Short answer
If your goal is to resolve the debt, and you have the means, settle it. Sending canned dispute or validation letters, or electing arbitration, is a good way to lose a settlement you could have had at 40 to 50 percent before the account charged off.
Key points on this page
- Current trends for settling a Discover credit card directly with the bank run between 40 and 60 percent. Lower settlements happen, but they are not common.
- The best savings usually come in the last few weeks before Discover charges the account off at about 6 months late, and they come from speaking with a Discover collections or recovery representative. Some accounts are flagged for no settlement based on usage before default, a short account history, or a collectability assessment.
- Sending a canned settlement offer letter can get your file handled under a different internal policy, and can cost you the chance to settle before charge off.
- Discover does not sell much of its defaulted debt these days, so it likely still owns the account, and its law firm will have no trouble meeting a validation request. A dispute buys little time here.
- The arbitration play has lost most of its force. Card holder agreements were adjusted, arbitrators see it as a ploy, and Discover will dig in and spend more than the debt is worth. It can run more than a year, you can lose, and you can end up owing more than you started with.
- If the account is heading to the courts, speak with a consumer law attorney who defends collection lawsuits before you decide your next move.
This post was inspired by my comment exchange with a site reader about negotiating a settlement with a Discover credit card that is now in the hands of a collections law firm. My comment would have been too lengthy a reply on the page the discussion originated, and this is also something that is not all that topical to the Debt Relief Program Intro page. What follows is food for thought; not just with Discover Card, but with creditors like Citibank, American Express, Capital One, etc.
For context, you should read the comment string with Jay about settling with Discover.
From the other page Jay said: “I have a Discover card owe $5200 on it. I was communicating with Discover via mail, and offered to settle for 25%. I called Discover and they said my account has been sent to an attorney.”
Resolving Discover Credit Card Debt After Months of Not Paying
If you want to settle a Discover debt, and have a plan and the means to do so, sending them form letters offering a deal is not the best way to go about it. Yes, there are websites full of anonymous posters who promote sending letters for this, that, and the other thing. There are merits to, and strategic goals, that can be accomplished with these letters. Using them effectively is situational though. But the promoters of their use rarely dig deep enough to learn about someone’s goals and financial situation to compare alternatives. And readers of these sites often fail to volunteer the particulars of their goals and finances in order to receive more useful feedback. In fact, most people reading this, and other debt and credit related websites, do not post at all. That is not Jay. He IS on other websites, and here, looking for more feedback. That’s great. But before he got to the place where he started looking for more feedback, I assume he read somewhere that sending in a 25% settlement offer with some canned wording to Discover Card, in order to settle with them, was a good idea. It is not. It is a good way to blow the opportunity to settle with Discover for 40% to 50% before they charge off the account and place it into their collection pipeline.
Current trends for successfully settling a Discover credit card directly with the bank are between 40% and 60%, with some one-off events that can settle lower, but it is not all that common. There are also accounts that can be flagged for no negotiation and settlement that would result in a lower pay off with Discover. Historically, my experience suggests Discovers criteria for refusing to settle, prior to outside debt collection efforts, are based on account usage prior to defaulting on your payments, length of account history (account less than a year or three old), or when a “collectability” assessment suggests the account not be settled. Settling your Discover card before it gets charged off (6 months late), is most often going to be accomplished by speaking with a collections/recovery representative employed by Discover. The best deals and savings from settling with Discover will typically be in the last few weeks leading up to them charging the debt off as noncollectable on their books.
I cannot know whether Jay’s account would have been one that got settled prior to charge off and placement with an attorney for further collection. But I do know that his goal has been to settle, because he sent a letter to Discover offering to, and has said that remains his goal in the above linked comment string. Had he been able to settle early, he could have potentially avoided the charge off entry on his credit, and would have avoided being in the position he is in now. But I suspect Jay read somethings online that, while probably intended to be helpful and useful, may have helped to over complicate an otherwise straight forward opportunity to resolve his Discover credit card bill.
Based on my experience, I would say there is at least some likelihood that the letter Jay sent to Discover Card offering to settle, led to his account being treated differently than others that get placed in the collection pipeline after charge off, or placed even earlier than 180 days of nonpayment. I say differently, but that is a misnomer. Discover, and other large credit card lenders, do have policies and protocols in place that, to them at least, would be the normal treatment applied to a small percentage of accounts where they receive canned letters (perhaps like the one Jay sent), from their card members. Creditors will also develop different attitudes for how they handle, or dig their heels in, when settling, or not settling, with accounts that go in the direction Jay read about, where arbitration is elected, and is primarily why I am writing this post.
In a comment Jay said: “Some people have ask me to opt in for Arbitration with JAMS but i do not know much about Arbitration. I really need advice with this soon. All I have to do is send them a CMRRR saying that I dispute this debt, request validation and elect arbitration with JAMS to resolve this matter between us.”
Disputing Your Discover Card Debt and Electing for Arbitration
There is a long sorted history with using arbitration to collect unpaid credit card debts. I cannot possibly cover it in this post, even if I wanted to (I don’t), but I am very familiar with the history, and the strategic purpose of someone in Jay’s situation electing for it now. And though I may come off as not supportive of the different ways you can succeed with “alternative methods” for resolving debt, I am actually all for using different strategies to best resolve a debt when someone is well informed of the risk/reward of the alternatives, like disputing a valid debt, or serving notice to a debt collector that you will elect for arbitration of any dispute. But that does not appear to be a good alternative for Jay when considering what he shared in the other comment thread. Nor is it going to be an effective or realistic option for many who try it. Here is why:
Jay’s goal is to resolve the Discover Card debt.
Jay has access to the resources to help him do that.
Electing for arbitration, or other alternative methods to dodge a legitimate debt, may in fact lead to a HUGE time commitment in order to succeed. What is your time worth? If you have to spend what could be countless hours researching and applying what you learn if the CIR Law Office receives his letter and does not do as that website Jay has been reading suggests (CIC) – where the debt collectors “run for the hills” (man I hope there is more to what he read over there than that) – are you prepared to follow through? What if the process takes more than a year (it could), and you lose anyway (you could), and end up owing far more than originally owed to Discover (could happen)?
In the first comment Jay left on the other thread he said he owes a debt to Discover for 5200, but is being encouraged to dispute it. I do not know the context of what Jay read, or any comment exchange he had on another site, so I do not know if there was an outline given for the strategic purpose of disputing a debt Jay already knows is legitimate. But it does not matter. The general strategic purpose for disputing a legitimate debt is to buy time for some other reason, or with the expectation that the debt will be treated as a “hot potato”.
