Do I have to deal with debt collectors for American Express?
I stopped paying my American Express account when I got laid off. I am working again, and it has taken this long to catch up with most bills. I want to tackle this one, but I cannot pay the full amount.
Can I call American Express and set up payments? I got an offer to pay less than the full amount from a different debt collector than who has my account now. Can I agree and set up payments for that amount with the new collection firm?
How can I deal with a debt collector for American Express?
—Maria
American Express handles little of the collection activity for the credit cards people fall behind paying. Your options for dealing with Amex accounts that are already placed with a debt collector (no matter the type), are going to be limited to working things out with the collector in most cases.
You can pay or settle with debt collectors on American Express credit cards at the different stages of collections. Below is general information about resolving an AMEX account. I can get more specific with each individual persons situation when you post details, and the debt collector you are dealing with, in the comments at the bottom of this page. Be sure to include how long ago it was that you last made a payment.
You are not behind or not yet 3 to 4 months late with AMEX payments.
AMEX has some programs available for repayment when you are struggling with your finances. You can call a customer service rep at AMEX, and if early enough (within a few months of missing payments), they can help you bring your account current, or enroll you in a temporary repayment plan. These plans are generally going to offer you a lower monthly credit card payment for several months, and up to 12.
The lower AMEX bill is because they are dropping your interest rate down during the months you are on the hardship plan.
Try to avoid taking advantage of any short term payment plan if your finan
cial setbacks are not just temporary. You have no assurance the AMEX will extend the lower payment plan once your time on the temporary plan is up. That means your monthly payments will go back up, and may still be unaffordable.
American Express also regularly works with nonprofit credit counselors who can get your monthly payments reduced, and get your interest rate lowered for the life of the balance, or while paying through the counseling agency.
You can be current with your credit card payments and still work with a counselor to pay your AMEX bill each month.
If you are not yet 4 or more months delinquent in paying your AMEX credit card, and would like to see if you can get a lower monthly payment for the life of the balance, I would encourage you to consult with a credit counselor and get an exact payment quote at 800-939-8357, choose option 1.
If you have more than one or two credit cards you are struggling with, a counselor can help you consolidate most or all of those accounts into one lower payment.
Unpaid American Express credit cards are not sold to debt buyers.
One of the first things to point out to people dealing with American Express accounts in collection is that they do not sell debt.
Many major credit card issuers sell off some of their credit card bills (that remain unpaid long enough) to debt buyers. AMEX does not bundle up unpaid credit card accounts to sell off as a general practice. That is not to say AMEX will always retain ownership of their delinquent debts (they have since the 70’s). Bank policies do change from time to time, and operation realities could lead to AMEX changes too. But for now, AMEX is ultimately the legal owner of your unpaid credit card account.
This is an important distinction to point out. There are situations where someone dealing with a debt buyer collecting will have additional strategies to consider.
Amex is also one of few credit card lenders of its size that has no internal recovery and collection department to speak of. That is not to say they are lacking in customer service for their credit card account holders, but that once your account is behind enough to be dropped into their collection pipeline, you are typically not going to be connected to internal AMEX collection resources. You are, more often than not, going to be routed to third party collectors that AMEX sent your account to.
If you have had financial setbacks that caused you to stop paying American Express, but your accounts are already out for collection, you are generally going to find that any payment arrangements you make, settlement offers you receive, or are able negotiate yourself, will go through the debt collector that is currently collecting for AMEX.
Settling your AMEX debt with a debt collector.
The type of settlement you can realistically aim for with AMEX credit cards can depend on several things. Your account usage leading up to missing payments is sometimes part of the equation, and so is how collectable you look to the debt collector handling the account for AMEX.
Who the debt collector is can also impact your settlement opportunities. Not all American Express debt collectors are the same. Let me break this down a bit.
The most common debt collector is a working on a contingency. If they can get you to pay something through communications through the phone and mail, they get to keep a percentage of what you pay. American Express accounts can settle for as low as 35 percent of today’s balance with some of the collection agencies they use, while others may not settle for under 50 or even 60 percent.
There are files that are flagged for no settlement. Some of the reasons this may happen are:
- Your account with American Express is too new.
- Recent AMEX card cash advances.
- Amount owed consists largely of balance transfer.
- The balance owed at time of default was made up of mostly recent months credit usage, or big ticket items.
There are large debt collection law firms that pick up large blocks of AMEX accounts to collect. They will call and write to you in seemingly the same way as a third party debt collector I just described. But do not let the similarity fool you. Some of these attorney networks, like Zwicker and Associates, can and do file collection lawsuits with the courts.
Smaller local collection attorneys may contact you about your unpaid American Express card. And any collection letter you receive from an attorney with letterhead showing an address in your state, or one neighboring you, is a clear indication that your risks of being sued to get you to pay have escalated.
Settlements with attorney debt collectors for American Express accounts, whether in or out of court, tend to be at 50 percent or higher. If you appear highly collectable, and are already being sued, decent settlement percentages are harder to negotiate. If you are reading this and have recently been sued for an Amex account, post where you are at in the process in the comments below for more feedback.
What if you cannot pay or resolve your debt right now?
You mentioned you are not able to pay what is owed, and would hopefully be able to get a payment plan to only pay back what a prior debt collector offered as a settlement. Unfortunately, those lower balance settlement offers usually come with an expiration date. You can try to negotiate the same deal with the new debt collector, but they are not bound by that prior offer, and settlement amounts you can realistically target can change dramatically the more time you need to make monthly payments.
Remember that a debt collector is all about how the timing is perfect for you to go ahead and pay them. Anything you could say about how tough your finances are at the moment will circle back to what you can pay today and in the near future. Every communication from collectors is for the exclusive purpose of getting money from you. That is how debt collectors are, for the most part.
You need to be concerned with your whole financial picture, and not just this one bill. No matter what the sense of urgency you feel when you are dealing with collectors, always know your cash flow, and never agree to something you are the least bit concerned you will be able to follow through with.
Unless you are dealing with an attorney debt collector licensed in your state, or have already been sued for collection, you probably do not have a debt emergency. And while I do recommend taking advantage of some of the better offers to settle your AMEX accounts with debt collectors early on, you can only do what you can. And even if you are in late stage collections with AMEX (in the courts or about to be), you still have options to navigate the situation.
Anyone dealing with an AMEX credit card with a debt collector is welcome to post questions and concerns in the comments below for feedback.
Oh… and I should point out that not paying your AMEX credit cards may result in losing miles and other points in rewards programs, and those not paying their full balances back may not be able to get approved for American Express accounts in the future.
About Michael BoveeMichael started CRN in 2004 with a mission to provide people in need with detailed debt and credit help and education. Michael has participated as an expert panelist in federal consumer protection rule making, collaborated on state law changes governing debt consolidation, has worked as an expert witness in court matters related to the debt relief industry, and is a regular contributor to several personal finance websites.
Hello,
I have an Amex account in collections with debt collection lawers modlin and slinsky. In June 2018, I had an outstanding debt of $12,000 and we came up with a payment arrangement that would last until 2021. I however, made a $4,000 payment back in May and continued to make my monthly payments. I started a new job at the beginning of the month and was unable to make a payment this month due to the fact that I had to pay rent and other bills. The lawfirm told me that I was violating the payment arrangement and could possibly take me to court. Should I be worried that they will sue me? I did miss one payment one time but since then, I have consistently made my payments. I only have about 1,600 left and paid over $10,000 over the course of the last 13 months.
They could sue, but it sounds like you could also end up paying it off and getting the suit dropped with as little you have left to pay.
If they get aggressive let me know and I can help you from there.
I have had a issue with American Ex Blue – which is for business . I do not think the signiture card is my signiture and AMX will not provide me with the signiture card .
Also the card is a business card and was taken out in my personal name not business name . It was taken out by my x-partner I believe .
I would raise this to a fraud level concern if the account was opened without your knowledge and is being used.
Below 50% with American Express is very fortunate. They are not easy to work with, congratulations on your settlement!
I have a few things in collections, and an old AMEX account is one of them. I got my account back in 2014 with a credit limit of $500. Some life stuff came up, and I stopped making payments. On my credit report, it says that AMEX still holds the debt. On my report, it says I owe them $1,000.
My Father offered to co-sign on a new credit line for me to help consolidate my debts (roughly $3,000). Is this a good idea?
Are you going to use some of the money to settle unpaid accounts? If you stopped paying in 2014 you may only have 2 years of bad credit reporting left. If AMEX is the only collection account, settling would make sense if it were me, but too many more accounts and I might just wait it out.
Hi Michael,
My situation is a business Amex Card which I have had for and used for my business transactions for 15 years. We carried the debt on that card forward from the Company afte I sold it into a sub-company of the parent which I kept. It has finally caught up with us, we are not late yet but cannot make the payments anymore which are basically all interest,, the current balance is in the 50k range (interest is accruing and most on a pay overtime amount.
Our next payment is coming due. My questions are, do I contact Amex when this month’s payment is due to let them know I can’t make the payments they are requiring now or in the near future and need to negotiate the debt way down or wait until it goes into collection? I had to pay them 10k over the past 45 days which about put us under. My business has slowed down and I am in a catch 22 where I can’t even ship my product in order to sell it and bring revenue in. The Company has no assets, of course I am the guarantor on the card, I have no assets per se they can come after. One other note, bankruptcy is not an option for me as we are an on-going business, I have had conversations with a couple of attorneys and debt relief companies, because this is a Company situation I am running into road blocks in the way of help. There has to be some way to get relief. Amex just got out of control with the large payments over the last 90 days they were requiring from us. Personally, I have never missed payments on any of my accounts and as you can imagine this one could stress the best of us out! Your thoughts?
You can click the get debt help tab in the upper right corner of any page on this site and create your user profile (secure and private), and when you get to the part where it says schedule to talk with an expert, bring up that calendar and pick the day and time you would like for me to call you to go over this.
Amex is a very different process to deal with when you cannot no longer maintain payments, or want to settle.
I have been receiving calls from a third party collector for American Express. He is quite harassing even though I’ve been making my monthly payments on my online American Express portal on an account that has been closed. He has called me at work which I have told him not to. How would I go about repaying a portion of this account debt vs the entire amount and not working with this individual?
What is the balance owed?
How much can you pull together in order to fund a one time lump sum settlement offer?
Who is the collection agency the collector works for?
About $7k due. At this point I can only pay $3k in a lump sum. The collector identifies himself as working for AMEX. When he first started calling I thought it was a scam because it’s not a list AMEX number. I also have never paid him over the phone like he demands, instead I log in to my AMEX online account and pay.
You have to be late with payments in order to settle an AMEX account for less. You may have fallen behind on a payment, and even though you are logging in monthly to make payments, AMEX is acting like you did not bring the account current.
Amex is super aggressive and can be a bit complicated to settle with. I generally recommend getting help settling AMEX debt. The professional help can pay for itself.
You can click on the get debt help tab in the upper right corner and complete a short profile and then click on talk to an expert to bring up my calendar and schedule a time to talk with me about strategies for AMEX, including bringing the account current and getting the collector off your back.
Recently received a summons from AMEX and their attorney(Modlin Slinsky. I have 20 days to respond and that is tomorrow. I spoke to their attorney last week but they were not interested in negotiating. Any suggestions on opening negotiating again? My debt occurred from Hurricane Irma and a child custody issue expenses and I’ve not been able top recover.
Hurricane Irma, How many days late were until the threat of lawsuit? What was the outcome?
My amex account went to GC Services aa few years ago, I’ve been paying them around $108 every month like clockwork and it doesnt look like im getting closer to paying my balance of $4,500 off anytime soon. I just got laid off 2 weeks ago and my husband has been out of work on disability for almost a year, neither of us can pay until one of us finds a job but when i spoke to GC on the phone this week, they said i cannot put a freeze or skip a payment amount. What are my options?
If you cannot pay, you don’t. You will want to come up with a plan to settle this at some point, and I can help you with that when the time is right (your finances are better), but right now it just is what it is.
Hi, dealing with Relin Goldstein and Crane. 4600 Amex balance last paid in December 2016. They are willing to settle for 3500 OR if i pay in full, I can qualify for the Optima program. Any idea on the affect on my credit report for paying off in full vs settling? I live in NY State and Relin is in Rochester.
Check out this video about settling debt for less vs paying in full. I cover it in more detail there, but there is no real difference to paying in full or settling for less, when it comes to credit reporting on an older collection account like this.
Hello. I’ve been reading thru the Q&A hoping to see a situation like mine regarding Amex but I didn’t really see one. So here is my question and if you don’t mind answering, I’d sincerely appreciate it. I am a single mom of 2 early 40’s with a relatively new Amex Gold card that I’ve used once and already paid off the balance and now it sits with zero balance. So I am currently having some dental issues that will most likely require full replacement. Implants and while I do have dental insurance, it’s not the best and I know I’ll have to come up with a chunk payment to pay for my dental work. I have a good full time job and receive zero child support. So my question is if i decide to use my Amex to pay for my dental work and then don’t repay the full amount the following month, what will happen?
Will I essentially, In the end, will I be sued and receive a judgement with my paychecks garnished? Or will they just continue to try and collect? Will garnishment be CERTAIN? what can I expect other than the obvious of lower credit credit score and collection calls?
I must have this dental work done and I don’t have any other liquid assets. I rent an apartment. Have an older car that I make payments on still monthly $205, I’m not even sure why they approved me for this Amex Gold card and I know I can’t afford to have it but still on the other hand am grateful that I happen to have it just for this type of emergency. Please let me know what are the most likely outcomes and certain outcomes for owing in the range of $5k, $10k, and $25k – please? I’m most concerned with garnishment. Will I be garnished!? Is it pretty much certain?
Thank you for your time and advice.
You have to be sued before garnishment or bank levy becomes a concern. That can happen with AMEX quicker than others, but assume you can drag the process of default out a year or more. Can you save up money in that time to deal with AMEX?
Amex will sometimes convert your gold card balance into a monthly payment. You can pursue that with them and still have access to future AMEX products.
There is often reason to have escalated lawsuit concerns with AMEX when your account is opened recently; has large transactions; followed by default.
Have you looked at whether your dental provider offers a credit product, like through Synchrony and their Care Credit brand? That might help you get the care you need and an affordable monthly payment without strategic default.
