the Internet. Do you think they will settle before the court date? Any advise you can give me would be very appreciated. I don’t know where to start…
Velda – Yes, you can set up a payment plan. You are going to need to be prepared for them asking you to sign a stipulation or consent to judgment. Read more about dealing with this type of scenario here.
While you may not be able to pay the full amount to them all at one time, you may be able to get relief by negotiating a lower pay off in one lump sum. What amount of money can you raise quickly?
Good Afternoon:
Here is my question. My original creditor is Capital One. I was contacted by a company called Northland Group, they stated they were representing Capital One. I agreed to settle the debt down to $2k, the original debt I think was around $3,500+-. It was broken up into payments of $166-+. I started paying. Each month I would receive a receipt and I kept my bank statements. The payments started back in June 2010. I was unable to make the agreed upon payment on time until Jan. 2011. So I called them to explain I had a utility bill that needed to be paid and that, that month’s payment would be 2 weeks late. They then told me that if I didn’t give them any money, that the deal would be off and the amount paid so far (approx. $1100+-) would not count and the amount would go back to the original amount owed and I would lose the money I paid. Well, since I couldn’t pay they stopped talking to me. A few months later I received another collection letter from Midland Credit Management. They then told me that I owed them approx. $2500. I wasn’t sure who to believe. On or about Jan. 12, 2012, I was served with a lawsuit from MCM requesting approx. $1,100. I started to pull my credit report. They listed themselves on it saying I owe $2,500. When I filed a dispute with the Credit reporting agencies it kept coming back as a valid debt. After several disputes I was able to remove them from one agency. I did file a timely response to the lawsuit. They sent out discovery requests. They asked about they payments I made, and in the Request for production of Documents I provided the proof that I was already in the middle of payments and had no knowledge that the debit had changed hands again. I tried to communicate with the attorney of record, however, to date no response has been received. I was told by MCM they have no knowledge of this debt. Fast forward to today. Friday, May 31, 2013, is the trial date. I have all my evidence that I had arrangements and was paying on this debt. I want to fight them. So basically here are my questions. Can a credit collection company just take the money I was paying on a settled debt and act like I never did anything? Do I have a leg to stand on come Friday? Is there some sort of case law that I can use to fight what was done to me? In my response to the court I asked that the amount that they are suing for be reduced by the amount I already paid to Northland Group, since MCM refuses to acknowledge that those payments were made. I live in California. Please help. Thanks
carla – Your prior payments should be applied to the balance owed. Bring all of that documentation with you to court. I cannot say what leg you have to prop you up in court later this week, but the prior payments with proof from bank statements etc., should win the day as far as the amount you owe.
It is always a good idea to connect with an attorney of your own when you are in the courts. You would want to connect with one that has debt collection defense experience. I can email you contact info for an experienced attorney to consult with on this. Just post a comment reply that you would like for me to do that and I will send that along.
That would be great if you could give me some information on that. Thank you very much.
In 2010 I was sued by an attorney in West Palm Beach that says they are representing CitiFinancial Services. Citi charged off the debt in June 2010 but the court docket shows that 15 days later a final summary judgment was entered against me. I don’t believe that the court is aware of any record of the charge off or that the account has more than likely been sold. Three (3) years later I get a letter from my employer saying that a wage garnishment has been put in place. Do I have a leg to stand on if I ask the Court to vacate the judgment if Citi is no longer the owner of the original debt? I have filed a claim of exemption based on Florida statutes but the plaintiff’s attorney has moved to strike and now there is going to be a hearing next month.
Timothy – Debt gets sold in the normal course of lending and accounts going into default. So much so that virtually any contract for credit has an assignment, transfer, or sale clause to it. CitiFinancial Services legitimately sells debt when they charge off. Even judgment debt can be sold.
Your claim of exemption is another matter. If you meet the profile for exemption in Florida, either fully or partially, the judgment creditor will be limited in what they can collect. If you are fully exempt, you may not always be, so coming up with a debt relief strategy for the judgment, like settling for less, will look good to a creditor who is otherwise unable to force payment.
No, I do not think you will have much success with getting the court to vacate based on what you shared. But you should connect with an experienced debt collection defense attorney and run this scenario by them to get the type of opinion you need.