Debt collection and playing hot potato: The incorrect assumption that all debt collection is a numbers game that relies on collecting the most, from those most likely to pay, for as little overhead cost as possible. If someone identifies themselves as less likely to pay by sending a dispute or debt validation request, the collector moves on to another file, sends the account back to the originator, sells it off, or assigns the debt to another collector. You then send a dispute, debt validation request, or cease communication letter to the next debt collector you hear from. Wash – rinse – repeat.
Sending a dispute and request for debt validation to the CIR Law Office in Jay’s case will not buy much time. Why? Discover does not sell much of their defaulted credit card debt into the open market these days, so I am confident they still own the debt. CIR will have no trouble meeting their obligation under the FDCPA to provide Jay with validation. I suspect the validation request, dispute, and serving notice that arbitration will be elected in order to resolve any dispute, will only lead to further complexities for Jay, and others who are faced with similar circumstances.
There is an Ebb and Flow to Debt Collection
Creditors deal with things the way they want to; assignment and contingency collection agencies do things a certain way (often as dictated by creditors placing debt with them); debt buyers manage their operations and collection files in the way that makes sense for them. They can all make changes to their practices and recovery goals due to changes in the economy, internal data, legislative changes at the state and federal level, lawsuits they may have defended and lost, or succeeded in, new case law, decisions from higher courts, etc. Consumers electing for arbitration was an effective way to cause creditors and debt collectors to treat the file as a hot potato after the National Arbitration Forum was shut down several years ago. The effectiveness of the strategy was/is real, but is ebbing towards non effective as card holder agreements have been adjusted to eliminate clauses, arbitrators see this as a ploy, and creditors, like Discover, dig in and become stubborn. Stubborn can mean Discover, and other banks, are willing to spend the money taking some of the cases all the way through – even though the costs can far exceed what they can collect (especially given the fact that if they win the consumer can elect for bankruptcy).
Playing hot potato with a debt collector can deliver the desired effect. But it is counterproductive for someone who:
- Wants to, and has the means to, resolve a debt.
- Wants to refinance or purchase a home without waiting until the Discover credit card ages off the credit report (7 to 7.5 years). And is not okay with the higher potential to be denied other credit products like future auto loans, and credit cards, and is not okay with paying a higher price for those credit products in the future (maybe even insurance products).
Should someone in Jay’s situation try the hot potato approach with his Discover credit card? No. Not in my opinion. Not when his goal is to resolve it, avoid being sued, and move on with his life.
Are there instances where someone should do as Jay is considering? Yes, but those would be very limited instances. And would be limited even further if the average person really had a grasp of how much time and energy they would need to commit to the process doing it themselves, and who were also fully informed on how to compare other options that would help them accomplish their mid to long term personal financial goals before proceeding.
My comment to Jay on that other page is to speak with an experienced consumer law attorney (with a practice focused in defending debt collection lawsuits), before making up his mind on what to do next. The attorney may recommend Jay take a defensive position now that his Discover account is likely headed to the courts if it cannot be resolved in the near future. The attorney likely has dealt with CIL in the past, and will be the best positioned to give Jay solid advice about what he is considering.
An Invitation
I invite anyone concerned with the topic I covered in this post, or whose goal is to settle or make payment arrangements on their Discover Card, to participate in the comments below. Just know that the bias of this site (and of yours truly), is to mostly publish content and provide perspective about resolving debt, and not playing hot potato with collection accounts.
If you would like to consult with me about your Discover debt you can reach me at 800-939-8357, choose option 2.
If you are dealing with an attorney collecting for Discover, and want affordable legal help to handle the court process while working toward settlement, fill out a profile on this site and get help. It’s as easy as clicking the “get started” tab under the consult request image below.
I have a Discover account with approx. 10,900 balance. The account is probably 16-18 years old, and I have been paying just enough to meet minimum requirements, but I simply can’t even do that any more. The last payment I made was in April, so the first payment I missed was for May. I couldn’t possibly make any kind of lump-sum payment for any settlement amount in the foreseeable future. At this point the only offer they have made was to get back on track with a $565 pmt, then half that for the remainder of a 12-month plan, at 12.9% apr. I can’t pay the 565, or really even close. If I do nothing, the account will hit 30 days late next week. Should I ask about the 60/60 you mentioned (which I probably could handle)? If so, is interest applied to that? Or should I wait to see what else they might eventually offer? I do have an AMEX that I am current with, and working on. I have also paid off a BoA in the last year through payment arrangements, and am working on finishing arrangements with Lowes, as well as Home Depot.
What are the total balances owed as of today across all of your credit cards other than Discover?
Approx. 6,000 total.
Also I think I may have made it confusing earlier, not sure. The arrangements with Lowes and Home Depot are in place, and I have been working on both for about 2 years. Apologies if it wasn’t clear. Thanks!
Can you afford to pay roughly 350 dollars as a fixed amount each month toward all of the credit card debts? If you can afford that, call a credit counseling agency and talk to them about consolidating your Discover Card balance in with a plan that includes the other smaller balance accounts. The smaller balances sound like they are already on some type of hardship plan, so may not be eligible for a DMP, but that stuff is subject to so much change, the best way to find out is to do the session with a counselor over the phone (its free), and get to the exact payment reduction approvals.
If you cannot afford the 350, you are looking at settlement as the next best option, or the 60/60 plan. I have no idea if Discover will offer you the 60/60 plan.
Michael,
In 2010 Discover charged off my debt and turned collection over to attorneys. I talked with the attorney’s office and advised I have had major medical expenses, surgeries, lost my job and have extremely expensive prescription costs. I offered $5,000 (the balance of my savings) to pay off the debt, they asked for more but didn’t specify how much more they wanted. I called a family member who offered to give me an additional $3,000 to pay them. I called back and offered $8,000 and they said they had to have at least $15,000. I told them there was no way I could come up with another $7.000. They took it to court and got a default judgment against me. They then tried to garnish my wages – I have none. As a result of my health problems I am blind in my left eye and other medical problems so I have been unemployed since 2008 and my unemployment stopped in 2009. There is little to no chance that anybody would consider hiring me.
The other day I received a letter from another attorney attempting to collect on the judgment. I am hesitant to start all over with another attorney especially when all I have is a letter from them saying they need me to contact them regarding the account. They have given me 30 days to send them a debt validation letter. I don’t need debt validation, I need some sort of verification that they have been authorized to attempt to collect on the debt.