Thank you for responding! I super appreciate it! So actually I have a couple department store credit cards through Syncrony currently in good standing and about 5-6 years ago I had other dental work done and that was funded by Care Credit for around $5K. I tried at the time to make the payments but soon after lost a job and stopped making those payments. So I’m sure I won’t be approved for care credit again. My other thing is, so Amex isn’t like any other credit cards then in the respect that they will try to collect then just write it off? They go the full shabang themselves and just automatically sue? (After they exhaust their collection efforts?). What I mean is, for example, if I had a Kohls credit card lets say, and I stopped paying it, they would try to collect, call, and even send letters. But eventually I would never really hear from them again after the 7 year mark…but with Amex…. they will try to collect relentlessly then eventually Sue – correct?
Btw, I’m only exploring my options at the moment. I haven’t decided officially to strategically default just yet. I just recently started building back up my credit and have been doing good. But this dental issue is really a pressing issue that must be handled soon. And it is looking like this may be my only option…
I would not say that most other banks just write off the debt and go away after a time. There are many banks that pursue collection through the courts, or sell debt to buyers that will later collect through the courts.
Amex does not sell debt, and is just more likely to use the courts. Lawsuit are not automatic, but you are better off to approach these situations in anticipation of that happening.
Have you considered any of the online lenders that have reasonable offers?
I have a company called American Express Global Collections which is obviously based in a different country. I started getting suspicious and asked for a letter from American Express about settlement and it still looks weird. Are there people who try to scam you to pay that amount then take it?
What is the back story or details of your AMEX account? When did you stop paying?
Thank you! I was contacted by First source advantage. He offered 31% by feb 27 to pay off my mother’s debt. But is it a red flag that it’s not in writing and he wants the routing and account number now. He says as soon as payment electronically noted for a date prior to feb 27, he can then send a letter out that forgives the rest and that Amex will also send a letter forgiving the rest. What if they don’t send a letter? He says they must by law.
My concern is that I’m giving someone banking info over the phone. Don’t they usually send these offers by mail?
First Source regularly sends out debt settlement letters before payment info is in the computer. Try connecting with a supervisor. Tell them you are not able to get all the money from family who are all chipping in unless they see it in black and white.
You can always record the call with a smart phone app or a cassette recorder. Tell them you are recording and why (they will not send the letter our first). Keep the recording until all the documents come.
As a caution, you could call AMEX and verify they have the account out with First Source Advantage (the do a lot of collection for AMEX).
Hi Michael,
I have recently had my wage garnished from a collections company in California on AMEX account that’s been closed for over 5 years. I owed just over 20K. I am okay with the garnishment as I owe the money and due to a messy divorce I did not know about being sued in the first place. I was served by publication and didn’t know until the garnishment. My question is now I am seeing American Express is now reporting me late on my credit report and it appears the amount is going up each month. Any idea what this is about? That debt was sold a LONG time ago it appears. How would the amount be going up? Thoughts on what I should do?
AMEX does not sell debt.
The balance goes up from interest being charged under your contract or agreement with AMEX. Once a judgment is entered in the court there is judgment interest that gets added. The interest rate on judgments is based on state law, and is often capped. California caps interest on judgments at 10%.
I typically do not see credit report entries increase month by month once a judgment is entered. I am concerned that Amex is reporting an inflated amount that is not accurate. Not that it is much of a concern right now, but at some point you will have resolved the debt, and if it has not already aged off your credit, I would monitor what they report, as there appears to be something wonky with this entry already.
Michael,
I am 4 months behind on my AMEX account. A few months ago I signed up with a debt settlement company and have made several payments to them. I am behind on a number of other credit card accounts as well. I withdrew from the debt settlement program last night and am thinking of filing for bankruptcy. I have to come up with the $1700 fee first. Today I received a notice from AMEX that my account will be sent to collections in 14 days unless I call them now. After 14 days it goes to a debt collection agency AMEX will no longer work with me. Do you have any idea how long it will take before they file a lawsuit? I have a home and am a single mom to 2 young teens. I can’t have my check garnished. What do you recommend I do?
It sounds like you consulted with a bankruptcy attorney about chapter 7 first, and know that you qualify for that. How long before you can raise the money to file? If it is the next couple of months I would not be overly concerned about what AMEX does. If longer than that, post an update with who they send your account to and I can give you better feedback.
I would like to talk to you re: three AMEX credit cards that are in default.
You can fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column of the site. When I see that I email you to set up a time to connect on the phone. I can also be reached at 800-939-8357 ext 2.
Michael, I had two Amex accounts: 1 personal & 1 business. I overpayed the personal account but for some reason Amex wouldn’t transfer the balance to my business account as they had done in the past, so I stopped paying the bill until they got their act together. A few months go by and Amex closes my account, lists it as a chargeoff on my credit report & proceeds to sue me. Nearly 4 years later the lawsuit has finally ended. My case was based on principal (Amex had my money the whole time, how could they sue me for money already in their possession!), but they won based on technicality (I paid into wrong account and if Amex says they can’t mix funds then that’s their right per judge). Anyhow, being that Amex has been paid in full and made whole (they cut me a check for the overpayments to personal account and I had to deposit and cut them a check for business acct with same money), how do I force them to fix my credit report so it does not state chargeoff with serious delinquencies?
You probably will not be able to get the charge off removed. But they should update their credit reporting to show the balance is now zero.
There could now be a judgment on your credit report due to how your case turned out. It too will show as paid/satisfied.
I am being sued by American express. I had a reduction in income in Oct 2015 and could not pay my account in full each month. In Jan 2016, I got a 12 month payment plan option. June 30, 2016, my employer closed its doors suddenly. I made a payment in July 2016 but without work could not pay more.
During the same time I was diagnosed with disease and my 2 year old with autism.
I got a summons for to be in court earlier this month. My family member is helping me by making an offer on the account.
I am told that the account is not in charge off status and therefore AmEx will only accept full payment to avoid lawsuit.
Do I have any options?
You do have some options. Fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column. I will see that and email you to set up a time to talk on the phone. You can also call me at 800-939-8357 ext 2.
I just missed a second meeting with a judge(1st meeting was 12 months ago. After the 1st meeting Lawyer Collectors wouldn’t budge from 500 per month. on 20K owed to AMEX. I had offered 50$ per month. I missed the second meeting because I wasn’t notified in time to attend or find a proxy to attend so right now I don’t know what happened at the second meeting, Judges secty directed me to the court house records are kept. My monthly income, basically Social Security Retirement for my wife & me. I have been looking for work for 6 months. My age–75 may not help. The judge fined me 394$ for no show–assuming I’m irresponsible instead of asking what happened. I plan to talk to the judge and I’m looking hard for a lawyer.
Do you have assets to protect, like your home, or cash savings?
I owe American express 6000 and they sent the account to collection agency. I have called American express multiple times requesting statement but haven’t received one. I don’t want to make payment to collection agency but want to pay it American express. Is it possible to do that?
Are you trying to settle the debt for less or make monthly payments?
You typically want to deal with the collection agencies instead of dealing with AMEX directly. The outcome is usually better. Which collection agency is handling your account?
We were audited and I owe the IRS over 150,000. I’m concerned with my amex BC I owe 46k and it is a burdon. I’m not late at all but was thinking of defaulting to only have to pay a portion. If my husband is an authorized signer is he affected? The house and cars and business are in his name only. So I’m guessing Amex can’t levy or place a lien on them. Is this. Smart idea?
How quickly will you be able to come up with the settlement money you will need to resolve the AMEX account?
Call in and take your husband off as an authorized user, and preferably before you are late with payments. If you do not, his credit could be impacted.
Michael~
I’m the one left with debt of a dissolving nonprofit from which I retired almost 4 years ago.
Regarding negotiating with an Amex debt collector: what is considered the “principal” sum of the debt? Is it the amount at which I stopped making payments? The debt is constantly escalating with their penalty interest . . . I need to know how to calculate an offer of 35 – 50%.
Margot of the nonprofit debt
It was nice to speak with you yesterday Margot. That sum is the amount owed today with all interest and penalties added in.
Yipes! The Amex debt is growing at penalty interest of 28%. And you are still advising I wait until April or when a collection firm contacts me?
The trouble is that you often have to wait until an account goes unpaid a certain amount of time before you can target the best settlement outcome. If you have an early offer, and though you think you might get a 10 or so percent better deal in 2 months, you can calculate the balance accretion and find it is a wash between paying the deal now, or waiting it out.
There is also the issue of AMEX being more aggressive with collection much earlier than virtually all other banks. And this can lend to the reasoning of settling earlier too.
Michael ~
Zwicker & Associates has begun to call associates and my husband. I have a friend attorney who has been in collections who says they are now seeking and address to send a demand letter. He says he will respond disputing the validity of the debt in case they cannot produce the agreement I signed 12 years ago. He says that may slow down the process.
My attorney friend says if I am served to get it to him immediately so we can get an answer filed and start negotiations.
Is this the best way to handle Zwicker and Amex?
Bless you for your advocacy!
You can also look to settle with Zwicker before the suit is filed. You can often get the same outcome either way.
My husband who is disabled and recieves only as disability is being sued by amex. We were sued in a county we didn’t live in….we filed an answer but was never given any further information regarding the suit. We were just served by a county sheriff (once again in a wrong county) and the paper work has no signatures or any other proof of service. To add to this the lawsuit apparently was filed 2 months ago and the attached extra summons was just filed . This is a law firm out of Arkansas. Do I file the same answer as before?? I guess I should mention that this is a now 4 year old debt. It is a debt we cannot afford to pay or we would had. Paperwork in the past have had inconsistencies and looks like something they send out in status quo. My answer before separated his debt from me. Addressed the income as disability payments (which to my understanding they cannot touch because of it) and I guess they are hoping we screw up but haven’t they screwed up because of the issues of improper service? I don’t know how they can sue in all the improper counties (we have a courthouse in our county) Plus we have no resolution or proof thereof from the other suit. Please help!!!
I would contact an experienced debt collection defense attorney in your state and talk to him/her about the suits being filed in the wrong county when they obviously have your address to serve you. There may be something actionable there. What is the name of the collection law firm suing you?
Are you in Arkansas? Would you like me to email you a list of attorneys with the experience you need?
Michael I need help. I am the founder of an 18 year old nonprofit. I took out the Amex card in 2007 to Use as a payme vehicle. We always paid it off monthly. In 2013 we hired an Executive Director and I was fired 9 months later – after adding her as an authorized user. In June of 2014 during a meditation settlement with the nonprofit the Board Chair acknowledged the responsibility for the Amex bill (now over $22K and in penalty interest), stopped charging on it, and paid minimum payments.
Now the nonprofit is dissolving and leaving $16K in Amex to me.
What can I do??????
If you are on the hook due to the personal guarantee you may end up having to settle this account before AMEX sues you. Suing the nonprofit that is broke and dissolving would not appear to be a good use of resources.
Can you raise the money to settle with American Express? Are you willing to make monthly payments? Are there any assets of the nonprofit you can try to get creative with them on?
Hello Michael,
We received a summons for just under $25k for an AMEX account that does not belong to us, we ran our credit reports for both myself and my son (we both share same name) and this debt does not appear on either report. How do we go about contacting either AMEX, or the attorneys or the court? We are obviously very concerned as the document said that they have tried sending letters however we never knew about this until the server showed up.
If the account is not yours in anyway I would contact the attorney for AMEX and see what they want to do about it. But there are enough examples of collection attorneys being non responsive to logic, that I would prepare to file a debt collection complaint against the law firm with the CFPB; speak with an experienced debt collection defense attorney in your state; or even file an answer with the court that it is not your account.
Hey Michael,
Thanks for the content here…been a crazy year recovering from a big business dip in Q3 and Q4 2015 and then prepping for birth of our baby. Made payment to Amex end of April 2016 and haven’t paid since.
I think they’ve sued me (or are getting ready to) but haven’t been served with anything.
I only found out that it was at this point because I started getting legal advertisements saying I was “sued” on Dec 20th 2016. Far as I can tell they’re legit though it isn’t in the county records yet.
Is there a way for me to find out who has my debt? I haven’t figured out who’s been contacting me from their side to start a settlement and kinda found myself at the “end stage” of courts without realizing it.
I have some funds to potentially get a settlement done if I know who and how and what to contact to get something done with American Express.
Any suggestions or resources to find out where it’s at and get a settlement negotiation started?
American Express does not sell debt. You can call them and find out what collection law firm they sent your account to for collection. You can also look up your name in your court and find out what firm has your account and filed the suit. You can then call to negotiate the account. How quickly can you come up with half or more of the balance?
My mentally ill son used my American Express card fraudulently. It happened three separate times in the last few months. Each time I called AmEx. So they cancelled the card and sent a new one. And then sent me a letter that they didn’t consider it fraud. The third time I received a bill for $2400 I told them not to send me another card. And I received another letter disavowing my claim. Then November 21 I received a call from the fraud department wanting to know how I was going to pay the bill because the charges were now up to &4100.00. I was floored. It seems that most of the charges were done on line
I am a 77 year old widow who is trying to survive on social security and meager savings. I won’t press charges against my son because he is also gay and it would be a death warrant for him. He has done this during a major depression episode and takes five different medications. Do I have to pay this? My son has filed for disability, but in Florida where we live that wheel turns very slowly.
I would connect with an experienced debt collection defense attorney in Florida and learn what their experiences have been in similar situations. I can email you a list of those I know with the experience you need if you like?
Could you email a list of experienced debt collection attorneys to me in Palm Beach County, FL
AMEX offered an unrealistic pay back plan. We had three credit cards with AMEX including a business card.
I should add, Just to make things a little stranger. American express did request the police get in touch with me to ensure i was safe and alive. I only know this because the industry that i worked within had me working with a handful of police officers in a technical capacity.
So between that and 1 letter in the mail saying your payment is overdue not a peep from them.
I’m going to use some round figuers for some privacy….
Dec 2009 I owed between 60 and 65k on a amex black which is a charge card and 55 and 60k on a platinum credit card.
This was in Queensland, Short story was none of it was pre-meditated or intentional. I have never had anything more then 1 letter in the mail from them saying my account was past due. Alot has happened since then and i thought the statute of limitation was 8 years in QLD however it seems it is 6 years.
I do find it interesting that i never proved anything to american express other then my ability to pay my card off every month without fail sometimes with balances as high as 5m
Funny enough I can still log into my amex portal and see both cards there with the debt, however no interest has accrued in the 7 years.
I have never had any contact through the courts and to re-iterate I have never had anything more then a letter in the mail from amex.
Strange Right…..
For the past month I have been trying to get my credit report from My Veda to no avail.
What would your thoughts on this situation be?