If Citi’s attorney bought the debt after the charge off would the original lawsuit by Citi still be in place or would their attorney have to show that they now own the own the debt and a new lawsuit have to be entered?
The original citi lawsuit would be in place. There would be no need to sue again.
Michael,
We are a family that finds ourselves in this terrible situation. We are not lazy or expect other people to pay our way. It is the opposite for us, we have worked hard and all on oir own.
We borrowed on cc to save our home when the economy tanked. Our monthly income went from $5,000 to 1,800 monthly. We could not by jobs. We cut every corner we could. We called our creditors and told them we could not pay and send them what we had, at times $25.00.
We are slowly rcovering and we just got served by a lawyer that Capital One turned our 10,000 debit over to. We have have been making monthly payments of $100 to the lawyers and now they sue us. If we had it we would pay it off.
I get that cc companies are not being repayed everyday. We have always had every intention to repay what we borrowed.
We have about $2.000 in savings, do we use this to hire a lawyer or do we beg/borrow the $10,000 ?
We are just tired of feeling like losers. Where do we turn?
Maria – Getting debt relief with Capital One once they have sued is tougher than many/most other creditors. I would encourage you to come up with another 5k, so a total of 7k to settle. You may be able to get the relief you need with a little less than the 7k, but it won’t be by much.
If you were able to come up with the money, how long would it take you?
What state are you in?
We live in Ca.
I am confident that we can get the 7k within 30 days. Would we prefer to agree on a payment plan. Do you think the lawyers would agree to 250-3oo per month.
Do we deal with Capital one directly or the lawyers that served us?
Do we respond to the summons or contact the lawyers directly .
Do lawyers settle out of court after they serve you? Are they bound to carry out the suit?
Thank you for responding
Maria – Getting 300 monthly payments will be to pay off the balance, you will not likely be able to make those payments towards a settlement. Credit card lawsuit do settle out of court, but if you do monthly payments, the attorney will likely ask you to sign a consent to judgment anyway.
I would recommend you respond to the summons. I can refer you to an experienced collection defense attorney in California if you would like. Just let me know and I will email you the contact information. You could probably get some extra time to pull your funds together by working with your own attorney, and you may learn additional things to consider in the initial consult with the attorney.
You would have to deal with the lawyers, not Capital One, when resolving this.
Thank you !
I am starting to get how works.
The lawyers want to get paid in full, fast. Their time is how they make a living.
Yes, please forward the lawyer referral you mentioned.
We considered hiring a lawyer and we got overwhelmed by the sheer number of them.
Thats how we found you.
Thank you giving us direction and please contiue this priceless service to those who ffollow.
Blessings,
Maria
I have been trying to figure out whether to do consent judgement with a Visa card from my credit union whom would not work with me on small payments last year while I was going through financial times… I paid a lawyer to help me write a denial answer to court since I’d felt uneasy when the attorney that is suing me did not send the consent judgement on time (which would’ve had my 30 days to answer court expire equaling a judgement by no show…/ no answer. They had written 5000 down and 50/ month … When it was 500 down and 50/ month. Now they sent me the corrected cj papers but I am now unsure .. I have a court date where the court clerk said I would do a consent may 15… And they want the 500 down with me writing them a check earlier than I have funds ( they say they won’t cash it until April 30 when I get paid…) also a third paper states or me to write my banking account, where I work and my supervisor name. Am I required to give that to them? Why can’t they wait until may 15 for the 500 down? If I show up at court after I’ve already signed consent judgement what will it mean? Are they trying to trick me?! Also I called a debt consolidation place and they sai they’d help me do the visa at 168/ month for about 3-4 years and they charge a small fee per month. I feel so confused because all three groups just want my money. Help?! Did I mess up by answering as a denial? Do I wait to sign consent ? I absolutely don’t want to be garnished. I also know its shady because the guy who wanted to date me worked at that credit union so I feel that may have to do with the rush to sue me ( right after I told him we can just be friends – he was cyber stalking me…)
Aj – Credit Unions are just more apt to quickly sue for unpaid debt than national banks. The smaller or more local the credit union, the more this is true.