Ever hear of Discover changing attorneys in mid stream with no notification to me from the attorneys that I have already been working with attempting to get a settlement?
Yes, and it is fairly common for attorneys collecting debt to change over time. When is the last communication you had with the prior attorney?
Do you have other debts out there unpaid other than the Discover judgment?
Hello Michael – First and foremost, thank you for such an insightful, thorough, and accurate web site.
Second, I am reaching out to your for your feedback on how much you think Discover would accept as a settlement offer relating to: Balance $3,665.00
The age of the account was 1 year old when it became delinquent;
I have until July 31st to call and make payment arrangements according to the “attorney placement pending” letter I received June 13.
I read the content of your thread with Jay thoroughly to roughly anticipate what Discover would accept: 50% to 60% ? I have the possibility to offer $2,000 on July 25th. I would like to offer this by writing to them certified mail – Do you think following their suggestion – which is to call them for agreeing on payment arrangements – as mentioned on the letter is ok ? I prefer the written form as I can’t anticipate their string of questions .
Many thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Grateful reader
I am bit skeptical that your account will qualify for any reduction through a settlement with Discover. I am basing this on past instances where Discover has refused to budge, and agree to negotiate any lower pay off, when account age is so new (a couple years new). Having said that, I am aware of a couple of settlements this year that did not follow this long standing general observation.
Regardless of whether Discover maintains a policy of refusing settlements on unseasoned accounts, your cash flow is what it is. If you cannot afford to make your minimum payments monthly, you need to stop the bleeding. If you are in a position to offer Discover a lump sum next month, they will go for it, or they won’t. You can often settle the accounts with the third party debt collector they send the account to down the line (including attorney collectors).
When it comes to writing letters to make settlement offers, I am not a fan. You are asking huge organizations, who use operations procedures that scale to their large size, to do something different than they are set up to do. If your letter generates a response at all, it will most likely not include acceptance of your offer.
When you call Discover to offer a settlement, or to tell them your unable to pay like normal, and are hoping the money your sister lent to you in order to resolve some bills is enough to settle with them, etc., you will be speaking with a trained recovery specialist with Discover. They will have a script to follow. Any questions these major creditors ask are going to be related to affordability of payments, or to trigger their system to agree to settle. If your account is flagged for no offers due to how new it is, no answers are going to be good enough. If your hardship is of a nature that allows for the 40 to 60% settlement getting through, it will.
Does that help?
Yes, Michael – your feedback is very helpful and I am grateful for such a prompt reply to my post – based on your analysis, 2 questions spring up:
the letter states that the account will forward to an “attorney to obtain a judgement against you”. Should I understand from your feedback that I have the option to wait until their attorney receives my account to negotiate a settlement offer with him?
Based on your thoughts, I should be prepared to cough up the entire amount. Very useful information, thank you. Do you think they will expect ALL $3,665 by July 31st before they turn it over to their collection attorney?
You can often negotiate a similar, or somewhat higher settlement, with an attorney or debt collector Discover sends the account to for further collection efforts. I suggest trying to work with Discover first. If there is no option for settlement based on account seasoning, that can (but not always) translate into no settlement, or higher pay off terms, with the collector.
Should you wait to settle with an attorney or debt collector? Only if you have to in my opinion. Can you get the same deal with one? Yes, often enough, but once a lawsuit is filed, settlements do not tend to be all that great.
I do think you should be prepared for the full amount if that is an option. But that late in the collection life cycle, credit damage is done, so settling for any savings is a worthwhile effort.
I do not know your timelines to respond to the July 31st question. What was the date of your first missed payment?
Discover will sometimes delay charge off and placement with outside collectors with a single monthly payment. If you are trying to buy 30 days to keep this from going to an attorney, that could be an option. But you can pay the debt in full with the attorney shortly after the account lands with them too.
Many thanks Michael for your timely answer with additional feedback. Both your replies were prompt and provided me with a relief because I am aware of my options and can make a choice using your feedback. Not only are you a subject matter expert, but your replies cover all bases, possible alternatives, industry trends, current practices and … Your knowledge of the corporate culture of a financial institution (Discover) as opposed to another (Citi) is just as valuable because it can predict a behavior or approach a bank takes (for example, Discover’s stubborness is real; it is a real clue to take into consideration).
With sincere gratitude –
Michael,
You are correct. There have been zero communications from Discover over the last several years. And yes they have current contact information for me. No other agency has ever contacted me on this debt.
Thank you for the reply. I would be happy with 40% as an end result. The only question is whether or not I should poke the bear. Based on my income and recent positive credit activity (new accounts, growing credit limits and usage with existing creditors), I would have thought Discover would have awoken from its sleep by now. Part of me wants to act first because they probably will take action soon and I may want to buy a house in the near future. The other part of me wants to stay quiet and let the SOL pass sometime next year. I guess in the end it is up to me and deciding which road I should travel.
Matty – If it were me, and I am not married to the idea of home ownership at the end of this year, I am waiting. If I were to want/need to be in the home buying market earlier, I would want to tackle the Discover account now, so that any update to the credit reports from Discover (that there is zero balance owed) has several months to season on the report before I start shopping loans for a home.
The SOL passing may only remove lawsuit risk. You could still be required to settle with Discover in order to push a loan through. I am still seeing a lot of that.
Thank you, Michael. That’s a great point about being required to settle the existing balance before closing with a potential mortgage lender.
Lots to think about. Regards.
Well I decided to settle. Discover offered 30% of the balance and I accepted in a heartbeat.
I feel a great sense of relief and am so glad this chapter of my life is over.
Thank you again, Michael.
Nicely done Matty!
Hi Michael. I have an old charged off Discover Card. Balance is $10,000.
It’s been over 5 years since I was first delinquent on this account. Discover has not contacted me. They are still reporting the debt, they have not sold the debt, and they are not collecting on the debt — YET. I fear a lawsuit is in my future. The SOL in my state is 6 years and I may want to buy a house sooner than that.
So I want to settle this debt. But I am concerned contacting them with a settlement offer may be “poking the sleeping bear” and they will not accept a discounted settlement payment and will turn around and try to add 5+ years of interest and fees and sue me for a lot more than $10,000. Ideally I can settle this debt for $5,000 but the fear I just described has me from taking the first step.