All that I can imagine are that amex at the time did its homework, they did credit checks on myself on 3 continents, realized that suing my would reap them nothing, and bankrupting me would only loose me as a customer for life. I got my black amex when i was under 25 through my own business with everything above board and legitimate.
All that I can imagine is that they hope that one day I will contact them to repay the debt and go on being a customer of theres. To be honest i dont think in the grand scheme of things they lost anything, I would have charged approx 15m over 5 years and at 2.8% merchant fee that is $420,000
It is a bit odd to have not heard more from American Express, or any of the debt collection firms they use.
Unfortunately, I am not able to comment on collections and credit reporting concerns outside of North America in a meaningful way.
Hi Michael,
Thank you for this site. I got an offer from family to help me get back on my feet and settle my debt. I owe American Express 6800. I just called Amex and they said they could settle with me today for 3000, or I could pay in full and have a prequalified optima card and maintain my relationship with America express. Obviously the first option is the most attractive, but which one is better for recovering my credit and building a more solid financial future?
When did you stop making your minimum payments to AMEX? The longer it has been, the less meaning there is to paying in full compared to settling for less.
If you are more than 90 days late with American Express, and certainly more than 6 months late, there is next to zero return for paying in full as it would relate to your credit scores bouncing back.
i have a balance of 1734 due by dec 27th on AMEX i have scheduled paymetns made for the next month and im also on the financial hardship plan? Can I still be sued?
If you have an agreement in place, and keep your side of it, it is highly unlikely you will be sued.
About what balance amount ends up with a collection lawyer versus a balance ending up with a collection agency? I owe $5400.
The balance size may not have anything to do with it. I see balances half or less that amount with AMEX end up in court.
Hi Mike I owe 6000 to American espress is being 5 months without paying them ,5 months ago I contac nationalwiide debt direct and they told me they will be able to help
Me to pay them less,,a collection company is calling now , Ican i trust nationalwide??their plan is for 20 months with them ,,can American Express send me to jail ,do not know what to do,,I’m going crazy thinking should I answer the collection company and make a deal with them!!please help me
You cannot go to jail for an unpaid credit card debt in America.
Can you pull together half that AMEX balance? How soon can you have the money?
Hi Michael. My father is in a nursing home with dementia and end stage Parkinson’s. Up until he went in the nursing home he was paying his AMEX bill. Now the nursing home gets his social security check. Now, he has a Notice to Appear from an attorney debt collector. I am his POA so I will go to court for him but what are the chances of the judge making him pay this? He has no money.
There is a good chance the lawsuit will end with a judgment against him. But if he has no assets, and no other income than social security, there is a zero percent chance the judge, or anyone else, will be able to force him to pay. Check out that link for more.
Thank you.
Hi Michael,
My Friend recently left the USA with an Amex liability of roughly $3500 and returned back to the UK because he was unable to continue with his work visa and financially was unable to pay it off before leaving. Will Amex transfer that liability or collect from him abroad in the UK, or is likely nothing to come of it, if he no longer wishes to return to the states.
I typically do not see debt based in the United States track people to other countries. You can still settle with collectors while not in the country. But lawsuits, while technically possible, are not probable.
I have an AMEX account that got sent to FirstSource. I owe 1300 on the account. Im paying very little every month, but still paying so the situation doesnt escalate. In terms of credit score impact, does it matter if I pay in full or is the outcome the same if I reach an agreement to pay partial? Aside from having too many credit inquiries, this is the only other problem I can see on my credit report. I am planning to apply for another auto loan soon, and Im not sure how the AMEX card payment choice will affect the loan chances. Also, is there a way after paying off the card to get the deragatory mark taken off? Thank you!
You cannot typically do a pay for delete with AMEX.
How many months ago did you last make a regular minimum payment to AMEX?
How long has First Source had your AMEX account (when did they first call or write to you)?
For many of us, there is next to no difference to our credit scores if we pay a collection account in full or for less than the balance owed. The end result of either option will be a zero balance reporting to the credit bureaus. And it is the zero balance you want.
I stopped paying my American Express bill about five months ago. I am disabled,and have 0 income. American Express is still sending me bills directly, but a few weeks ago I also received a letter from a law firm in my state, saying that they now had my account for collection. It was not a summons, it simply said “we have this case now.”
My question: how long does a person typically have with AmEx from the time the account is turned over to a debt attorney to the time they file a lawsuit? I’m trying to set the wheels in motion to file bankruptcy to stop all of this in its tracks but with my illness and constant medical appointments I need time to figure it out. There is no way I will be able to pay them anything.
Should I write to the AmEx lawyer and ask them what their intentions are? How long will they typically give me?
It can be a matter of weeks before you are sued. Writing to the AMEX attorney will not delay anything more than a month (by requesting validation that they will respond to quickly), and maybe not that long.
Try to connect with an experienced chapter 7 bankruptcy attorney and retain her/him. Once the attorney contacts AMEX and their attorney, it can often slow things down the way you want, though they may still file if they are not getting the creditor notice that you have filed your petition with the court.
Michael,
We have a very serious debt with AMEX, and a VERY immed need to sell a piece of real estate and we are nervous AMEX will show up at the title and I will need to pay it. We have hired two lawyer to go after AMEX but have gotten NO Return [phone calls after 9 months
what do you suggest we do? Its a alrge amount of $ already and we really need to settle this
Fill out the talk to Michael form in the right column of this page Evan. When I see that I will email you to set up a time to connect on the phone. There are a good amount of details I will want to get from you.
I’m on permanent disability I have stage four cancer and I have $25,000 in Amex debt I just got notice that they are suing me. Does the court take this ability into account?
The court is typically not going to take your ability to pay into consideration at this stage of a lawsuit. The court is there initially to determine a liability. You either owe American Express or you don’t. If it is determined that you do, and a judgment is entered, that is when your inability to pay, and personal hardships can be tested to meet your state exemptions from collection.
In other words, you may not be able to work. Your disability income is protected, but your property (like a home) may not be. Check out this article about collection exemptions.
Hello Michael,
I had worked for a company that issued corporate AMEX cards. They list my name / then my company name. The settlement has always been done by my company though I was copied on paper statements which I never looked at. I ceased working for them as of 7/1 this year. Evidently despite me changing over some of my recurring office expenses to a new card; Verizon continued to charge for 2 months leaving me a small $200 balance. I never knew / realized a balance existed because anything addressed to my old employer my wife and I toss in the trash.
Well here I am 4 months out from the last charge and received a phone call from “Central Credit Services” saying my account was in collections. I told them I dispute it and to mark the file as such while I sort out the details.
I don’t mind paying the full $200 of course; I just want to ensure this does not mark my credit.
What is my best recourse? I tried calling AMEX to explain but got a run around.
Thanks for your help!
Is it already showing as a collection on your credit reports? If so, there is often little you can do to get AMEX to remove it. But that is not really a big deal if this is the only collection on your credit, and you are not trying to finance anything for the next 6 months to a year.
Hello again!
I asked if nationwide would write a letter to reflect our settlement agreement. The manager said it wasn’t possible for a few days and then talked to someone and said that I could pay part of the settlement ($239 out of about $1300) and then the next day I would get the letter. Is it essential to have the letter of agreement absolving you from further responsibility before paying the settlement? Is a verbal agreement enough?
Thank you!
I find it necessary to have the agreement in writing first before paying. As an alternative you could record the conversation using one of the free apps available. The when the letter gets to you, you can delete the recording.
Nationwide regularly documents AMEX settlements prior to receiving payment. You are dealing with a debt collector trying to lock in your money is likely all that is happening here.
Hello! I am in collections for my Amex and negotiating with the collection company, Nationwide Credit.
They have reduced the amount to 40 cents on the dollar, wick is $1000, but I don’t have that full amount and am hoping that they will go down a bit. It’s only a difference of about $300 but I take care of my parents and it makes me uncomfortable with my ability to keep everything in order to pay $1300. I am hoping not to go into a payment plan for any amount as things get really busy and I would likely default. Is there any way to get a lower settlement? Can I call Amex directly? Thank you?
Sorry– $.40 on the dollar is about $1300. I am comfortable paying $1000.
I do see some settlements better than 40% in some situations. They are not common though.
You cannot call AMEX to resolve the debt when they have it out with an agency collecting. They will just tell you to call Nationwide.
Can you accept the settlement confidently if you split the payments into 2 or 3 months?
Thank you so much for your guidance! Nationwide had told me that the account would go back to AMEX on a certain date, but weeks later they were still calling me. Then, I started getting calls from Amex directly.
I told Amex my situation (that I had, for decades, been on time with payments and then 3 years ago my parents and sibling all got Ill simultaneously. I fell behind in everything, and it’s been non stop caregiving.)
I had two Amex cards that were closed, one which had been for the small non-profit organization that I had run.
Amex settled both for 30 cents on the dollar, which was better than Nationwide.
I have to say that representatives from both Amex and Nationwide were kind and understanding. I felt more comfortable dealing with Amex, though.
Unfortunately, I lost all of my Membership Rewards points. With my family’s illnesses, I couldn’t do anything but care for them. I never transferred them to an airline’s frequent flyer program. I was going to do an around-the-world trip with them and it hurts to have lost them. I am still caregiving, and lost the ability to go on vacation any time soon.
I share all this to say–if you have Membership Rewards be sure to transfer them to your airline of choice or use them. Don’t leave them in the MR account!
Peace and joy to all.
Congratulations on the settlements!
I know what you are saying on the rewards. It happens with most creditors when you default and cannot get back on track.
I live in Southern California. I received a summons from american express for an upaid debit yesterday. I intend to try to negotiage the debt down ($40,000) but in the event that does not happen they will proceed with a personal lawsuit. I have only received a summons at this time. I want to avoid any future lein placed on my property in the event they sue me. Would a quick claim deed (done yesterday so technically before the lawsuit ) to my husband protect this from happening? We both are on the title now and we both reside in the house.
Not necessarily. The day you were served is not the day the lawsuit was filed. You will want to consult with an experienced debt collection defense attorney about the look back period for that type of transaction.
If your goal is to settle with AMEX, how long until you can pull together 20k or a more?
I have every intention of settling this before the personal lawsuit moves forward. I have about $5000 to give immediately but $20,000 is out of the question in one lump sum. I am more than willing to make monthly payments but have no idea what hey will be asking for. Do they typically ask for 50% up front? and what if I don’t have it? Will they take less and let me make montly payments?
It can vary. Watch this video interview with the debt collection defense attorney in California that I regularly refer people to. Call him for a free consult.
My American Express credit card was abruptly cancelled without reason in January 2016. My balance was 1100.00.
In March I missed a payment due to my family having to evacuate from Houston and relocate to Fort Worth Texas due to flooding and loss of employment..
I planned to pay March bill but later in the month due to present circumstances at the time.
Before I could pay my bill GC services contacted me and advised that my account was turned over to them and to pay them instead of American Express going forward.
They said I needed to pay 72.00 a month so I set up automatic payments. I also updated my new Fort Worth address with them and I thought everything was fine as
I paid the 72..00 per month on time as agreed. I never heard from American Express again and I thought it was normal being that my account was closed and transferred to gc services.
As months went by it was time to find a permanent home for my family.
I was denied a home loan due to low credit score and poor payment history. I thought it was a mistake as I have always Maintained a good score and never missed payments.
While reviewing my report i saw that AE reported me 30 days late 4 times from May to August.
As a result my other credit cards lowered my limits significantly and my credit score dropped by almost 200 points.
I called gc services and they advised that they would file a complaint because I never paid late and that my 72..00 a month was a agreement with them and AE.
I called AE and they advised that even though I was paying gc services the 72 wasn’t enough to cover my minimum due to late charges added and left over amount from March balance.
I was completely unaware and had absolutely no idea I owed more that the 72 a month I was asked to pay.
AE said they sent statements but I never received any of them. They were mailed to my previous Houston address. I never received phone calls, emails , texts etc alerting me of any issues.
AE said I should have updated my address with them but why would I update my address with a company that is no longer handling my account? GC services had my new info so I thought all was good.
I called AE literally in tears pleading for them to re-age and remove the negative reporting.
AE said because they no longer own the account they are unable to make any changes to my acct.
I was told to call gc services for help, however gc services said that there was nothing they could do as they do not report to the credit bureaus.
I desperately need help. AE has ruined my credit and my temporary apt lease is up next month. I can’t get approved for anything and I desperately need permanent housing for my family of six.
I thought I was doing the right thing by paying the 72.00 I was asked to pay., but it backfired on me in the worst way possible leaving me with a 520 credit rating and zero chance for home approval.
Is there anything I can do?
The employee at American Express likely lied to you. AMEX does not sell debt. They are the ones reporting a balance still due, so it is obvious they still own it for that reason too.
You could at least think about filing a debt collection and/or credit reporting complaint against AMEX with the CFPB. I do not see it changing your situation based on what you have shared, and the way I know AMEX. But I have been surprised in the past.
You will want to review my article about renting with bad credit.
Hi Michael,
Thank you so much for posting this as it answered some of my questions. Although I have some more.
I received a summons from American Express that they are going to sue me personally for the $40,000 I owe them. I am 4 months defaulted right now and my business is in debt. The summons came from a local lawyer so I believe I am now dealing with attorney debt collector.
I have my accountant responding to the summons. He has done this in the past but never with American Express. I have some questions:
1. Does the attorney now handling the case for Amex hold the power in the negotiations? Meaning does he make the final decision when/if a settlement is made or does Amex still hold that power?
2. What if I cannot pay the minimum Amex wants in the settlement? Does the attorney then move forward with the personal lawsuit? If so, my business in incorporated, do I have any protection because of that or does it not matter being that it’s considered a personal lawsuit?
3. If an agreement is settled upon, will the amount have to be paid in one lump sum or will I be able to make payments?
4. If my business files bankruptcy, am I protected at all from this lawsuit? Again, not sure being that it’s a personal lawsuit according to the summons.
5. Being that Amex does not sell to outside collectors, does this mean this will not affect my credit score?
The attorney holds the power (for the most part).
If you cannot pay the settlement amount, and the case ends in AMEX getting a judgment against you, your personal accounts and property are typically at risk.
We do settlements in your situation that can still result in a settlement with monthly payments.
If you were named personally in the lawsuit, which is normal for AMEX to do when they sue, your business filing for bankruptcy does not protect you in any way.
This is likely already affecting your personal credit now that you stopped paying. Pull your credit and let me know what you see.