Any debt relief company you talk to about helping you at this point, is not going to do anything unique for you that you cannot already do, unless it is to settle the debt for a lump sum of money. But this too, you can do for yourself. If you pulled together 70 to 80% of the balance owed quickly, you could probably put this behind you and avoid the judgment. Is that a possibility for you?
As far as the 500 down and the monthly payments after that, If I were in your shoes, I would follow through and participate in the court process. I would be reluctant to sign on to a consent to judgment (letting them dictate the terms right now), when I may be able to get a better payment structure through the court by showing up at the hearings etc.
No, I would not volunteer the information they are asking for.
Well… What should I do – call the attorney and tell them I will not sign until my court date? (May 15) since they say they want the 500 down by April 30.
Do I call them and tell them to redo the consent papers for may 15 when I give them a check for amount down? Do I give them a check at the court? Do I avoid personal checks and only give money orders. If they act like they won’t do this will I get a worse deal at court? Also reminder I have answered a denial so what would I say to judge- that some I the fees are inaccurate. ?
I saw online maybe in your site tht they are supposed to warn you in a letter by the way- well they did not- they called and the papers they sent said I am past due but there was no in between letter which would’ve made me call them sooner ( as u already had tried to work out a plan but they wouldn’t accept it) next thing was a summons.
Either way, let me know if I should contact the place before my court date or just show up and hope I don’t have my wages garnished. ( will they require my details at court too- where I work, bank info, supervisor!? Is that required?! ) is it required to give them a personal check or is t ok to allow them to automatically take out $50/ month. Is it required to do a down payment so large? Is it possible they are still trying to set me up?
Or is it possible if I dot work with them now and wait til court that they won’t work with me then and I will be stuck with a judgement? Is signing a consent of judgement at court my only option beside a judgement of money coming out of my check?
Also: u have 2 other cards I was late on 1 is jcpennies (690) & one is victoria secret (1400) should I try to contact them now that both have gone to a collection agency… And te letters said I have 30 days I dispute? I know my credit will drop – but I am already seeing it has dropped and my income and outgoing barely breaks even- so should I just hope they don’t sue me too or should I call and set up thru debt consolidation with them?
I am on a very tight budget and need to be careful with my funds since I have to pay and keep my mortgage and cars in check. ( I almost lost my house last year due to furloughs etc. that’s why I fell behind elsewhere … I am already a month behind on mortgage. I have exhausted all possibilities and I am going to try to figure this out ( only other option is chapter 13 which I feel is not for me yet if it wasn’t for these 3 cards haunting me i could probably get my head above water ….
Aj – Based on what you have shared – I believe you have a better shot of getting an affordable payment going through the court process, and probably without the 500 upfront payment. If you set up an agreement for payment with the court and stick to that, it is unlikely you would be garnished. The sincerely doubt the judge is going to ask you for where you bank, or your supervisors name. It is not going to be a confrontational thing. It is much like going to court to dispute a traffic ticket – low stress….
If you have an argument about the amount they are suing for, you can certainly bring that up in court. You already used your attorney to file your answer and general denials with the court. You can ask some additional questions of the attorney to prepare yourself with what will happen in court.
As far as your other accounts with a collection agency – the lawsuit is your priority. If you end up with an affordable payment on that, and have some room left in your budget to accumulate money and negotiate payments on the other two, look to accomplish that after you know the outcome of the collection in court.
How is that g.e can take a account with a balance on it and sell it to a 3rd party; then the 3rd party be like “now you owe us” thats pretty much loansharking/enforcing. Encore Capital bought out my meijer g.e account, i was unable to get ahold of someone tonight from walmart they were closed
chris – Virtually all credit card agreements have a clause that states your account and debt can be assigned/transferred/sold. It is completely normal. American Express is the only larger credit card issuer without a history of selling bad debts, but they still use outside collection agencies and attorneys as assignee debt collectors.
I have financialy stressed/extended my self and i am over 180 days past due on two g.e capital fincanced credit cards. g.e capital/fincial refuses to settle the debt with me directly and handed my accounts over to 3rd party debt collector, i sent certified mail to g.e financial twice verifying both accounts and saying i will only settle with them directly not the 3rd party deby collectors. i also told one of the 3rd party debt collector that i will only settle with g.e directly not them and they keep continuing to call me several times a daydays a week starting at 830am, even after telling them repeativly to stop calling 7 days
chris – you have outlined your situation well, but I do not see a question in what you posted. I am left to offer general feedback.