Should I call a consumer attorney to help negotiate a deal? Or do you think Discover would be willing to negotiate with me without too much effort? I was thinking of writing a letter with a 50% offer, but your article makes me believe that my situation would be better suited for a phone call to their collections dept.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.
Matty
Matty – I want to be sure I am not reading too much into your comment. Are you saying Discover Card has not tried to collect from you for all this time (4 to 5 years), whether directly, or by working with outside debt collectors? If there have been collection attempts in the last year or so, who by? Does Discover have your correct address and phone number?
I want to understand that a bit better before commenting about poking a bear.
In general, I would target 40% in my negotiations (start lower, as there have been some lower deals done of late, just too few to call it a trend, or make lower targets part of my commentary). I would negotiate only over the phone based on the info you have shared. Leave the written stuff for Discover to send to you outlining the details of your settlement agreement before you make the payment. Read more about that here.
Dear Michael,
I have not been able to make any payments to any of my credit cards since December/13 first time ever in years of having a 750 credit score , with all my payments on time.
My husband passed away October /12…it has been extremely hard for the whole family
I am only working part time..and receiving monetary help from family to pay bills etc…I rent, I don’t have a car and only have 300.00 in my savings account. I owed discover card around 7200.00 . My court date is April 21.. I have other outstanding balances on American Express, Citibank, and Chase. I am very confused on what to do.. I dont want to file Bankruptcy I just got my tax returns and would like to pay my creditors, should I call Discover directly and try to work out a lump sum, payment or should I hired a lawyer to represent me or should I wait for court date and see what happens… also If I pay discover wouldn’t other credit cards want me to pay them as well….
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thank You.
lauren – You would be looking at 50% of the Discover card balance as a settlement, and that is on a good day, now that you are being sued. And yes, once an unpaid debt shows as settled on your credit report, other creditors (more likely debt collectors) will stand up and pay attention.
Questions:
Are any of the other accounts in your husbands name only? Were you an authorized user on some? Are these all accounts you opened in your name?
Add up the totals of all credit card debts, and other unsecured bills that are hard to manage, and what is that total?
How many children (if any) still at home?
I would not suggest adding the expense of a lawyer to help you negotiate with Discover just yet. Please answer my questions in a comment reply and lets go from there.
Hello Michael,
Thanks so much for your prompt reply.
Sadly all the accounts are on my name , except the Macys card in both of our names which has a 300.00 balance. I live with my 2 adults sons and a daughter who is in college. One of my sons is helping out with expenses. At this time I can only afford to pay the basic , rent, food and utilities expenses. The total balance of all credit cards including interest since 12/13 when I stop payments is around 29,500.00. that been said I had previous offers to settle some of them for a very reasonable amount but at the moment I did not have the money. for example , Chase sent me an offer to settle
9,394 for 2,370. which is pretty good….but then again discover is the one suing me and i think i should settle with them first, btw….they did sent me a letter 11/13 for a repayment option of 4,687 as a lump sum but I could not afford it at the time.
Thanks so much Michael!
Greatly appreciate your help!!
Thanks for the follow up Lauren. I like chapter 7 bankruptcy in this situation. Lets assume you settle all debts, on your own, or with professional help, and you pay 15k total (including fees if you hire someone). Chapter 7 bankruptcy may cost you 10% of that, or 1500.00 -ish. Have you consulted with an experienced bankruptcy attorney? Is there something you learned that suggest you avoid chapter 7 at the cost of 1500 compared to 15k?
Settling your Discover card first as a priority debt makes sense if you go that route. You may have other accounts that can be aggressive with collection too. If you post a list of the debts, balances, and who is currently collecting on them, I can offer some feedback.
Hello Michael, first of all I really want to thank you so much for your help .
I have read some information about chapter seven but I have not talked to a qualify lawyer about it even thought … I do think I qualified for it. I think it is such a long and painful road…not having not even a debit card or any C Card for purchases, seven years is tooo long to wait..chances of buying a property are very slim..
I will give you the last offers I have received from the different credit cards.
1. Discover 7,209.80 Cohen &Slamowitz,llp woodbury ny.
I did received a letter on 11/26/13 with a 35% discount, one payment of 4668.37
do you think I would most likely will be order to pay this amount when i go to court on 4/21.
2.Citibank 7522.84 Northland group Inc.
I just received a letter with a offer to settler for 2256.84 in 3 payments of 753.
first payment due 4/13
3. American Ex 4312.00 Relin Goldstein & Crane, LLP
apparently they have bought this debt from ARSI….
previously I did received a settler offer from Am Ex….for 2,587.00 on 12/13
but like I said before I could not afford it.
4. WAMU/Chase Bank 9394.01 ARS National services,inc
I received an offer to settler for 2367.12…..but it expired on 3/4
5. Macys 295.36 Client Services INc
1/14 got an offer for 207.00
My court date is 4/21 and I am very nervous about it ….never been in court before… and I dont know what to expect.
what do you think?
A Million Tanks!
Hello Michael,
I would really appreciate your follow up comment on the information I sent you on April 4.. detailed information on my debts, balances and who is collecting on them….My court date is the 21 of this month and I want to be prepared knowing what to expect.
Thank you ,
Lauren
Missed it somehow. Just posted my feedback.
Lauren – You can have a debit card now, during, and after filing bankruptcy. Chapter 7 will typically have no impact on your personal or household checking account. You can use that debit card as you like. And you will probably receive credit card offers (with low credit limits and higher interest rates) within the first year of discharge, so 12 months in, not 7 years. I highly recommend you read more about the impacts to credit with bankruptcy compared to other forms of debt relief. You can find access to FHA and other home loan programs two years after filing bankruptcy (even earlier in certain situations).
As for each account you list:
1. If your goal is settling the Discover balance, and you are already in court, 50% would be my low end target for most people in this situation. So I would try to negotiate a slightly lower settlement with Discover.
2. That is a great deal on the Citibank account. If it works with your over all plan, I would look at taking that offer. If you are over the 4/13/14 date, call them up and ask for another letter with fresh dates you know you can follow through with.
3. Targets for settlements with AMEX are 50% at this stage. You can call AMEX and find out where the debt is now, if not with the law firm that last contacted you. AMEX does not sell much debt up to now, so it is likely they can tell you where they have it placed for collection.
4. You may be able to get ARS to reissue that settlement offer if they still have it.
5. Small balance accounts do not settle for that great of savings.
Court dates for debt like these are about like showing up to contest a speeding ticket… very low key. What is your goal with the hearing?