Thank you for your reply and everything you have done for people on your site. I have learned more form reading this and your responses to others on this chain than I have from all the free consulations I’ve had. So again, thank you!
I’m going to do everything in my power to settle this and not have Amex proceed with a suit against me. I don’t want my husband affected in any way as this is really my small business debt, despite the personal suit, and it sounds like if an agreement is not met he will be exposed.
I have my accountant working with the lawyer on my behalf (apparently he has done this many times for his clients and I know him well) What should I be prepared to pay up front with a 40,000 debt? We are only at the stage where a summons has been issued so is there any key things I can pass along to him in the negotiations that might make a difference, perhaps if they think I’m ready to file personal bankruptcy?
I can read our comment exchange to mean you have been served the lawsuit from AMEX, and also that you have not. Can you post a reply about whether you have been served already? Also include whether you can pay a 20k settlement in a lump sum or not. If you don’t have that cash right now, could you raise it in 6 to 9 months?
Hi, we have been paying our Amex monthly to a third party (GC Services who is now AllTran Financial) for many years. Our balance was $17,000 when it was placed with the agency back in 2010. We are down to about $7,000 but it has been painstaking. Is there any way to settle this debt or get the interest rate reduced to tray and pay this off sooner than the remaining 24 months?
The debt collection agency you mention used to be called United Recovery Services now collects under the name Alltran.
GC Services is a different company all together.
You can sometimes still settle in these situations, but as will all things AMEX, it is a bit nuanced. Fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column. When I see that I will email you to set up a time to talk on the phone.
I am being sued for $21000 on an Amex account. The plaintiff is Centurion bank and it doesnt appear it is being handled by an outside firm or collector. I stopped being able to make payments about 5 months ago due to overextending myself on a new business that got a slow start. Today I filed an answer to the summons as with a general denial. There is a court date set for a month from now. Would it be wise to contact them and try to work out some sort of settlement? I wont have 5 or 10K up front but maybe a couple of thousand to start.
Negotiating your American Express collection account at this stage can often require some strategic planning. Fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column. I will email you to set up a phone consult to go over the situation in more detail.
Additional information regarding my account with AMEX. It has been over 6 months since I have made a payment until this month when I made a $100 payment while trying to reach a settlement. I’m not working due to health reasons and don’t anticipate that to change anytime soon. The law firm representing AMEX is Vinci Law firm in Denver, Co. My card balance is $12,855.
Can you realistically expect to raise roughly half the balance they are suing for in, say 6 months? You can often stall this out in the courts and buy that kind of time.
If your only hope of resolving this is monthly payments, it just is what it is, but I do not encourage you to agree to something you know you will fail with in coming months.
Is this the only unsecured debt you have? Have you looked at chapter 7 bankruptcy?
I’m trying to refinance our house but that is hard to do with bad credit. Also may be able to take out retirement funds to pay half within six months. I do have several other credit cards I owe on as well. I’ve checked into bankruptcy but was told our payments would still be $1200 per month. What will happen if this goes to court?
The home refinance likely has no shot until you no longer have unpaid collection accounts on your credit reports. If you have not been sued yet, it would be great to find a way to pay for a 50%-ish settlement with the attorney for American Express. If you are sued you may want to defend the case in order to set yourself up for success with a settlement a few months later.
If you were going to make a monthly payment in bankruptcy than you are talking about a chapter 13, and not a chapter 7. Were you told why you could not qualify for a chapter 7?
We have a lot of equity in our house so don’t want to give that up. That’s why chapter 7 is not an option. Do I need a lawyer to go to court as I really can’t afford one right now? What should I tell the court?
he homestead exemption in Colorado is 60k, and up to 90k if you meet certain elder or disability protections. There are other assets you cannot keep in a chapter 7 too.
It is best to have a lawyer assist you in defending a lawsuit if you need to buy maximum time to raise the money to settle.
Not sure why we couldn’t do chapter 7. Could it be that we have other assets like guns? Going to get another consultation regarding that.
Good idea. I would talk to several resources.
I have made but not signed an agreement with an AMEX law firm. However, it starts with low payments and then increases in a few months to payments I anticipate I will not be able to afford. I am currently unemployed. I also have a court date with AMEX set for December 3rd. I offered to make lower payments and this is their second counter offer which is still more than I can afford. What are my options?
Thank you!
I have an old American express account and i opened the account Jul 2008 so that means it’s been close for 8 years and 4 months isn’t it suppose to be off my credit report? And if i wanted to pay for the amount I says American express is my creditor but every time i call it asked me to enter my card number and it won’t let me go any further could someone help me out with find ingredients out how to resolve the issue??
When did you stop making payments to American Express? How much is owed as of now?
I made my last payment in August 15, 2016 and have yet to pay due to hours cut at work. I was told that if I don’t make a payment they will send my $4,400 to collections. I have no idea what to do. Could you give me some advise on how to settle with the debt collector. Because at this point I wont be able to pay them. People have been laid off already at my job and I believe i will be next soon.
When it comes to settling an AMEX account, it matters a lot who the collection agency is. When you know who they sent it to, post an update and lets go from there.
Hello Michael, your blog has very useful information and insight in handling credit card debt.
Here’s the situation. I have a Business Platinum account with an amount due of $13500 this cycle. After the next closing date $18200 more. I am not 30 days behind yet. The next payment for the current cycle is due by Nov 8. My account was opened in 2008 and has never been delinquent. Payments have always been made on time without fail. Unfortunately, the IRS has reclassified some of my 1099 recipients as w2 employees and has assessed more than 100k in back taxes. They have levied $50k from the business bank account which essentially cleaned out the account. We are in negotiations with them but these talks go slow. Because of this we are unable to pay the AMEX bill.
I’m wanting to call AMEX and close the account and see about a payment plan, say over 24 months. I’m not wanting to settle for a lesser amount. I want to pay the full amount and would have already had the IRS not levied my account. What should I disclose to AMEX in order to negotiate a settlement payment plan with them and more to the point. Is AMEX willing to consider such an arrangement or would I be wasting my time. Alternatively, short of paying the bill, what would be my best option to deal with the balance. Thanks in advance for your insight.
Call AMEX and go over your situation. If they do not have a workable option that can be mutually agreed upon, and you cannot make the required payment, they are going to do what they are going to anyway. I would skip any payment at that point, if it were me, and wait for your cash flow to solidify to the point you can then resolve the account with AMEX. That could mean a 12 to 24 month payment, or settling for less than what is owed a few months down the line.
Let me know how things develop and I can offer more feedback.
Hey Michael,
Contacted AMEX and reviews the situation with them. They flat out said that there was no program available, and when could they expect payment in full. I told them that the outlook was not for 4-6 months when finances were back to normal. But I could make payments in the mean time. They refused any payment plan. So at this point I’m 30 days I believe, and no repayment plan. What would be the next plan of attack short of paying it off of course when this other mess is settled?
Fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column. I will see that and email you to set up a phone consult. I can go over the scenarios you will likely be looking at over the course of the next few months. That will help you prepare.
I currently have an unpaid credit card debt with American Express for just under $10,000. They have sent the file to a credit collection law firm that can operate in our state. I have been served and responded to the summons. Since then, I have received a court date which is just about 2 weeks from now. I am working with a debt settlement program but it appears that no progress has been made on this account. I am not sure what to expect or prepare for the court date that I have coming up.
How much have you been able to set aside in order to settle with AMEX?
There is about $5000 in the settlement account and i could probably scrape together a little more.
You are in good shape to settle the account then. Is the coming court date a status thing or on a motion?
What other accounts do you have left to settle after this?
I think it is a motion thing. We have 3 other accounts to settle. Do I let the debt settlement company try to settle or do I call myself?
Fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column and when I get that I will email you to set up a phone consult time. I will be better able to suggest next steps during that call.
I filled in the form. Upon further investigation with the debt settlement company I hired I think I discovered that they sent an offer to the law firm with the wrong credit card account number and they did not get a reply. Now they want me to present the same offer at my hearing for a summary judgement. Any Advice???
Sorry, but the form submission did not go through. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, ext 2.
You can go to court and make an offer to the attorney for AMEX. It is not uncommon to settle a credit card collection lawsuit while at court.
While applying for a mortgage loan, I discovered that American Express has reported a charge off to the credit bureau on an account in which the debt was settled with the help of a debt settlement company. I have the letter from the debt collection agency (MRS Associates of New Jersey) to prove a settlement was reached for 4o% of the balance owed. The settlement amount was paid off in March 2014; however, I am not sure when the charge off was reported by Amex. I want to remedy this in order to increase my chances of qualifying for a home loan. How should I go about getting the charge off removed from my credit report?
The charge off stays for up to 7 and one half years from when you stopped paying AMEX. This is normal and to be expected. The Amex reporting should show a zero balance owed now, since it has been settled. If that is not the case let me know and we can go from there.
A paid collection will not necessarily prevent you from getting a home loan.
Thanks for your response Michael. Unfortunately Amex has not reported a zero balance. The balance that’s showing on my credit report as being owed still is the remaining balance after paying the settlement amount, All other factors considered, my mortgage consultant says this is one of the main things I need to remedy in order to increase my chances of obtaining a home loan. How do I get them to report a zero balance?
I would file a credit reporting complaint against AMEX with the CFPB.
Let me know the outcome.
I’m being sued for $14,669. by American Express through Zwicker & Associates out of Round Rock, Texas. I live in Texas & my husband hasn’t been able to work full time because of health issues. My job has cut my hours & we have other debt. I need to file a written answer with the county clerk by Monday the 17th of October. I called & talked to someone at Zwicker. She said I would need a down payment of $4,319 & monthly payments of $450 which I can not afford at this time.
I would file an answer in order to buy time to come up with the right solution for you. You would need to come up with half the balance to settle in a lump sum.
Have you looked into chapter 7 bankruptcy?
My inlaws are in their 80s with failing health and diminishing cognition. For these reasons my wife and I have taken over managing their finances. What we found is a real mess.
For 6 years or more it appears they charged about $1500 per month on their AmEx card and paid only the minimum amount due thru auto bank draft without ever looking at a bill. The $13k balance in 2010 is now up $28k. During this time span we estimate they have paid over $100k on principal and over $20k in interest while more than doubling the balance. The most recent statement included the factoid that at the current payment rate it will take 36 years to pay off.
So far the acct is current but my wife has cut up the card. AmEx has not been consulted.
There are several other credit cards with more manageable balances that we have managed to payoff and close, or will settle very soon.
I am posting here for advice on how to best handle this AmEx debt. Both of my inlaws are likely to need relocation to assisted living within a year and their all of their retirement income will be needed for that.
Factors to consider are that my inlaws live in VA and have a good pension of $5K per month, but they have been spending $5300 per month. $3k to service credit card debt. Their pension is railroad retirement which we understand is not subject to garnishment. Their home has a reverse mortgage that was paid on a lump sum and already spent which I think would preclude the home from being subject to any judgement. They have no savings, only small life insurance and long term care policies.
Should we continue making min payments until all their money is needed for assisted living and then say, sorry, AmEx, there is nothing left for you? Should we stop paying and hope for a payment plan? And are my inlaws as lawsuit proof as I think they are? We have wondered about bankruptcy but wonder if they would pass or fail the means test and be placed on a payment plan.
As for any action affecting their credit rating we don’t think that is an issue. They have demonstrated the inability to manage their debts in good health and certainly have no business with credit cards at this stage in their lives.
Your advice is greatly appreciated.
Chapter 7 would be the cleanest and quickest solution. The means test varies depending on the state. Where do they live?
You are not wrong about them being judgment proof to a large degree. It may not make sense to pay at all, or to file bankruptcy.
My in-laws live in Virginia..
Virginia chapter 7 means test for a household of two is roughly 65k. It looks they could qualify for the chapter 7.
Hello , I am American Express member for more than 20 years. In these past 20 years I saved 600,000 membership rewards. I hold a corporate Business platinum card. I had a $3000 balance that was not paid , and unfortunately I left unattended . in this time The balance is with a collecting agency , the one you refer in this article.
I am willing to pay the balance in full but the only way to get my points back is that that same card be reinstate . no one can give me an answer if I will be able to get that card reinstated. And for me to pay the balance is a big deal right now so I am torn . I can get the cash but I do not know where to get the answer if I have a chance to get that card reinstate . the account was close april 20 2016.
I highly doubt you would be able to get a closed account reinstated, and from 5 months ago. You would look to the executive offices at AMEX for an answer to that.
I forgot about the fact that since Amx closed the account that really is mine I lost all my points. If the complaint comes back in my favor and they take my name off the Gold Business card that I had wrote you about I assume my points will still be gone forever?? I don’t know how much Amx outsources but every time I have called to speak to someone there the person is not located in the USA
You might want to call a very small research and recovery department number on Monday and see if they can help you. If you like, I can email you the number?
Ok Thanks- still waiting for a response on my complaint to the CFPB
Hi Michael,
My husband is currently being sued by AMEX but hired a law firm to represent him in April. We live in the state of Texas. The summary judgement hearing is this Friday and we are both very frightened as we have never been involved in any legal matters whatsoever. My husband started a business in 2013 and we weren’t very prepared for the extra costs and drop in pay. Looking back, it wasn’t a good time to start it but we were very optimistic and had plenty of savings. Things quickly spiraled out of control and we lived off of credit cards after we had gone through savings and now we have about $85,000 of credit card debt we haven’t been able to pay since last year. AMEX is currently the only company suing for a balance of $18,000. The law firm seems to be handling everything but they are not good at answering questions.
If my husband gets a summary judgment against him, how quickly can they (if they can at all) garnish wages? Can they just take any amount they choose? My husband works in the finance industry and filing for bankruptcy would basically mean he couldn’t get a job in his field for the next 10 years, if ever. His degrees are in finance and it truly is his passion in life. Not being able to work in that field would devastate him. We are also just barely able to begin to pay costs outside of our vital expenses. AMEX never offered us the opportunity to settle with them or make lower payments. We continued making lower than the minimum payments for as long as we could and that did not stop our account from going into collections. I understand in their mindset we had stopped fulfilling our contract with them. I know it seems ironic that he works in finance and yet is in this situation but it was just a lot of unexpected things at once and we lost control of our finances.. The law firm is working on a settlement with them every day but they do not want to agree to what we can afford to pay. The lawyer stated they can settle any time up to the date of court but I’m not sure settling is possible at this point with so few days to go before the hearing. I’m trying to understand the legal aspects of this situation. Thank you for your reply and for taking the time to read this. Have a great day!