You may want to settle only with GE Capital Finance, but GE has clearly shown you they do not want to settle directly with you. They have opted to use a collection agency instead. That is how this stuff works after a debt is charged off most of the time. If you want to settle you will likely need to do so with the agency. What you may not fully appreciate is that settling with debt collectors is simple and straight forward. Not only that, you can sometimes settle for more of a savings with the collection agency than you may have been able to if settleing with GE Capital directly. Who is the collection agency GE Capital sent your accounts to?
If you have questions or concerns post them in a comment follow up and I can offer more feedback.
Hi Michael, I was checking my credit report and found an inquirey from February of 2012 for American Coradius International. I had some bad debt with BILL ME LATER from 2009. Back in 2009 the balance was $2,271.21. I would like to prevent this from being reported as a collection. I wish to offer to settle with ACI. I have $800.00 that I could offer. Would this be a fair amount to settle? Would calling them be advisable and offering them $800.00? Thanks! Peter.
Peter – Your original Bill Me Later balance could be much higher after 4 years of non payment. It will depend on what your contract with BML stated as treatment of fees, penalties and interest in the event of default. 800.00 may have been close to a realistic settlement target for the original balance, but it may not be a good target to settle with American Coradius Int.
What state do you live in?
Hi Michael, I live in New York State. I am not sure of the current balance with American Coradius Int. Would the best step be to call American Coradius Int. too ask them the balance and ask them for a settlement offer? Thanks so much! Peter
Peter – Calling is a necessary step if you want to settle the debt. Some additional things to consider:
If they are not actively making collection attempts with phone calls and letter, calling will certainly bring your account front and center. I point this out because the 800 you have available to offer as settlement may not be enough. If you can start there and end up at a higher amount that you are confident you can pull together, make the call. Post an update comment with what happens and lets go from there.
Hi Michael, I called American Coradius Int., and was able to confirm that the balance was still $2,271.21. I let them know that I had only $800.00 to settle. They did let me know that they could not take $800.00 as it was too low, but let me know that I could discuss it with a supervisor. The supervisor also said it was too low, but let me know that she could settle for $840.30. I took the offer! After receiving the faxed agreeement, I sent a bank check by overnight mail. They wanted my checking account number; however I did not feel comfortable giving them that information. It was nothing like I feared. they were very proffessional and matter of fact. Thank you so much for your help. I am verry happy that this is settled and now behind me. Peter
Thanks much for posting the update Peter, and congratulations on your debt relief success!
I am pleasantly surprised to hear they were negotiating with you using the older balance, and not an amount that was inflated by late payment penalties, added interest etc.
Some additional takeaways I hope people reading your comment will catch:
1. Calling a debt collector should not be feared and does not have to be confrontational.
2. You do not need to hire someone to get the job done. You can save the fees from hiring someone and often get the same or better result.
I just found out I have two civil judgments for old credit cards…one with Citibank SD and one from Capital One. They date back to 2010. I’d like to get these debts paid. Can I negotiate with them? How many cents on the dollar do they usually take? I don’t even know where to start, but I need to move quickly. These items are holding up a job offer!
Sarah – There is often more to settling judgment debt than knowing the floor amount you can settle for. Mainly because the floor can move from one person, and one creditor to the next. If you need to move quickly, there will be less strategy to it.
I am going to encourage you to call in for a consult: 800-939-8357 ext. 3. The call is free.
If you want to work with me here on the site rather than call in, that’s okay to. But post your answers to the following questions on the page that is already dedicated to settling judgments found here: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/can-you-settle-credit-card-judgements-like-other-debts-stressed/
What are the judgment amounts today (with the added judgement interest)?
What are the names of the debt collection law firms that sued you?
Were you sued by the original creditor or a debt buyer (who is the plaintiff listed on the suits)?
Are you currently making payments on a home, car, other credit cards?
Those questions are a start. Once I know the answers I will have some feedback, and additional questions.
I am being sued in the state of Georgia for a credit card debt that was bought by Calvary SPV I, LLC, from HSBC, Direct Merchant Bank. The trial is today January 31, 2013. The law firm is Sherwin P. Robin & Associates, P.C.