Hello Michael,
Thanks so much for your great advice about Bankruptcy, now I think It may be a possible solution to my financial problems. I will try to contact a lawyer before my court date…also is there any chance that I can postponed
the court date? if Yes how can I do it? so I have time to find a good Bankruptcy lawyer. Michael what would you do if you were in my situation? please let me know..
Thank you so much for your expert advice.
Lauren.
You can ask the bankruptcy attorney about the best way to handle the court date if you are going to proceed with chapter 7 anyway. Follow his/her lead on that. If your bankruptcy is pretty straight forward (no investment properties, just personal stuff etc), the bankruptcy will be a fairly simple process. You can talk to a BK pro at 877-278-8117, or look for one in your area at nacba.org.
If I was ready to hit the rest button on my personal finances, and I could qualify for chapter 7 bankruptcy, that is where I would head. I would want to be sure I was not thinking of cosigning on my daughters student loans, or taking out parent plus loans. I would want to be sure I was able to keep my home, or was ready to let it go back to the bank, if mortgaged. I would be looking at my transportation situation, and weigh whether I let an underwater car go, or reconfirm that loan in the bankruptcy process. A few other things. All of which I would cover with my attorney.
Dear Michael,
I have been battling breast cancer since June and have not worked since November. We still have my husbands income but with mounting medical bills we can not afford to pay Discover. We are not behind on payments yet and called to see if they would take a debt settlement with a one lump sum payment. They said they could take off $1084 our $9800 balance which does not help. Is it hard to negotiate when you are not behind on payments?
Stacee – It is near impossible to negotiate a meaningful settlement with Discover Card (or any other bank for that matter), when you are still current.
I have settled several CC accts last year but have one remaining with Discover for $11,700 that has been placed with a law firm for collection after being charged off. The last payment I made was in Nov. 2013. I have been negotiating with the law firm for 3 weeks since they have threatened to bring action for a judgment. They have offered a $7,700 settlement after I offered $4,500. I may be able to get it to $6,500.
My question is how much time do you think I have before they actually sue for a judgment. And should I agree to the $6,000 or $7,000 now if I have the funds? They keep saying that Discover has authorized them to bring suit.
Thanks
Lou – My impression, given what you shared, is you may have a couple weeks before suit is filed. Your 40%-ish offer being countered for a bit higher than 60% is not uncommon. There are instances where you can still counter and get them under 50%, but after 3 weeks, I would suspect that yours is a Discover Card that may not settle for under 60%.
What were the percentages you paid for settling your other accounts?
Michael, I have a Discover Bank credit card judgment that’s over six years old. The original amount is approx. $10k, the current balance with accrued interest is $15k. Through my lawyer to their lawyer, I recently attempted a deeply discounted settlement. They countered with a $9k lump sum. I can’t do that and hoped to have done much better, say between $3k and $5k with terms. So we’re at an impasse and I’m surprised (pleasantly) they haven’t tried to enforce the judgment. Should I just wait it out or is there some other negotiating strategy you recommend? Thanks.
Scott – I do not like waiting out judgments. That can mean looking over your shoulder and fretting about bank levies and wage garnishments (where applicable) for 20 years, or even more.
The settlement offer of 3 to 5k on the current balance being declined is not surprising. 60% of the current balance is a more realistic target. But if you can show some sincere and on going hardships you may be able to get lower.
Michael, I’m not sure how unique my situation is. I was injured in 2010, laid off in 2012(June), divorced in 2013(April). Made periodic payments as I could through spring of 2013, working with Discovers collection department over the phone mostly when our relationship went sour. My resources are finite, and were coming to a halt. Phone conversation led me to believe that Discover would stop trying to cash “virtual checks (argh, that ended up a pain).” They did not, forcing my bank account into penalty. Through heated discussions, I gave up on Discover, and disputed at bank level, who at least got me back to 0 (zero). I have no income, no possibility of income, credit score I’ll never care about again, fighting government for disability, no means for insurance and on food stamps. No personal assets, zero, sans the retirement account I can’t touch without penalty (age 38). No car, house or stock and residing with family. Haven’t talked to Discover since May/June 2013, and received their attorney letter last month stating I owe ~$7000. They are nowhere near the only debt I owe, many absorbed in divorce, and double that in medical expenses. “Insert blood-turnip reference here.” Bankruptcy is a forgone conclusion (in my mind) for any debt that pushes my window of obtaining some sort of gov’t assistance. What next step would you suggest? There is nothing to give, even if a good faith payment plan were reached. Do I wait them out, as with the rest of my debt, almost all of which is sold off to agencies at this point? Declare bankruptcy now? There is no net for me.
Scott – Bankruptcy does sound like the right path to take from here. I would possibly wait to do that if your health situation has not stabilized, or there are other concerns you have. But if all of your personal financial dust has settled after the prior explosion, getting things like Discover Cards collection attorney out of the way now, makes sense.
Try reaching out to a low income legal aid office near you. Bankruptcy assistance is often available if you qualify. You may be able to get through it with just the court filing fees, which can be a few hundred.
Hi:
I have Discover Bank served me 2 weeks ago for $17K. I am working with their law firm and only can go $9000 or 65% max, Do you think they just playing hard ball with me? I settled American Express 16K balance for $6K (about 40%), however i settled with Amex when they already had a default judgement after fought in the court. Should follow this route to get better settlement? I have 2 more week to answer. What is your opinion? Thanks
Joe – Best case would probably be 40% settlement with Discover, but that will often require some kind of documentation about your being on a fixed, or otherwise limited income (at least with many of the attorneys they work with). If you are unable to document your inability to pay, be prepared to pay what is on the table now, or maybe settling for 60%.
It is certainly possible that a Discover judgment can be negotiated for less, but the odds do not favor that, and this law firm may just want to try their luck at bank levies and wage garnishments after a judgment, and prior to negotiating a discount after a judgment is entered.
Right now I would be thinking about risk/reward for a later unknown, set beside a whether I can come up with the extra cash now. And if the cash just cannot be had, perhaps talk this all over with a consumer law attorney (who has experience defending collection lawsuits), about buying time to save up more.
I have two Discover cards, owing about $19,700 between the two of them and stopped making payments around 18 months ago. The law/collections firm owning the debt recently sent me an offer letter to settle 40% of the balance, which would reduce the debt to about $7,880. I have until April 30th to send in this payment.