Texas wages are exempt. Bank accounts with his name on them are at risk of a levy, and a lien placed on property.
Negotiating and settling credit cards with American Express is just different than with all other banks right now. Call in for a consult about what I would do from here. I want to ask some detailed questions first. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, ext 2.
Sorry I did not see my post yesterday so I re-did it this morning. I also wanted to add that when the collection person from Amx called she read me a list of names of people who had been authorized card holders. Some of the names she stated were employees of the company that worked there BEFORE I even started working there.
My mother was just sued by American Express along with my business for an outstanding debt of $22,780.13. Their debt collectors were harassing us to the point where I ended up calling the CFPB to stop them. We want to settle the debt out of court and pay a manageable monthly fee of $200 per month until we pay the whole thing off, but we don’t know where to turn. We don’t need bankruptcy as our other credit cards are fine. What should my mother and I do in dealing with American Express?
You cannot force them to accept the $200 a month. Can you pull together half the amount owed in, say 12 months?
I left the company that I worked for 5 years ago. I had an Amx Business Gold Card that was in my name. I turned it in when I quit. It was a supplemental card. I was not the primary. I just found out that the company that I worked for has just defaulted on this card and Amx has me listed as the primary card holder and wants me to pay the debt. It is over $7000. According to Amx this card was opened in 1992. I did not even start working at this company until 2001. Amx has said that I have accepted liability since I have been paying this card for the past 5 years. Amx has requested letters from the banks in question . I have sent them letters from all banks stating that I have never had bank accounts with their banks. It has been the company that I worked for that has been paying until now. Last letter from Amx was last week stating that I am the owner of the business. I just faxed a reply stating that this business in question is a corporation and I was never a principal, owner or signer on any bank accounts. My boss had already established this business card prior to when I worked there. She put me on as an authorized user. I don’t know how I got to be the primary card holder. I have explained all this to Amx but am not having luck getting my name off the account. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
All the charges made on this card for the past five years as far as I know are on the card that is issued in my ex-boss’s name
I would file a complaint with the CFPB about your issue with AMEX. Check out this article for more about what that means and what to expect from it: https://consumerrecoverynetwork.com/filing-complaints-with-the-cfpb/
The CFPB complaint portal at banks and collectors is managed by people with the skill set to review the issue and correct it quickly, and without too much trouble when the outcome is obvious. The CFPB is your partner in the complaint process and monitoring AMEX in the process.
Please let me know the outcome.
Thanks I just filed a complaint. So far I have only gotten a couple of collection calls from Amx and have not heard from them in a couple of weeks.
How long does it normally take from the time that they start calling to collect to when they decide to take someone to court for the money?
Do they call and let you know that they are going to sue?
You can be sued within a few weeks of hearing from a third party debt collector, all the way to never being sued. The best indicator is when you get a collection notice from an attorney whose letterhead shows they have an office in your state.
Please post updates on your CFPB complaint.
I filed the complaint against Amx and under desired outcome I put I wanted my name off the account and have this taken off my credit reports.
Do I need to file a complaint against each credit bureau as well or should I just hope that once Amx takes care of it it will come off my credit report.
I tried disputing it myself with the credit agencies and had no luck Thanks
Let’s see what happens with the complaint. With a failed dispute with the credit bureaus already, you may have to escalate this further depending the dispute results with AMEX.
Just received a reply from Amx which states that the account was opened in 1992 but I assumed responsibility in 2002 (which I did not I just got put on as an authorized user). They are opening another fraud investigation. My former company (the ones that have used this card for the past 5 years) have made arrangements to start paying this off . I have retained an attorney to help me get it off my credit report. The 3 bureaus will not take it off.
Keep me posted with how the rest of this develops Ellen.
Have you ever heard of an Amx account that was already established having it’s primary card holder changed 10 years later? For some reason when my boss put me on as an authorized user (1o years after the credit card account was opened) instead of being just an additional card holder the account changed making me the primary. Have you ever seen that happen?
I have seen some odd one of situations like this with AMEX. It may not be fixable on their end, but that does not mean you should be on the hook for their mistake.
I currently have a charged off amount of debt with American Express of $2200. I am currently working with a debt settlement company and American Express is the last debt I have left to settle. From what I’ve read in previous comments….American Express doesn’t deal with these companies? I don’t want to continue making monthly payments to the debt settlement company (including) their fees if they are able to negotiate on my behalf?
Who is the current or last known debt collector AMEX had your account with?
American Recovery Services
You can put a deal together with ARS on your own.
This is a wonderful, and very informative read, but I have a question directly related to my particular situation.
I open and AMEX account in late 2011 and paid on it for only a couple of months and then immediately lost my job. It was a charge card, so the entire balance was due at the end of the month. I only owe about $3000 but was unable to pay for it at the time. Over the years they have threatened to sue me and offered me settlements and offered me another AMEX card if I pay off the debt I owe. That is the option I want to go with. I want to pay them, and then get the card they are telling me I can have, however, I don’t want to pay them all of this money and then them wiggle their way out of holding up their end of the deal based on something we didn’t discuss. They say that this offer is only available if I pay the balance in full, but I have read were people have paid partial balance and still were able to take advantage of the offer. Do you have any insight on this situation?
My experiences suggest AMEX will not offer another account if you fall short of paying the balance. But I am aware of mistakes that have happened where accounts were opened later on.
Amex does not really represent much advantage over other credit cards. There is too much competition out there. But I understand paying full freight if you want another AMEX card again.
Michael – I have a default judgement from AMEX handled by zwicker, they already have a non effective writ of garnishment against me — the amount is 13700 — is there anyway to settle?
You can settle Amex judgments. Give me a call to go over your situation at 800-939-8357, ext 2, or fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column on this page.
Amex is after me for about $14k outstanding that is from about a year ago. My small biz is just not making the kind of money that it used to. I was served yesterday and would like some advise on my next move. I currently have about $3k in savings and a few land lots worth about $6k each that are paid for.
Fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column. I will email you to set up a time for a phone consult to go over your situation.
What do you charge for your services
If we offer help, everyone here charges 15% of savings, after you pay the creditor/collector. There is no other fee. We do not take on all files that come to us. You can fill out the talk to Michael form in the right column if you would like to talk over your situation.
When can you start working on my issue? What else do I need to do
You will have to schedule a phone consult Tony. You can email the same address you get these comment notifications from, fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column, or call me at 800-939-8357, ext 2.
I have been unable to pay any of my credit cards for months now. Amex being one of them. We’ve been getting calls and letters, and since finances are so difficult right now, we’re eating and paying utility bills and mortgage, nothing else.
Last week we received a letter from Zwicker, they are suing me. Card is in my name. I’m a bit scared. My husband said they cannot do anything to me. We are 3 months behind on mortgage. We owe Amex $5000+. I did just cash out a stock so Amex doesn’t take it, and I’ll pay that towards the mortgage and that will bring us almost current.
Not sure what to do. How to prepare for this. Letter said to go to court on the 20th Monday after something. To me, that is unclear when to go. I have no idea what to bring with me. Paystubs to show them what I earn and why I can’t pay?
Do I need an attorney that I can’t afford?
Thank you,
Daliah
What do all of your unsecured debts add up to (not just AMEX)? How many months behind on all of them are you? Let’s start with worst case scenarios on how to handle Zwicker and work back from there.
Including Amex, we owe approx $45,000. It may be more, there are just too many bills. We are over 6 months behind. At least since February.
Read up about why it might be best to look into filing chapter 7 bankruptcy. You could wipe out the AMEX concern, and the other debts too, for under 2k and have a fresh start in 90 days.
Have you looked into it?
Yes. We have the paperwork. We’ve just been dragging our feet. We now have to just do it. It’s really that fast? I think the paperwork looked daunting.
Thank you
The court process is that fast. Filling out the forms just is what it is.
I simply refuse to do any future business with American Express. They are loansharks and take advantage of their clients bad situations. They have also been sued for misleading clients and lost. When I pay our debt off, I will never open an American Express account again and never buy any of their products, including travelers checks, which I always bought in the past. Visa travelers checks work just as well and are accepted by more banks overseas anyway.
Zwicker worked for over a year to collect an AMEX debt, but now I have a letter from a different company called ARSI American Recovery Services Inc. Did ARSI buy the debt from Zwicker? If so, what price did they pay? Should I call them?
American Express does not sell debt. ARSI is collecting for AMEX. If you want to settle you will have to work that out with the collector at the time you are trying to reach your goal.
So Zwicker never sued?
I have an outstanding balance with AmEX – 2 years old. I had a strange situation – AmEx closed an account for fraud reasons and yet still allowed charges to go through … for TWO YEARS!!!! I made numerous calls – to no avail. Consequently, my credit score has taken a hit – it is the only negative entry on there. I have debt collectors calling on an daily (hourly) basis.
My question(s) – if I pay the debt collector – will it have ANY effect on my credit score? Is there a difference in settling an amount or paying in full – in terms of my credit score?
After this long in collections there will be little difference in the benefit to your credit score from paying in full, or settling for less. Your credit is going to improve from the zero balance reporting that AMEX will update. You get there from paying the full balance, or less than that.
I am concerned about the fraud issue that AMEX ignored. Can you share more about that?
Hi Michael, I had 2 business and 1 personal credit card accounts with Amex. After I had an injury back in January, I couldn’t pay the business gold account in full. That was an account needs to be paid in full for each statement period. The balance was around $13K and within the last 6-7 months I brought it down to $7,300 and 2 weeks ago They canceled all 3 accounts and referred my business gold to GC Services for collections. Today I logged in to Amex website and I can still make smaller payments towards my Gold Account. What do you think is my best option in this case? Besides the Business Gold I have Simply Cash business with 4k and blue personal with 3k balance. I was making the minimum payments for The simply cash and blue until they were just canceled so they are not at the collections stage yet. Thank you for your help.
Can you afford to make payments on all of them moving forward? Now that the accounts are closed, it could make sense to consolidate all three accounts with AMEX. I can see how settling all three AMEX accounts could make sense for you too.
Fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column of this page and we can email each other to set up a time to talk on the phone. I will outline what both options will look like, and see which one makes the most sense given you financial ability and near term goals.
Thank you, I will fill the form and hope to get this resolved.
Been behind on two Amex accounts since Dec2015. One being about 1500 on my enrollement listing with NDR, other 5500 from a ‘July statement’ Back in Mar this year, they put my 1500 account to collections with Firstsource Advantage LLC, then later in May, they moved it to Zwicker. The 5500 is with Central Credit Services LLC
I’ve had been enrolled with NationalDebtRelief and by extension, Law Offices of Robert S. Gitmeid, PLLC (as Client Retainer for anything relating to Collection Action,) since I’ve been behind in Dec, Had enrolled two other accounts, non-Amex with them as well, one being paid off by settlement this month.
However, today just gotten a third party letter(Advertising Material by local Law Firm) stating to help with Bankruptcy because of a lawsuit filed against me by Amex, on the letter it has a case number and when I checked the District Court website, it has Amex with attorney of Zwick & associates, with a filing date of 4 days ago, the 16th, the letter dated from the 17th. Records list no Service/Process and aside from hearing date, my name and Amex, nothing else is listed. Currently waiting to hear back from NDR, but should I seriously consider go with more local options? Local being Northern Virginia area.
Settling with AMEX has become more of an intricate process than ever before. It is going to help to have outside assistance, but I would wait to see what it is that Gitmeid has to offer before connecting with another resource.
Post an update with what that is, and I can offer feedback about more productive alternatives.
I had a corporate card at my old firm and I just received a notice from a collections agency for $90.00 (the annual fee for the card) which is inaccurate because I haven’t used the card or been with the firm in 4 years. I have tried to dispute online and/or by written letter but can’t find any of the appropriate addresses. When I call they transfer me to the collections agency. $90.00 is nothing and I would pay in an instant but I am concerned that if I pay it will show up on my credit report as a legitimate collection even though it is incorrect.. Any advice?
File a debt collection complaint against American Express with the CFPB.
I have an AMEX business card that fell behind about 4-5 months and is with AMEX collections dept. The account was closed but they agreed to reinstate the account once it’s paid in full thru some program. I agreed to pay the balance in full in 3 payments over the next 14 days. I just noticed the account is now showing as collection on my credit. How do I get this deleted since I just made one of three payments due? Thank you for all your help!
You may not be able to get AMEX to delete that from your personal credit report. They will regularly report accounts opened in a business name after a few months of nonpayment. That is because it is an account with your personal guarantee. It is possible to get them to take it off, but I have seen that happen so few times it is not something I would get my hopes up on.
If it is the only negative item appearing on your credit, once you pay American Express in full, that fact will update to your credit reports and not hold you back much, if at all, right away. But that does depend on the rest of your credit profile.
Thank you for your response Michael. Are there any steps you suggest I take to try to get the deletion like threaten not to pay the balance in full?
If AMEX will not remove the late/collection item on my credit report, would you pay the balance in full or try to settle at a lower amount since the damage has been done on the credit report? I guess I am asking if it were you how would you handle the circumstance as the amount is a high balance over $80k. Besides this new negative item on my credit report, my credit history is flawless. Any guidance advice would be much appreciated. Thank you again
You do not have any real leverage to the the account pulled from your credit reports. And whether you settle for less, or pay in full, you will get the same credit report impact.
If it were me, and given the little I have to go on, I would settle for less and move on without AMEX in my life. I encourage you to call in for a consult so I can get more into the particulars of your situation before you go down the settlement path. You can reach me at 800-939-8357 ext 2, or fill in the Talk to Michael form in the right column of this page. I will then call and email to set up a time that works for both of us.
I have an old American express debt that had went to court in the past and had a judgment put on me back in 2011. Years later I received the actual papers from a law firm that was handling it and went on a payment plan to avoid garnishment of my wages. I paid most of the debt down to around $1,000 and asked to have my payments lowered because I was off work on maternity leave. The law firm would not work with me at all and actually sent a payment back that I had mailed in late. This was in 2014 and I haven’t heard anything else about it. Recently we got preapproved for a mortgage loan and are going through the process on purchasing a home. My lender later told me after we started the process that I needed to show proof of the judgment being settled. I called the law firm from before and they no longer are handling the case. So I called the original court that had filed the judgment years ago and they said they have no records of anything being paid or settled. The past week I have been on the phone with 20 different people from American Express recovery services trying to get this matter taken care of and paid. Nobody seems to be able to help and I keep getting different answers. I REALLY need to get this paid and something saying it was settled so we can move forward with our loan. The last person I talked to said I was able to pay over the phone and after that it would take 15-20 days to send papers to the courts and usually takes 6-8 weeks to get cleared. I asked if I could be provided with something saying it was paid or even in the process of being cleared and she said NO! What am I able to do in this situation?? The loan I am taking out is an FHA loan so I don’t think we can move forward unless something shows it has been settled.