I do not have resources to pay an attorney at this time, and have not consulted with one. I have read some websites on what to expect, but now I am wondering can I settle the 6,954 which is the original amount, plus 776.23 in interest as of the date of the settlement offer letter they sent on December 10, 2012. Incidentally, that settlement letter was how I first learned that a case has been filed against me. I answered the complaint after confirming with the court that a complaint was filed, although never served to my knowledge. The settlement offer was for $100 dollars per month beginning 1/10/2013 and continuing until the debt is paid off. They also attached a Consent Judgment for me to sign which I did not sign, since I did and do not have the extra funds to pay them.
What might you suggest I do at this juncture, as my clock is ticking.
Sincerely
Ken Alston
Ken – I am seeing and responding to you at 1:30 pm pacific time. I am sure you have already headed off to your hearing. What you do next is going to depend largely on what happened at your hearing today. You are welcome to post an update comment and lets go from there.
Thanks for your reply Michael but I have about an hour before I have to leave. The court is not far from my home.
Ken – If all you can offer is 100.00 a month with a consent/stipulation to judgment, it is what it is. You do not have time to read through all of the comments on this page where I warn about consent to judgment, but you need to know that if you do not follow through with monthly payments they can move quickly to garnish wages, or levy a bank account: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/can-you-settle-credit-card-judgements-like-other-debts-stressed/
If your answer to the lawsuit Calvary SPV filed contained a good foundation to build a defense from, I would not admit the debt in court. I would tell the judge that you have no way of knowing if the debt is yours, or if the amounts being claimed owed are correct, as Calvary has not provided any proof of either (unless they have of course). If things get off on any kind of wrong foot at the hearing, or go in a direction that concerns you, tell the judge that this is all strange to you and that you would like to continue to another date so that you can consult with an attorney about your rights. Depending on how this shakes out today, I can help you find an attorney to consult with. The type of attorney you need generally offers a free consult. You may learn the attorney is affordable, or that there are areas of legitimate concern regarding Calvary, or your debt, that can be pursued in another way.
Good luck today. Wish we had more time for you to weigh different options and strategies…
So Kenneth…what happened???
Hi,
Due to many unfortunate events, I’ve fallen behind on some credit card payments. My GE Capital Retail Bank/Gap Visa was turned over to 3rd party at 60 days past due. The letter is from advanced call center technologies,LLC? I spoke with them and was still unsure exactly who they were?
I still have tons of cc and bank debt but most cc companies have been more willing to help me. I’m just not sure if I can trust the people I’ve just spoken to…
I would love to try to just settle this in a month or two if I can but I’m uneasy about this 3rd party.
I’d love and would very much appreciate your advise.
Thanks so much
Chris – If your goal is to settle the GE Capital account, but you are only roughly 60 days past due, you will have the best opportunity to settle the GE account, and optimize the savings available, in 3 or so more months. This would mean just before the account would typically be charged off (before 180 days of consecutive non payment).
GE Capital uses several 3rd party collection agencies. If you are uneasy about the 3rd party debt collector contacting you, call GE Capital and verify the name of the company your account was placed with. They will share that info with you.
What is the balance on the account today?
I too like someone else am being sued by Cach LLC. I just found out that someone was trying to serve me a summons. I do not live in that area anymore. I know I have debts from a few years ago. I figured it was settled. My bank account was frozen. My money which was in there was taken I assume by whatever they settled in court. I was living in another state at the time and did not know anything about this till it happened. I am afraid this might happen again. It must be one of those collections on one of those debts from years ago. I am now living in the same state but in a different county that I am being sued. I am currently unemployed and have no financial means in which to hire a debt lawyer. I am being sued in Broward county Florida. I looked up the clerk of courts and found out it was small claims and it is Cach LLC that is trying to sue me. I also found out the court pretrial is not till August . I need your advice and what can I do with no money and no job and I cannot afford a lawyer. Are there free lawyers for someone in my situation?? Thank you
Jean – There may be a low income legal aid office you can connect with nearby. There are also law school clinics at universities to check out. Have you considered chapter 7 bankruptcy for debt relief? It could put an end to any existing judgments and stop this one in its tracks.