I really like the idea of settling at 40%, but I’m not sure if I can come up with that amount of money before their deadline. Is it possible to make payments on a settlement amount? Or is it always one lump payment that they will only accept?
Thank you for all the helpful information on this website. It gives peace of mind when going through hard times!
rashonda – I have seen settlements direct with Discover that allow as many as 12 payments. What can happen though, is along with the extra time you get to make the payments on a settlement, you also could see an increase in the amount they want. So, rather than accepting 40% of the balance owed as of now, you could possibly have to agree to pay 50 or 60% over that payment time frame you set up. The account being with a debt collector means getting things done through them, not Discover, and that can impact what is possible.
It is far better to get stuff like this knocked out in one payment whenever possible, but I understand that is just not in reach sometimes. How close are you to being able to accept the settlement offer?
Hi, I recently decided to go with a lawyer and a settlement with Midland Funding LLC. Last payment 2/2008. My lawyer said they have proof of me making a payment in Sept. 2010; I was not sure and don’t have funds to fight in court, so I asked him to see if they would settle out of court for $5000.00 original loan 12.000.00. Pre hearing set this past Friday and my lawyer said I did not need to attend, court date Feb. 4th. Long story short I have not seen their agreement for settlement and lawyer says he has not recieived it. I checked my Credit through TransUnion last night and Midland on January 7. 2014 added $5000.00 to my original debit and said the last payment was Sept. 2010. Can this be legal, I have not seen any negotiating settlement papers. My lawyer is of course “out of town”. I feel he is not representing me like he should, what can I do?
shirley – When is your attorney scheduled to be back in the office?
Hi, Sorry just read your post, I spoke with him yesterday and he said he would contact Midland and find out why they did this and ask them to remove it. I also asked him if he had much experience with Consumer Law and he admitted “very little” Court date is next week and I’ve already paid him over $3,000.00. He said I might want to find another lawyer or just settle. Not sure if court will give me an extension to start all over again. I formatted Discovery and my lawyer changed some of it” body, Midland responded with affidavit on “Bill of Sale”. I will go to his office today and look at their Discovery. Any advice you can give me is appreciated.
shirley – At this point I would suggest you speak with an experienced debt defense attorney, but experienced attorneys are not easy to find. I can help you locate one if you post the name of a large city near you.
I do not understand something you shared. You could not afford to fight in court, wanted to settle for 5k (which is sometimes possible on a 12k lawsuit if you can show hardship), and have paid an attorney 3k so far. And you are the one formatting discovery? What gives?
Hi, Michael,
I started as Pro Se and found I was running out of time, so I hired a lawyer whom mislead me to how much knowledge he has in Consumer Law. I had already formated Discovery so I handed this over to him. Michael my question is , why have they changed the date of last payment and the amount of original amount due on my credit report? I have not received settlement offer in writing, however my lawyer says they are requiring payment March 1st. I also have a question about the date of last payment they say I made, which I never remember making, I found my bank statements and they show no payment to Midland. I did find a reference to AT&T Telco from India and so I google and found Pepper vs Midland Class Action Suit . I remember a girl calling me to make payments on my “Home Depot” card for half the amount due and I agreed to trial for 6mths. This was” MCM”, but I was never told it was a collection agency, She said it was Citibank for “Home Depot, I cancelled automatic debit with my bank because my bank account was debited twice in one month, and I was worried it was a SCAM. The same girl from India called back trying to get me to pay again and I told her this is a SCAM and never to call my home again, I never heard anything else . The AT&T Telco reference does not show dollar amount that I paid for the 6mth period. Do you have any information on this?
shirley – Only Midland can tell you what is up with the change to the credit reporting. My opinion is that the change to credit reporting is, in all likelihood, a data entry error. The epitome of one box being checked rather than another.
As far as the 2010 payments – are you being sued on the Home Depot account?
Hi! I just spoke with a civil officer who told me that Discover Ban subpoenaed for owed debt. I have not received the official document. What is my best course of action. I know I owe them the money, I am not sure exactly how much somewhere around 8000 ish. Should I call them and try to settle. I can put down about 1000 and make payments over 24 months. I am trying to avoid court and garnishment. I really cannot afford money or time for a lawyer. But is it best to try and settle or should I go the attorney route before speaking with discover. My husband and I got into.financial trouble and are just now recovering. I am just really scared and want to do the right thing.
eswalf – You can certainly call the attorney for Discover and work out some form of payment. Putting one thousand out there as the first payment will be taken seriously. If you can manage the rest of the payments over 24 months, they may go for it. Do you have any way to pool together resources to settle this in one lump sum? You may be able to work with an attorney to help you draw this out for several months in order to buy time to come up with enough to settle with Discover in one lump sum.
Once sued, and agreeing to long term payments, you typically sign off on a stipulation/consent to judgment. Not the end of the world, but something to avoid if you can.
Do you have other debts out there that remain unpaid? If so, what is the total of all of those debts?
I originally owed Discover @$3000 plus, but with their arbitrary late penalties and interest rates plus now with court costs, et al, I owe over $5000. I paid the collection company $1300 a few months ago, but just rec’d letter stating my wages are going to be garnished. I barely get by with what I make now and the garnishment very well may do me in…
Am I past the point of no return or is there something I can do to ward off garnishment? I’m feeling very defeated and truly a little frightened. I am a 62 yr old female and have been at my place (not position) of employment for @17 yrs. I rent my home, drive a ’94 chevy, and my take home pay is approximately $1400/month.
Thank you for any help or advise…or maybe even hope…you can provide. You must be a very compassionate, understanding person to do this…
Dana – The garnishment notice you received may have come with instructions for how to request a hearing to show your earnings are low enough to qualify for either full or partial exemption from any wage garnishment. If those instructions are not evident, contact the court clerk and ask how you can proceed with that.
If you are able to qualify for full exemption from garnishment, you are not out of the woods yet. Your bank account can be levied. But you can take steps to greatly reduce any hardship that would create by banking and paying bills a little differently.
If you can qualify as exempt, the Discover debt will not go away. Judgments often grow with interest. I would encourage you to put a plan together to make payments on your own terms, or pool together the resources to settle with Discover (through the attorney they placed your debt with). You can often settle judgment debt for a savings, but that is not all that likely if they are getting paid through garnishment. Here is more information about dealing with judgment debt.
Let me know how the garnishment part turns out. I can offer feedback from there.