Thanks!
To get FHA to approve your loan with a collection account, you often do have to wait until the satisfaction of judgement is filed with the court. There is not a lot of ways to speed that up. Most creditors and debt collectors wait 2 weeks after an account is paid to schedule the work to file with the court. And even the court could be a delay of several days.
It is a normal occurrence to have the bank or debt collector document the agreement to settle. If they refuse, and you still want to make progress, you could record the phone call (tell them you are and why) where they outline they are accepting X amount of dollars as payment in full for the judgment or debt.
If it were me, I may go through with it so I could get things rolling in the right direction. I would give my loan officer a copy of the recording, and proof from my bank account that the amount was taken. But you are still likely going to have some delays.
Hi Michael,
I have an Amex account that I stopped paying in 2008 when I broke my back in a motorcycle accident. I called them up an told them my doctor wasn’t sure when I would work again and is there some kind of program I can get into so I don’t fall behind on my payments? They informed they had no program to help me and there was nothing they could do. So in the end I couldn’t pay them off. In 2011 they filed a lien on my house in California. I wasn’t even living there at the time as I was taking care of mother back in Upstate NY when she was dealing with cancer. So I had no idea about the court case or the lien afterwards. Now I’d like to refinance my house and I discovered I have this lien to deal with. Any suggestions on a game plan for moi? (I don’t have much money to pay them now as I am unemployed and recovering from a recent back surgery)
Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
(thank you for doing this for everybody btw, you rock)
Andrei
The lien means they sued and got a judgment. If they sued and you did not know about it, that can present an opportunity to challenge the judgment.
Was there anyone staying at the house they might have served when you were away? Look at the court record and confirm how they say you were served. You are looking for discrepancies. Let me know what you find.
You can often settle judgment debts. Now is not a great time because you are not working, but that fact can play to your strengths when negotiating the best outcome too.
Let me know what you learn in the court record, and also what your ability is to raise half the judgment balance.
Hi Michael,
Thanks for replying so fast.
It says judgement was personally served or mailed to me at my house address.
I didn’t have anyone I know living at the house at the time and I was in upstate NY so they couldn’t have served me or anyone I know.
Half the amount would be tough.
Also, does length of delinquency play into negations with them? This was filed back in 2010.
What are my options?
Again, thanks for all your help, much appreciated.
Andrei
I would talk to an experienced debt collection defense attorney about your options to vacate the judgment. How old this is can play a part, or at least I know how it has in similar circumstances. It can be difficult to get an older judgment like this vacated. But being in New York can help because of well publicized issues with improper service dating back further than 2010.
I can send you a list of attorneys with the experience you need it you like?
If it comes to settling, what was the judgment amount?
Hi Michael,
That would be great if you could send me that list.
The judgement was for 22,000.
thanks again!
andrei
Hello Michael,
Your excellent commentary has prompted me to ask you a question regarding my situation.
I recently discovered that Amex sued me in September of 2014 for ~19K. I was never served and never knew of the lawsuit until 2016, when I saw that Amex won a judgment against me in my credit report.
Today, I am finally in a position to begin making payments to resolve my debt. However, I am not sure about the best way to approach the matter. I am afraid to phone Amex out of fear that my call may prompt it to seek and destroy my existing bank accounts via levies.
Do you think that I should attempt to have its judgement vacated before initiating settlement talks? I was told this would be a possibility given the company did not properly serve me.
Or, do you think it would be safe to let Amex know that I am genuinely interested in resolving the matter without amplifying the risk of a levy?
Any help that you can provide is greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
What state are you in? What is the name of the law firm that AMEX hired to sue? Have you looked in the court record to see what is recorded for when you were supposedly served? Is there an address listed that you did not live at the time, or any other discrepancy?
Your answers will impact my feedback.
Thank you for your prompt response.
-I live in Indiana
-Yes, I did change my address, and Amex was not aware (still isn’t).
-I have only seen a record that offers Amex as the plaintiff, so I am unaware of the law firm.
-I do not know how Amex claims to have served me, but it was unaware of my location at the time.
My biggest question is how often Amex searches for existing bank accounts. During the two years since its initial action, it did not make a single attempt to seize my account. My concern is that Amex will after I contact it.
I am happy to make significant payments for my entire balance, but am not in a position to pay the balance in one lump sum.
I would look into your options to vacate the judgment first. I will email you some attorneys in Indiana you can speak with about that. It will cost less, but I would only go down that path if you have a decent shot at succeeding.
If you want to settle with AMEX then I would encourage you to call me for a quick consult at 800-939-8357, ext 2, or fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column of this page so we can connect via email. AMEX may be the least straight forward creditor to do settlements with. And there are real concerns to poking a seeping bear and not being able to run fast enough. I will cover that with you on the phone.
The last time I paid on my AMEX was at least 8 years ago, when I got a divorce and signed up with a debt settlement company. Currently, the only debt listed with the settlement company is my AMEX account (all of my other accounts have been paid off). 8 years ago the balance was only about $1300. I’ve called the settlement company and they have been unable to get ahold of AMEX to settlement my debt. Meanwhile, I am paying out $340 a month for the settlement company to put into my settlement savings account.
This account is not listed on my credit report and I would like to have that extra $340/month to put toward a new car (unfortunately, it’s looking like I will need to invest in one). Here’s the question: If I end my dealings with the debt settlement company and have them send me a check for the amount in account, what should I do? Will AMEX suddenly come after me, guns blazing, asking for $1,000 more than what I owed initially? I wouldn’t mind trying to settle with them myself. But would that even be worth my while at this point?
I am not sure what all is happening with you. It sounds like a debt settlement company has had your AMEX account for 8 years and you have been paying monthly since then, but they have still not settled the AMEX account.
Who is the settlement company you are working with?
When did you enroll in the settlement program with them?
How long ago were all of your other debts resolved?
I can offer you better feedback if I know the answers to those questions.
Thank you for your response.
Yes. I have been with the settlement company since 2008. Although, it started out with one company who handed my account off to another company who then handed my account off to Settlement Services due to either going out of business or reorganization.
They have attempted to contact AMEX multiple times to settle my account, but have not received any response. I haven’t heard anything from AMEX myself since probably about 2009.
My last debt besides AMEX was resolved in early 2015.
I am pretty floored that you have been paying a settlement company that long and still not out of debt. What were their fees precisely?
If the AMEX debt is that old, it is likely passed the SOL to sue in court to collect, and is off your credit reports. It almost would not matter if you did not settle it.
Hello,
I am 24 years old and have a $2,400 3 year debt with AMEX in LA, California. I have previously received calls from collectors who have said that AMEX sold the debt to them and they offered settlements. But as of this year, i have received settlement offers with a AMEX letterhead( is it no longer sold to other collectors and back with AMEX). Today i called in and a payoff in FULL and a settlement for a lower percentage was offered to me. I didn’t not agree to any and said i would call back after i review my finances after receiving the numbers and timeline that they are looking for me to pay in.
Im very scared of being scammed and paying some random person. I also will say that I’m looking to buy a home within 1 year, max 2 years I’m in a stable income situation. i want to better my credit score as soon as possible. what are my best options?
Make sure you start your call by calling the main customer service number to AMEX that they publish on their website. Nothing random about that.
Settling and getting your credit report updated to show a paid collection (no matter if you pay in full or for less) will help you accomplish your home loan goal. Check out my post about rebuilding your credit to buy a home.
I received a summons for a debt to Amex this week. I need to file an answer. It is from zwicker & associates. I am unemployed. Should I obtain a lawyer or should I call Zwicker myself?
What is your goal? The answer to that will help me offer better feedback about dealing with Zwicker and Associates.
My goal is to settle with them out of court if possible. Debt $34K Florida
Do you have an attorney to recommend?
Assume you are going to need half the balance -in order to settle. How long will it take to pull together 17k? The longer you need, the more strategic the approach you take with Zwicker. Give me a call for a quick consult and I can provide an outline of what the next few months will look like, and if needed, refer you to an attorney. You can reach me at 800-939-8357 ext 2, or fill in the “Talk to Michael” form in the right column on this page. Those all come direct to me.
A debt collector for Amer Express is offering to cut my balance by half. How will that be listed on my credit report and will it affect my taxes somehow. Is this a smart move to take or not.
Settling an Amex account – once it reaches the collection agency you are dealing with – is typically the right thing to do.
You often cannot deal with AMEX at this point, but the collector.
You cannot undo the credit damage, but by getting the account to show paid and zero balance owed. It does not matter if you pay less, in full, or 10 times what you owe. The update to credit, and its impact, is the same. Because of this, I am a big fan of settling for the best savings.
If you don’t settle the AMEX debt now, you do run the risk of being sued. Amex is heavy on the litigation button at this time.
There are tax implications to settling debt for less. Whether or not you will owe tax is not always a simple thing to figure out. Check out this article about tax on cancelled debt for more about how this could impact you. At the end of the day, settling and preventing a lawsuit, saving money over all, even if you are taxed in your bracket, is worth it.
Hi,
I had an AMEX Gold account that I got behind on in early 2014 for 18K, approx 10K due now and 8K in an extended pay option. In July 2014, I started a 12 month payment play for $1,100 t pay off the due now portion. Completed, all payments on time. Now my balance is about $4,500 and the minimum payment is $50/month.
My issue is that AMEX is reporting this account as in collections/charge off, which it’s not; not reporting the monthly payment amount to the bureaus, and not reporting as paid as agreed. I can understand why, during the 15 months when the account had a past due balance, that they didn’t, but for the last year (since the payment plan has been completed), the account is current and being paid as agreed. I’ve written them about this and they say the account is accurate.
Is this normal? What can I do? I’m now showing a currently delinquent account on my reports that isn’t delinquent.
Is the delinquency showing up as 30 day late payments for last month, and the months before that, or is American Express showing as delinquent back for parts of 2014 and 2015?
I can read your comment to say both.
If the former, call American Express and ask what you need to do to bring your account fully current. Let me know what they say.
If the latter, that is normal unless you get AMEX to agree to reage your account.
Hi,
I have an AMEX card that was close early last year and sent to United Recovery Systems sometime late summer early fall. To back up the previous year I had maxed it out and paid it in full with one payment and then proceeded to max out again. They had offered $3,000 settlement at the time but I didn’t have it. I set up a payment plan. And just recently broke it. I am calling them at the end of the month to settle the debt. I have paid $710 in payments but yet the balance went from $4500 to $4700 rather than down at all. I talked to someone who is helping me repair my credit and they said start low at 35% and take no more than 50-60%. I have 2 questions. Since they offered 3,000 initially would I have a chance now at a lower amount since I have the money to settle and didn’t before? And can I factor in the payments of $710? i.e. 4,500 * 35% = $1575 – $710 = $865 Also, have you had any interactions with this company?
I am familiar with negotiating and settling with URS.
You will be negotiating anew because of the missed payments. None of the prior math will apply, but the collector at United Recovery Systems will see you as sincere given the prior payments you made.
You may be able to get them to 35%, as that is often the floor with American Express accounts that are out with non attorney contingency collection agencies. And if you are prepared to go to 50% I like your chances. But be ready for them to see you differently if things have improved for you financially.
They would not go lower than 65%. I offered 35% of the balance they say I owe with all the fees and interest they have added and they rejected it and used their tactics. I tried and tried and made an arrangement to settle at 65% this Thursday. I am guessing there is no room to negatiate at this point to get 35% -50% right? I wish I would have come back and checked before I settled.
If you locked in the arrangement they will be loathe to change it at this point. And with AMEX accounts, you really want to get things handled. If the deal goes south again be sure to call in for some help before negotiating again.
They were supposed to take out of account July 1st and they didn’t that was to settle account.. And the settlement letter said it was to be settled on July 1st to completed or fulfill settlement. They didn’t complete their part. I will call in to your number.
Hi Michael,
I have 2 AmEx accounts turned over to Michael & Associates for $11k and I had been out of work for a long period with no income and the AmEx accounts about 5 months delinquent. I recently secured a new management job in 2/2016 and at that time made an agreement with Michael & Ass. to the full amount over 6 months. Unfortunately, I was let go by my new company last month and had only paid M&A $6.5k of the agreed amount and since broken the original agreement. I didn’t contact M&A and they have called 3 times and left messages. I have another $10k to also pay with 4 other creditor collectors, but M&A had the only “lawyer” and notarized agreement which has me worried the most. I would ask your opinion as I have paid 60% of the original debt if it would be worth my effort to send a certified letter asking to settle with the $6.5k and ask for confirmation of the settlement in writing? In my research and your very informative site, 60% is more than reasonable and even AmEx might accept that? I’m almost completely judgement proof given Nevada’s friendly debtor exemptions and I have no confidence finding employment soon.
Thanks for your most excellent debt advise site!
You have no shot at revising history. If you had no deal to settle for the 6500 prior, you cannot succeed with a good will request to have that count as such now.
You could likely settle the remainder with Michael and Associates for 50 to 60 percent though.
Thank You Michael for the quick reply!
I originally agreed to the whole 11k without any negotiation which at this point in time has turned out to be an unfortunate move–I always had paid what I owed to this point and with a decent income agreed to the 6 month deal. Sounds like back to square one and unfortunately no income to negotiate with and my other creditors starting to call after missing last month’s payments.
Appreciate your help and honest response!
Fill in the talk to Michael form in the right column if you want to setup a time to talk with me next week. I can help you sketch a plan out that you can implement when you are ready to later, after you are back to work.
I was enrolled in Freedom Debt Relief since August 2015. Due to my good standing with them, I was approved for a Consolidation Plus loan, in which they have offered to settle all of my credit cards up front now and I would pay off the loan versus a debt relief program. I have been working with Consolidation Plus since March and they have settled almost all of my credit card debt, with the exception of my American Express account. This past week I was sued by Zwicker and Associates and I have until about Friday to answer the summons. I do not have legal representation with Consolidation Plus or Freedom. I was told to Answer and then they would continue to work on settling the account, but they did not/cannot tell me how to Answer. I do want to Answer because I do not want them to win automatically before settlement happens, but I’m not sure what advice you can offer me in terms of how I should answer or what happens if I don’t or what my best next steps are.