Thank you but I still need more answers than you have given me. I provided you quite a bit of information. I am in Marion County Florida and I am being sued in Broward County Florida. Can you refer me to a pro bono lawyer or legal aid office? Do you have a name? Or a phone number? I have heard of several people whom are being sued by this company Cach LLC. I too have been harassed by phone calls I want them to stop. I looked up the information on the Clerk of Courts in Broward County Florida . That is where I found out that it is Cach LLC is the one suing me and the Lawyer that is representing them is Bryan Manno. This is the most information I can find at this time. I am unemployed and financially I am barely making ends meet. I can prove my income and my bills if needed. I need help.
Community legal services of Mid Florida operates out of Ocala. You can reach them at 352-629-6257.
Thank you Michael, I called that number that you gave me in Ocala and all I got was a recording. I punched in the correct number on the recorded message and was put on hold for 7 and 1/2 minutes. Then another recording came in and said they are busy at this time and try again later and then I got disconnected . U tried again and the same thing happens. What do I do now? I cannot get anyone in the phone? That is mid Florida legal aid correct for Marion county I hope. Should I look up the address and go there in person in Ocala? I need to expedite this. I need a Pro Bono lawyer because of my circumstances please help.
Jean – The office address for Community Legal Services of Mid Florida is:
1610 SE 36th Ave.
Ocala, FL 34471
I would go to their office rather than wait to connect with someone on the phone. Unfortunately, low income legal aid offices are nearly always underfunded and overworked. Take any and all relevant documents with you.
Michael, I tried calling that number you gave me and all I get us a recording. I pushed the number for the help I need and was put in hold for 7 and 1/2 minutes then another recording came on saying we’re busy and try again later then I got hung up in and disconnected. I tried again and got the same thing. You cannot get hold of a live person at this number just a recorded message. Are you sure this is the correct number?? Should I look up the address in Ocala and just show up. Then I cannot be ignored! This is frustrating. What is my other alternative? Can you suggest a pro-bono lawyer in the Marion County Florida area. Please I Am unemployed and I need help to solve this before it goes to court. Thank you
Jean – I am not sure if you saw my prior response from earlier today with the address and encouragement to go to the office in person. The office number I posted is the one they have on their web site. I do not think you are being ignored. You are trying to reach an office that provides free legal assistance to those in need who meet low income qualifications. That means they try to help a lot of people. These types of offices are usually underfunded, which means often understaffed, and also under appreciated.
I looked for additional pro bono legal assistance in the area and could not locate another public listing.
Michael, Thank you for the address I am going to go there tomorrow. I am surprised there are no pro-bono lawyers in the area. I thought lawyers had to do some pro bono work and there are not more out there. I find it hard to believe there are not any pro bono lawyers in all of Marion County Florida. I will update you when I get anything accomplished.
i too have gap visa tried to settle it back in feb but i know dont remember the name of the collection agency
michelle – You can call GE Capital and ask them who they currently have your account out with for collection, or who they sold the account to, and go from there.
It has been over 2 years since Comcast has reported me to the credit bureaus, I had written them a letter to pay in full if they took it off my credit and never received a response. They sold my account to several different companies and now SOUTHWEST CREDIT SYSTEMS L.P. has reported me to the credit bureaus…
My question is should I pay Comcast or Southwest credit to get it of my credit report.
I have not call or written Southwest as of yet I am not too sure what should I do…
Please advice
Pay for delete offers do not work most of the time. You can try to get Southwest Credit Systems to agree to payment to drop the negative from your credit, but I would do that on the phone, not just send a letter.
It is difficult to get the agreement to delete in writing, even if you do convince a debt collector verbally.
I moved your comment to this page about the topic, so be sure to read the original reader question and my responses above.
More often than not, just getting your credit to show as a paid or resolved collection account is all that you need to improve your credit going forward.
Hey there, I wanted to thank this site for your response to my dilemma. I took your advice and retained an attorney. Your advice was great. We didn’t even have an attorney close and is working with us from a distance. Turns out these loan buying companies have been doing all sorts of things illegal! They even accessed my credit report without consent 15 times! Thank you again and to the people reading: Listen and Learn
Brian.. I am being sued by the same company.. which attorney firm did you retain.. how helpful/expensive were they?