Great info. My problem with Discover is I have a $9500 balance with 29% APR. Even with paying min payments (account is current) I am over my limit with little chance of really paying it down. Their offer is 0% APR on new purchases, meaning I would have to pay lump sums to free up my available credit, then be able to take advantage of their 0% APR “offer” (not sure what terms and length of offer are but I’m sure it reverts to the standard rates after a certain period of time). My question….how should I approach a settlement with them? 50-60% of balance seems fair given I have paid huge interest only amounts over the past 5 yrs with them (of course…assuming I can get the means to have a one time bulk payment). Thanks
John – You cannot settle your Discover Credit card while current with payments. If you cannot afford the payment right now, than falling behind is a foregone conclusion. Based on trends today, Discover would likely offer a better payment reduction as noted in the original article, or settle after you are several months late (likely 5).
Do you have other credit cards with high interest rates? Is Discover the only account that is unmanageable?
Thanks Michael. One question I asked in my previous post that the law firm is requesting that I have to make the first payment immediately and setup the remaining payments by providing a bank routing number and then I will receive the “agreement in judgment” document 3 wks later because it takes time to prepare. Does that make sense, don’t I have first to review the “agreement in judgment” before I make any payment to make sure I understand the terms. Is this a typical process?
Sal – It depends on the debt collector as to whether the behavior of demanding payment right away – without providing the agreement in writing – is typical. There are some fairly decent collection attorneys out there. There are also ones like you describe collecting on your Discover Card.
The collector for Discover, unless really new, already has a consent/stipulation/agreement to judgment template in their system. The process of inputting your particular details would be clerical and simple. Instead of it taking 3 weeks, I suspect it could take as little as 15 minutes.
My concern is that you make a payment and think all is well. Your time to file an answer to the complaint they filed in court goes by, they then file for default judgment. You never get the agreement in 3 weeks, but your next payment goes through. You have already given them your bank account info, and in short order you get a bank levy enforcing a judgment they got, or a wage garnishment is set in motion, and the agreement is proven to have been insincere from the beginning.
Of course what I outline above may not be the collection attorneys intent at all. The office may be run in a manner where simple clerical work is scheduled out 3 weeks…. I have seen the type of concern I am sharing with you play out. I would encourage you to speak with the experienced consumer law and collection defense attorney I sent you contact info for. Be very clear when sharing your situation and the concerns you have about the payment agreement.
Based on what you have shared, I would not trust what the collector will/will not do. Once you get all of your ducks in a row, it would be great if you come back and post an update comment. It would be good to share the name of the collection attorney/law firm Discover sent your debt to at that time. You could help others who find themselves dealing with the same place, and they will be able to weigh your experience when considering their own options.
A week ago I received a court summon from a law office fro an outstanding credit card balance of $8000 for Discover card.
I contacted the law office trying to settle and they asked for for a lump sum of 80% of the outstanding balance which I cannot afford and when I asked about the monthly payments plan. They told me they can accept 24 month payments but I need to sign “agreement in Judgment” and I have to make the first payment immediately and setup the remaining payments by providing a bank routing number and I will not receive the “agreement in judgment” document for 3 wks later because it takes time to prepare. I am trying to avoid a court judgment and I can afford the 24 month plan but I want to make sure that the “agreement in Judgment” is NOT considered a judgment against me if I pay all the agreed payments. Can you explain to me what are the terms of the “agreement in judgment. Is it similar to going to court and receive a judgment which will be reflected on my credit report “public record”. I would appreciate any info you can provide.
sal – If your only option for resolving the debt with Discover is through monthly payments, and now that you have been sued, a consent/stipulation to judgment outlining what you are agreeing to with payments is pretty standard. They are basically agreeing to monthly payments in a formal way, where if you miss one, the judgment becomes enforceable through the court. This can often lead to garnishment, bank levy, and liens on real property.
I understand your concern about the judgment being filed in the court, even though you would make payments on time. The concern about this showing up on your credit report is very real. I have seen instances where a stipulation is agreed to, payments met, and the docs get filed with the court anyway.
If you are hyper concerned about this, it would be well worth the effort, and likely reasonable cost, of speaking with an experienced debt collection defense attorney. You can run the docs you get from the collection attorney suing you, and all of your concerns, by the attorney. If you need help locating one with the type of experience you need, send me an email with the name of a nearby larger city.
Also, for later readers, setting up manageable monthly payments directly with Discover when you are late with payments, but not yet sued, is not difficult at all. You can stretch the payments out 60 months as opposed to the payments being condensed into 24, like with Sal.
I also discovered A LOT of different ideas on debt settlement when I started looking around the web. Their are probably some folks out there that have used some of the more risky tactics with success. When I finally took my head out of the sand and realized just how far in debt I was, I just wanted to settle at a reasonable cost, as quickly as possible.
Following what Michael and other “for pay” debt settlement service providers say has worked for me. And the fees were well worth it. The forums are a great tool, but talking with someone who has very current knowledge of what the different credit card companies are doing is far better.
My Discover card was settled about 2 weeks before Charge Off in March, 2013. They accepted 36% of the original debt of $9000 (31% of the final balance with all the late fees). I spoke to them at least once a month from the start. They really pushed their “60-60 Program” – paying back 60% of the balance over 60 months, at 0.99%. And it was in their “Attorney Placement Pending” department for the last couple of months.
At the end I got past the lower levels and spoke with some of the managers (at least I think so). My situation had gotten more desperate and I conveyed that to them. I had the card for over 5 years and did not use it for a few months before I quit paying (and no big charges in a year or more).
Charles – Thanks for posting your experience with Discover a few months ago. Editorial and feedback coming from me, while instructive and experience based, is not the same thing as real people getting real results and sharing them.
Michael, thank you very much for your help and writing this article. My Discover account is not yet charged off, it is just placed with an attorney and I think they did it after receiving my canned debt validation letter. I read a lot online and most sources say never to talk to the creditor on the phone as it can be used again you in the court. So i never talked to them on the phone; i now see that was a mistake. I wish I had found CRN earlier, would have been so much easier to resolve all this. I will give attorney a call. Will they work on the percentage of money they save me on settlement or will they require upfront fees? If they do require fee, any ideas how much they can be? Also, Oak View Law group offers 25% fees on the amount of settlement saved. If the other attorney fees are more do you think ovlg.com will be a good choice to approach? Thanks again for all your help. You are a great resource on the internet!