How much is Zwicker suing for? What state are you in?
They are suing for the full amount of the credit card statement, which is about $9k and I’m in Florida.
I highly recommend working with an attorney who has debt collection defense experience once sued. Your strategy is the right one, to settle the debt and maximize your savings, and filing the answer will help you reach your goal.
I can send you an email with contact details to an attorney with the experience you need if you like?
No that’s okay. I believe this is covered through my benefits at work. I just wasn’t sure if I needed to go the route of legal representation since Consolidation Plus is working on settling the debt already. It’s just taking longer than anticipated.
Thanks for your help.
How do I know these debt collectors are legit? I was just speaking to one of them because I received a letter to pay 40% of the balance owed. However, I told them the payment would be available next Wednesday. They kept asking about paying now and they would reduce it to $2200. I explained that I had to transfer funds from one bank to the other and he just kept going on and on. Then when I got him to shut-up and listen, he now tells me to send it to a different address other than whats on the return coupon. I tried calling Amex and they said that they could not confirm the address because it was not a current account.
Who is the debt collection agency you are dealing with?
When is the last time you paid American Express on this account?
They said they are with the Collection dept. of Amex and the last time I paid was probably Jan of 2015.
Sounds sketchy to me. When was the last time you made a payment to American Express?
January 2015
Hi Michael,
Found your site through Google and the help you are giving everyone is amazing. I have a question of my own concerning Zwicker and Amex if you don’t mind? I spoke with Zwicker today and it appears that my soon to be ex-husband ran up 7k worth of charges before he left. They have filed suit against me as of April 27th. Now it appears the Amex bills I didn’t get because aforementioned soon to be ex-husband was hiding them but if it wasn’t for a phone call I wouldn’t have known about Zwicker. I have never received anything in writing and I have never received a summons from the court. I would have communicated with them if I had. But honestly I didn’t make these charges and I am completely on workers comp at this point unfortunately. Not sure what to do here. Any advice would be appreciated.
Was this an account you opened or is it something the ex opened without you knowing?
If you were to need to settle with Zwicker and Associates how soon would you be able to raise half the amount owed?
Hello,
I did a Google search, and found your article. Perhaps you have an idea of what I should do.
My elderly mother in law has been receiving around 3 automated calls per day on her phone from American Express looking for someone who does not live there. She has tried to tell them that, but she doesn’t understand it’s just a recording. And frankly, I think she’s intimidated by the whole situation.
So, I thought I’d try to help, and have called American Express several times to tell them that the person they are calling is not who they are looking for, Every time they have assured me that her number is going to be taken off of the call list, but the calls have not stopped. It’s been going on for about a month now, maybe longer.
I do not know how they even got her number. She lives alone, and has never to my knowledge even had an American Express card.
What else do you think should I try to do in order to stop their harassment of a 93 year old woman.
What state does your mother in law live in? I will email you some resources you can connect with.
I have a American express judgement on a credit card that was on a corporation business. How it is possible that they put a judgement on my name and not the company? That corporation has been close for many years.I am l;looking to settle with them now. Should I try to do it by myself or get a lawyer?
Business credit with American Express will usually require a personal guarantee. That is why they chase the person and not the business.
Give me a call on Monday Grettel. I can go over some strategies you can pursue.
Hello Michael
What does “highly collectable” mean and why is it bad? Can AMEX take money from your bank account without notice as was said in a previous post? Is that even legal? Very scary..
I have many questions regarding my current situation with AMEX: may I call you tomorrow (Weds 3/23)
what time zone are you in
Highly collectable is meant to describe someone who appears to a debt collector to be able to pay all or most of the debt back. Debt collectors have real time access to your credit reports. You are more, or highly collectable, when you are keeping things like a mortgage, car loan, student loans, and a few other credit cards current.
When you appear that way to a debt collector it is harder to target a better settlement outcome.
AMEX would need a court judgment to levy a bank account.
I am in Sandpoint Idaho, and on pacific time. You can reach me most days after 8 am at 800-939-8357, option 2. Because I am on the phone a lot, we could end up playing phone tag. It is often best to exchange emails in order to set up a time that works for both of us. My email address is the same one you get comment notifications from. If you are not subscribed send to michael at consumerrecoverynetwork dot com.
Crystal – I encourage you to watch this video I just put up: https://youtu.be/RwttPuchUPs
It is about settling with a large debt collection agency, but I highlight the basics of what makes someone look more collectable than another.
Hello,
I have a business account that is an American Express Blue. The business is no longer active and closed several years ago. I have continued to make payments on the account until last year when I became disabled. In Jan 2016 I borrowed money and paid the delinquent payments of $1,766.88 on the balance of $14, 567.69. I received a letter the same month that they were calling in the full balance to be paid immediately. I explained to the collector that I didn’t have any money but that I was getting a refund and could see what I could do…. On initial estimate I had about $3800 I could pay on the new balance of $13,121.98. The collector was very pushy even though I told him I couldn’t file yet because a form was not released yet. He then told me that that was not enough to settle and that they would just keep collecting from me. This was on 2/10/16. Since then I was able to file my return and get the actual amount and can pay a little more. Today I got a call from the Internal Sr collector and could not return the call because I was at the hospital. (Last week I had a minor stroke) While I was at the hospital he was calling my children and my niece and not sure who else as those are just the people that let me know. I called him back furious when he knew he had a good working number and shouldn’t of been calling kids. He is now willing to accept the amount I offered before as a down pmt when he wouldn’t the last call. He says they will accept $7,873.18 for settlement but I still don’t have that much but could probably do $6,000. I do not want this collector to benefit from my payment after what he did today. (I also called you and left a message)
I got your voice mail and left you one a moment ago. Give me a call back to go over the details of your situation. I would like to see you get a better settlement deal given the circumstances.
My husband and I had to stop paying on 3 of our credit cards. We were working with a law firm that deals with credit card debt. They were able to get one credit card debt taken away. However, no one tells you up front that any amount they “forgive” will have to be claimed on taxes. That is a whole other story. After 14 months of non-payment and being represented by my lawyers Amex sent us to Zwicker and I was served a summons. My lawyers handled all of the paper work and answered the summons. We even sent a settlement offer. We owe $10,500 and we offered to settle for $3000 with monthly payments for 3 years. They didn’t respond. I finally called them (Zwicker) and was told that they didn’t work with debt management companies. I thought this was funny since they are a DEBT COLLECTION company but they didn’t share my sense of humor. They made me take back the power of attorney before they would talk to me. Now they are “willing” to settle for a lump sum of $6302. I have 10 days to get the money or we keep moving forward with the court. I can borrow the money but I want assurances from them that we are not going to court and that this is over. If I have to go to court anyway I am considering not taking the offer and just taking my chances with the court. I want to get something in writing saying that it is over. Is that wise?
Zwicker and Associated regularly sends a written outline of any settlement you agree to. That written agreement will have a “paid by” date. As long as you have that and the proof from your bank account that you paid, you have what you need. If you are cutting it too close I would show up in court anyway (even if I already paid the agreement), because I would want to make sure the local attorney got the memo about the case being settled out of court (I have seen mix ups happen).
It is not Zwicker and Associates that refuses to work with third parties. That is a condition of American Express. It is a silly thing to do and could come back to bite AMEX later. But one thing about that policy is that it does not apply if you are being represented by your own attorney in the case. Are you saying that Zwicker required you to get rid of your attorney?
After reviewing the professional advice from all the former postings I thought to contact Mike to see what I could do about my situation.
In a nutshell I became totally disabled a few years back and lost my business’s due issues of my military past sneaking in on me. I was able to pay off all my outstanding debts except my American Express card with my VA and SDI back pay benefits. Almost 40K.
I had one card left with 7200 on it and that eventually became 9400 with late fees and 20 something percent interest.
This was an important time to have had mike give me some tips on how to handle this before I was put into collections. But my state of mind put paying my bills on time at .001 on a scale of 1 to 100. But for many of you you may avoid going from, an 800 credit rating to a 493.
OK back to where I am now… I have had several back and forths with collectors and finally came to a settlement amount of 3100 of the 9400 – that’s a great deal – so I sent in 400 to anchor my deal and not lose this window of urgency. ( I look back and now see how stupid I was) The letter that promised the deal never arrived until the supposed window closed, and then they claimed that I had waited too long and the deal was off the table.
I could tell you what this kind of deceit did to my mental status but we’ve all been there. Injustice is one of my biggest issues.
So here I am 1 year later with the same steps occurring. I am in a tight window of opportunity to send in the money now before this door shuts. We sent you a letter in the mail, (November 4th) its probably in the mail pay us now! Pay it now, before we have to turn it over to a collection agency.
I am doing well enough again to care about my credit and we have enough in taxes coming back to settle for the amount agreed to.
Tips given …note everything; record conversations if possible (nice free aps for Iphone and droids); verbal confirmations of recorded information including all the details is good as written doc….
Other personally helpful information as well, but probably not publicly pertinent.
Its February 12th I will update you more as this progresses.
Krazy Kev
Thanks for posting what you have going on after our phone conversation. I look forward to your updates and your putting this last debt behind you.
HI Michael,
I have a 32K balance with AMEX that is past due from medical issues. I called the collection agency (Zwicker for the first time yesterday) and they said the minimum terms they would accept would be a 24 month payment plan and I would have to agree to a judgement as they were about to take me to court. I had not seen anything about a court date…. Voila, later in the afternoon, I drove up to see a police car in my driveway…I did not stop.
We can BARELY scrape up the amount (1350 per month) to agree to the payment terms. The first demanded payment of 2700, but would agree to half of that.
Live in Georgia and afraid of what they might do in court.
Thank you for this wonderful website and anything you can do to offer guidance.
Your options in this situation are limited. Call me and I will go over all of the different ways you can resolve this with Zwicker. You can sometimes buy yourself more time to raise money to settle, or get a reduction with terms. Doing so is very situational, so I will have many questions for you. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, option 2 rings me. You can also reach me at the same email address you get comment notifications from (if you subscribed to them).
Hi Michael –
I know this is an older post, but I was hoping you might still respond. I lost my job in 2014 and racked up a large balance with Amex, but couldn’t make the payments since I had no income for a good number of months. I received legal paperwork and believe that a judgement was issued in their favor, but since I had closed my bank accounts linked to the card payments and my card was in my married name (I had restored my maiden name by this time) they haven’t been able to get any money from me. Since I received the legal paperwork, I’ve heard nothing from them. I want to settle the account (hopefully for less than 100% of the $10,500 I owe them) but don’t know exactly how to go about it. Also, I don’t have a lump sum for them – would that make a settlement less likely if I had to make monthly payments? I could probably pay it off within 12 months if it was settled for half. Thanks for your time!
If it were me I would wait until I have roughly 50% available in order to fund a onetime lump sum settlement. If a collector manages to track you down, or you see a collection inquiry on your credit reports, it may be a good time to reach out to settle for the best deal that still has a monthly payment element to it. Until then, I would save up money aggressively.
My post just disappeared for some reason. I am wondering your thoughts on paying 100% lump sum to settle with AmEx when it’s in collections (Zwicker). Is there any benefit to my credit report in paying 100% vs. 75% for instance? If I settle for 75% do I need to ask them to report it in a specific way or is it the same “paid” designation whether it’s 75% or 100%?
I just responded to your prior comment. Anyone posting for the first time gets stuck in moderation. Now that you have had one post approved, the rest go live immediately.
It is often better to settle for as low as you can and save money. A resolved collection account is what you want and need. Your credit bounces back whether you pay them twice what you owe, or half of the balance. But there can be a difference if you are only a couple of months late.
Thanks Michael. I last paid in June 2015. My spouse was laid off, and we just couldn’t keep up. Zwicker filed suit last week. I have money coming in at the end of this month and can pay either the whole thing – or bargain it down. Sounds like I should try to get it settled for as little as they would accept, correct?
Yes, that is what I would do. I just put a video up about what is largely the same situation… settling charged off debt is as good as paying in full, and better than making payments. Give that a look.
If you need help dealing with Zwicker let me know.
Thanks for your help! Zwicker is requesting a signed financial statement in order to evaluate my settlement offer. What are your thoughts on providing that information?
I am all for sharing information if it substantiates that you are too broke to afford to pay them. I am full on against sharing any details that show them you are a bigger collection target.
Call me for a consult if you like. I can go over the details you would share with Zwicker and offer you better feedback about sending the information in or not.
Michael – I just want to be sure I understand this piece. My debt was delinquent by 6 months when it went to Zwicker. Zwicker has agreed to take less than the full amount due – but says they can’t do anything with the credit report at all – that I have to deal with Am Ex on that. If I understood your video, it sounds like it really makes no difference trying to come to an agreement relating to reporting, as long as it is settled? In other words, it will be reported as Paid or Settled – and either way that is the same (after this long a delinquency?)
Correct. American Express is required to update your credit reports with that new information, and they are pretty good about it.
Is there a “better” designation – “paid” or “settled” – and do I have any realistic control over that?
You have no control or influence over how AMEX will update their entry on your credit reports (other than the fact you are resolving the debt to show there is zero balance owed). As Zwicker mentioned, and the same thing applies to any collection agency or collection law firm working on AMEX accounts, they cannot control or influence AMEX credit reporting either.
After roughly 90 days of non payment, unless you were to bring your AMEX account current by paying all of what was owed up to that point (including fees and increased interest), getting the account settled and showing paid or settled is roughly the same thing. Once your account is charged off you cannot bring it current. Because AMEX can and does charge off accounts quicker than most other credit card banks, once your account is sent to an agency, you are often better off settling.
A limited exception to this (not for you this far along, but for other readers) can be enrolling in a debt management plan with a credit counseling agency. You can call my hot line 800-939-8357, and press 1 to connect live with a certified counselor and find out if you qualify.
Thanks Michael, You have been a tremendous help – and are a terrific resource for people in a very tough spot. I sincerely appreciate what you do!
Is there any reason (credit benefit) to pay 100% on an AmEx collection? Mine is in collection through Zwicker. Approximately $20,000. I an likely pay 100% within 30 days – but if the result is the same to my credit report, I’d obviously rather pay less. Thanks for your thoughts.
It can depend on how long it has been since you fell behind with payments. When did you last send a payment to AMEX?