Thanks for responding to this piece Jay. I am now fairly certain that your Discover account was accelerated for aggressive collection as a direct result of the canned letter. Settling directly with your creditors is often the best opportunity to resolve the account. And it absolutely will involve speaking with them. Anyone publishing something to the contrary either does not know that, or does not care that what they put up on the web can do more harm than good in these instances.
OVLG has some fair fees. There are a couple of others with even more affordable fees, like 15% of savings. But you may not need to add the cost of anyone’s assistance. You can call the CIR Law Offices yourself first, and discuss the options for resolving the debt. You have not been sued yet, so perhaps you can settle on the lower end of the norm for this situation. You would call and let them know you talked to your dad about the situation and he can help you out, but only has so much to offer. See if you can knock this down for something around 60%. If you can reach an agreement that you can fund be sure to get the deal in writing before making the payment.
If you hit a brick wall with your efforts, post an update here and lets go from there.
Thanks Michael, Including the post from CIC, they guy over there has been helpful but has contradictory views from you. I will call CIR Law once more and see what happens. Here is the post from CIC for your information and feedback:
Your on the hook for 5200.00 anyway in court or in arbitration.
Arbitration is expensive they wont want to pay for it.
Your want to make it expensive for them to pursue you.
They will spend 7000.00 or more to win 5200.00 Not a good business decision.
Have you read the strategy and steps of arbitration?
[link inlcuded but when I reply with the link, the comment does not show, so removing the link]
You need to study on how to win in arbitration, You will need to make a motion for the court-the examples of the motion are in the above link I keep referring you to.
Or do nothing and get a judgment against you for around 7500.00 after the debt buyer adds in their fees.
Thanks for pasting that Jay. You are not dealing with a debt buyer. Discover may not care about the expense. I know that may not sound right. From a pure economic sense, it wouldn’t. But there are other things that can come into play with how Discover decides to manage an account like this. This is the stubborn part I refer to in the above article. Due to the fact that they made an early out referral to legal collections, they are looking at your account differently already. I cannot definitively say yours is an account Discover will take to the mat, but it would fit a description for that so far. How long ago did you last make a payment?
Was it something you read on that same site that you followed and sent the canned letter offering to settle with Discover at 25%? Just curious.
I made the last payment on Feb 21, 2013. Missed first payment that was due on 4/08/2013.
It was from other websites and youtube videos, they even have sample DV letters. There are few people on CIC that say not to talk to the OC either but the forum owner later corrected them and mentioned it is best to talk to the OC and thats when i started making the calls. I was already 2 months overdue and when i made the call, Discover said, we already sent your account to the attorney 2 days ago. I am in the process of settling with Citi and Bofa by making calls and answering their calls.
Okay. This further confirms your account is being treated the way it is due to the letters sent to Discover – because of how quickly it was placed. If you want your offer to be taken seriously you will need to be prepared with 60%. Maybe more. Be sure you can get your dad to loan you what you will likely need first before calling.
Michael, I called the attorney (Jeremy) you recommended. Very pleasant conversation. Boosted my confidence a lot. He said not to elect for arbitration, it causes problems. He told me to send them a debt validation letter as well like i sent to Discover and ask for verification. Most likely CIR will sue, but sometimes they go away. It makes them do a lot more work. If they do sue me, Jeremy said, he can represent me in court for fee of 10% of the debt amount. He said he deals with these cases a lot and has gotten the debt to go away completely in many cases when sued.
Thanks for posting Jay. You will likely have the opportunity to settle along the way as well.You are in good hands.
Michael,
CIR firm called last wednesday and asked about settlement. I said i can do $1800. The representative asked if i can do more, i said not at this moment. He said he will talk to the lawyers about my offer and call me back. I have til end of week to send the debt validation letter before 30 days is over.
I am going to send the debt validation letter today via Certified Mail RRR. Should I word it like ” you are here notified under FDCPA that this debt is DISPUTED and here by request validation regardimg this alleged account” or should I say “I hereby request validation and verification regarding this account”. Basically should i say this debt is disputed or not? and shoulld i included the word alleged?
Jay – There really is not a combination of words that will be more effective than another if you are disputing or requesting validation. I am not certain what you would be disputing, but basically; the word “dispute”, or “request validation” will trigger the protocols they will follow on their end. The end result in your case will likely be the same. They can get the info from Discover to meet their obligation to answer your letter.
Like mentioned prior, settling can be accomplished at around 50 to 60% at this stage (though not in all instances). If you were motivated to put this one behind you, pooling about 600 more on top of what you offered is a possibility. Using the letter will prolong the issue, and could lead to a scenario where resolution will be at a higher cost.
Michael, your comment does not show here but i will write the reply to it. The reason I am not offering more is because they are not coming down at all. They want 100%. I went from 1300 to 1800. If they say can you do 4000 or 3500, i can offer 2600. I do want to settle this and put it behind me, just need a good strategy to do so. The lawyer you recommended told me to send the debt validation letter, i did it yesterday. I hope this makes them do work and they become more flexible to making an offer. Just need some tools to make my position stronger, don’t know if debt validation letter would do it or make it worse. What else do you suggest? How about next time I talk to them, I mention that I am talking to a consumer protection attorney and also considering bankruptcy?
Michael, an update to the posted i just posted few hours ago. I just got a call from CIR Law and the representative said there is no settlement on this account based on the type of account it is. I asked what type of accout is it, he said internally it is called 5591 which means no settlements accepted. He said i can set you up on a payment plan. So, basically i think my account is flagged as No Settlements Accepted. I have sent them a debt validation letter which they will get in couple of day. Any thoughts?
Jay – Comment system bug from yesterday is fixed. I sent you an email and encouraged you to call me direct. I would like to speak with you in a bit more detail about where things are at, and some ways to navigate from here.
I believe the initial letter you sent to Discover led to the way your file is tagged, but there are other reasons that can happen. I can learn more from you when we speak.
Michael, Thanks for helping me on the phone. So, CIR called me again and asked for payment, i said i do not have any money for payments but can borrow money to settle. He again said he can’t settle. I asked, why is my account marked in a way that won’t allow settlement. He transfered me to his manager, i explained the situation to the manager and asked the same question. The manager said the account is not yet charged off so CIR does not have any authority to settle, only Discover does. I said, can you talk to Discover and let me know about my offer to settle? He said he can definitely approach discover but it will be better to make the offer 50% at $2600. I said ok. He contacted Discover and a day later told me that Discover accept my settlement amount.
Thanks again for all your help with this account. I am glad I was able to settle it.
Great work Jay and congratulations – you accomplished your goal!