Hi Michael:
I owe $20k on my AMEX. I stopped paying on it in Oct 2015. I was served with a court summons 2 weeks ago from Michael & Associates. I have called twice to see what my options are and if I can make payments. They have only offered a few options, all of which are one I can’t afford. (e.g., 24 months at 0%). As of today, a family member will loan me 10k. My husband wants me to call and tell the debt attorney that we will pay 50% as a settlement or we’ll just file bankruptcy. From what I’ve read, this is not a good idea. Do you think I can get the debt attorney to settle at all? If think we actually considered a bankruptcy we would not qualify for Chapter 7. I live in California. Thanks.
You would likely benefit more by working with a professional on this one Julie. Call me for a quick consult about this tomorrow at 800-939-8357, option 2 rings to me.
I have a $15,000 balance with Amex on a business account, but it is under my name. The account was with Company A, whose owner sold the company to Company B in March 2015. At the time of the sale, the accountant for Company A told us not to pay the last invoice, as it was to be assumed by Company B under the terms of the sale.
Once the sale of the Company A was finalized, Company B terminated my employment. I cancelled the card so that no more charges would go through. Company B never paid the invoice.
It’s now ten months later, and I haven’t heard anything from Amex since March. I just noticed that my credit score dropped 120 points last week because Amex reported the account as an uncollectable chargeoff.
In speaking with the old owner of Company A, he contacted his attorney, who informed him that the accountant was wrong, and that the balance was actually the responsibility of Company A. Company A is willing to pay the account in full.
How can I get Amex to remove the item from my credit? They say that there is nothing I can do, and that it will be reported as a paid collection account, which will not get me my 120 points back.
Help!
If it were me I would get the payoff completed and then work on getting AMEX to remove the collection form your credit reports through good will letters to the executive team. Calling in to talk to an AMEX customer service rep is not likely to get you anywhere. The good will effort may not lead to anything productive either, but you have a shot.
Let me know what happens along the way and I can offer more feedback.
I’m in Texas and AMEX platinum card with one additional cardholder who racked up the debt. I always paid my card in full monthly so I look collectible well without looking at my lone 2 LLC business credit cards maxed out at 15000 chase and over maxed at boa at 12500 (10000limit). Debt at $46,500 now (1/11/16) and increasing $550/mo interest charge plus $37/mo late fee. Charging abilities suspended. I no longer use card anyway and finally suspended additional card holder last month. Have missed 2 months min payments now as of 1/11/16.
Debt not accumulated by me but I am on hook for. Additional card holder has no cash and no savings. I am still working full time. Realistically it is all on me and I want to get this off of me for as little as possible. In terms of cash flow I have other debts lines of credit that I am meeting but total about $200,000. I have read a bit on net and seems like AMEX is worst opponent to go up against and they likely use Zwicker to sue. I have not been sued yet. I have tried a couple of calls to AMEX but they say they do not settle. I know of a hardship program they have for 1 year maybe $1,000/mo at 9% it rate but it hurts my credit and still won’t settle the debt it will only cut $12,000 so down to $33,500 well higher with int and would not be settled. Can I settle now that I am over 60 days late? What do you recommend at this point?
Yes I can come up with 50-60% but only if I pull 401k money but 10% penalty to do so and then there’s the 1099c so say 25% of the 40-50% saved means an additional 10-12% so real cost is now 50-60% + 10% + 10-12% = 72-80% ouch maybe I can’t do it.
If you do not have the cash flow to meet the minimum payment with AMEX (and you haven’t for 2 months), unless your situation changes, or AMEX follows through on the temporary hardship payments, the decision is being made for you.
You are a target for litigation, but that does not mean that will happen first. The debt collector who gets the account will nearly always have an opportunity to settle with you, and sometimes for less than 50% (this can include collection law firms too).
I would encourage you to call in for a consult at 800-939-8357, option 2 rings to me. It might be worthwhile to press option 1 and connect with a non profit counselor about whether or not your AMEX account, and perhaps others, can be consolidated into lower payments, and for the life of the balance rather than the short repayment plan AMEX is offering you now (AMEX will offer the nonprofits better plans).
Hi Michael,
I have unpaid debt from two accounts $15,780. I tried negotiating them down but they only would settle for 9,550. Which is an amount I don’t have. I only have 50% of that. When I called back I was informed they now filed a law suit from one of the accounts for 12,870 and can no longer locate the second account. I’ve since then received a copy of the filing receipt in the mail the AMEX law firm send me but nothing else. I haven’t been served, I have no court date..nothing. I looked up the court filing date with the city clerk and it’s real. However, there is no proof of being served. (because I haven’t been served yet) They are willing the settle for 9,100 now but only for the one account. I’m hesitant to make any commitments without locating and agreeing for a settlement for both accounts. Nor am I actually able to settle for that amount at this time. Will they go lower the closer we get to the court date?
When you have multiple accounts AMEX will frequently send them out to different collection agencies, as opposed to sending all of your accounts to the same collector. I would not wait to find out where the other one lands before dealing with the more pressing account with the collection attorney.
Who is the law firm suing?
Can you manage the settlement if it were split into 12 months?
How long would it take you to raise 50% in a lump sum?
I am still in the third party collections stage, I lost my job and fell far behind on all my bills, I am back to work, but still playing catch up. I had asked Amex months ago to cancel my card, I haven’t used it in over a year. Due to the fact they didn’t cancel it then and it keeps having interest added on my bill is now over $20,000. I had received a letter at the beginning of Dec. saying my card had finally been cancelled. Of course the interest is still being added on, I have been with them for 20 years, and this is the first time I have ever been late. Now I’m being told that I have to pay a certain amount by March 15th or my count will go to a lawyers office for further collections. The amount they want me to pay will be a stretch, and they will only do it if they have it directly withdrawn from my account. I am not comfortable with that at all. I have dealt with lawyer offices for collections on some other bills and they have never asked to directly withdraw from my account. Please advise on this. I have told them I was more than willing to make payments but they want double of what I can afford, I don’t know what to do.
Give me a call to discuss your options with AMEX from here Vee. I want to dig a bit deeper into other accounts you may be paying, and see how you may fit into a long term settlement plan with any debt collector AMEX sends your account to. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, option 2. You can also email me at the same address you get these comment notifications from.
Hi, Michael,
I just learned that my AMEX card bill was not kept paid by my spouse since September (I was out of the country for work and let her handle the bill paying), and it apparently went to collections on December 24 (GC Services). The amount at AMEX is $15,091. I haven’t yet gotten contacted.
What would be the best move at this point? I would be unable to make much of a lump sum payment, but could swing a decent sized payment plan; it’s less that I was unable to keep up with the original payments, but that they simply weren’t made in my absence.
Can you pay off your balance in a 12 month period?
Hi,
I recently payed my Amex collection debt through GC services. It was around 13000$. I payed it in 3 months after I found out that I have collection. Had work injury, couldn’t work.
My question is: how I can remove collection from credit report. Called Amex, called GC and nobody is helping.
Thank you
You cannot typically get a paid collection account like this with American Express removed from your credit reports. If GC Services is showing on your credit reports (which is not common given the details of your situation), you might get lucky with them, but they have zero influence over how AMEX reports.
Once you pay a collection account it should update to show the account is resolved. After that, your credit will bounce back… sometimes quickly, sometimes slower, depending on the rest of your credit reports.
Why does Amex give different information to credit reports? I don’t care as the statue of limitations of 6 years has run out. My Optima Card of 20 thousand is not on the Experian or TransUnion at all! I stopped paying on that in november 09. The Platinum Card is last reported okay 10/09 and to be off the Transunion report 7/16. Same card Experian: no data on everything back to september 09 and charge off August 09, totally blank before august 09. To be removed from report 2/16! Can’t wait to see what they told Equifax.
Hi! My husband committed suicide 6 months ago, I’m left with $23k to AmEX & cannot pay, I have a mortgage to keep up & two children. Centurian filed a lawsuit. I am going to submit a pro se letter for extension…to file bankruptcy – credit already shot. Any thoughts? Again, no hope of paying debts. Anything in particular that I should know or consider?
Thx
If you are going to file chapter 7 bankruptcy there is little else to explore. The bankruptcy will wipe out the AMEX debt and stop the collection lawsuit from progressing in the court.
If you learn you cannot qualify for chapter 7, or choose not to file for some reason, post an update and lets go from there.
I had 2 Amex accounts that have been delinquent and charged off almost 6 years ago. Amex centurion bank just garnished my wages. I want to settle with them but worry that it will trigger the other MUCH larger Amex account to come after me as well. I never received notice in the last 5 years of legal garnishment or intent to sue from them they just did it. Shouldn’t I be past the statute of limitations? Do the different Amex cards (Gold and Blue cards) operate separately from each other? Why is one suing and the other is not? TX and NV statues of limitations is 4 years but I read that AMEX is 6 years. This month should be 6 years since last payment was Nov 2009. I need answers I cannot find online. Help!
I have more questions than answers Lisa. You can call me to cover all of my questions (and yours) at 800-939-8357, option 2 rings to my desk. Calls are no charge.
Hi,
I had an Amex Business Platinum Charge card that due to various business issues, I owe about 38k. I have been unable to make payments and now my personal credit is in the tank since they clsd the account. Not sure what my options might be. Just rcvd a letter regarding account going to collections. What would be the best approach? Have you ever heard of a negative account being removed from ones personal credit for a business account that has account resolution?
Thanks for you help.
Once resolved I do not see the paid collection from AMEX being deleted by a mutual agreement. It is normal to resolve the account and have that fact updated to the credit report, and your credit to bounce back relatively quickly.
What personal financing goals do you have in the next 1 to 2 years?
The credit reporting is one concern, while being sued personally is another. Give me a call if you would like to go over options that fit your finances and goals from here. I am at 800-939-8357, option 2.
Hi,
I currently have about $11K in CC debt with Amex, I was informed by my mother that there was an attempt to serve me papers this morning. I’m assuming for a court case Vs Amex, I currently reside in another state
Who do I contact to find out the agency suing me and how to make a settlement offer?
Thanks,
You can call AMEX directly and ask who they sent your account to. Once you know the answer to that post an update and lets go from there.
I have a balance on my green amex corp card for over two years now,($4000) I file bankruptcy last year and it was discharge, I included amex, however it does not appear on my credit report, what are the chances they will work with me in settling the account?
Thank you
Why do you want to settle a discharged American Express account?
Did you mean that the AMEX account is still showing up on your credit reports and that is your goal… to remove it?
Hi Mr. Bovee, I hope you had a wonderful Happy Thanksgiving!
In 2014 I was unemployed nine months. During that time I was contacted by a debt collection agency in Florida (Gatestone 1-866-251-2396) for an American Express account turned them to collect a debt from me of $14,000. They wanted all the money immediately upfront-I told them I could not pay them all up front. Then they asked if I could pay $2800. up front and told me to borrow the amount if I had to (phone conversation). After paying that amount through withdrawal of my checking account , I then agreed to pay them $800 a month once I started work. After the second month it was difficult and they allowed me to renegotiate to $400.00 per month until November of this year 2015. (I calculated I have paid them over $7800.00 since that time.) Here I am expecting now in November to have received a letter stating that I paid to the agreed amount, but now they are calling me everyday, to request another term, when over the phone last year, they stated if I paid to November 2015, my debt would be cleared. What do I do?? Thank you very much for your time and consideration Michael.
Do you have any of the agreement you made in writing?
Do you have the approximate date, time, name and number or extension of the Gatestone debt collector you spoke with when setting up the payment agreement on your AMEX account? Could you piece that together from phone records?
Have you maintained the same phone number since those conversations with the debt collector?
Good Morning,
My account with AMEX was recently charged off in July. Since an AMEX debt representative has contacted me in September, I have been working with him to pay off my debt. I stated at 2400 and my current balance is now 1700. He is forcing me to pay $400 a month and I just cannot seem to swing that. If I had the money to pay it, I would have paid it earlier and not be in the situation now. He is now saying that the 1700 needs to be paid off by the beginning of January. I won’t be able to do this with my tuition, rent, groceries and everything else! What can I do to extend the time period and pay less every month? Is that an option in this situation?
A debt collector for American Express cannot force you to pay anything. AMEX would need to have a court judgment before any force of law would be available to the debt collector.
You can often set up payments that go 6 and 12 months in these situations. What is the name of the AMEX collection agency? Things can vary from one collector to the next.
The debt collector is from American Express services. He works for Amex. I assume he’s saying that if it is not payed off by January, it will be transferred to an outside debt collector?
He doesn’t give me many options when I call and speak to him. I can’t pay as much as he’s asking me to. Should I call a different representative and see what they can do? I’m just not sure what my options are at this point
Prior to being unemployed last year for a few months, I always payed my bill. I continues to pay while unemployed, but didn’t reach the minimum and it kept adding up. So although I continued to pay, I didn’t pay enough and they closed my account without warning.
Hi,
My American Express credit card account is closed but there is a balance. I’ve been paying off the minimum each month for over 9 months online to American Express. But Jaffe & Asher keep calling me at work and saying I haven’t made a payment yet even though due date is not up. I’ve told them not to call me at work 4 times now and said they are forbidden but they don’t listen at all. Still calling and harassing me.
How do I stop them calling me at work? They seem amused every time I say they are forbidden to call me at work,
What is the name of a large city near you? I can send you contact details to one or more consumer law attorneys that offer a no cost initial consult so you can look at your options.
You can also call me to talk over some options at 800-939-8357, option 2 rings to me.
I owe AMEX ~$4000 and it has been written off and gone to collections. I am in a position to pay the debt in full at this time and want to negotiate the removal of the negative information on my credit report. Is this probable and if so how should I approach this. I have had no communication with AMEX.
I would say you have no chance of a pay for delete with AMEX. You can pay or settle your AMEX account for less and have that fact updated to show a zero balance and a paid collection on your credit reports. That is what you need at this point.
Are there any other unresolved collections on your credit besides AMEX?
Michael,
i have recently paid off two debts to ARSI (amex ca agency) and they were both for different cards. I paid these debts entirely in full. They acknowledge full balances of both cards are cleared. My question is: will I be liable for any 1099-c interest for these two card balances, or NOT since I paid them in full and didn’t settle at all?
Thanks
The taxable event when settling debt is when there is $600 or more forgiven or canceled in the process. If you do not meet that description I cannot see how you would be taxed.
Did you get the agreements to pay the accounts from ARSI in writing? Did AMEX or ARSI send you any correspondence after you paid them?
Yes, so what happened was I paid them off and then they sent me a correspondence (from Amex) stating that upon successful payment they would be sending me an application of Amex optima which I did receive and then send back, but as I mean the only confirmation I have is speaking to the agencies and agreeing to pay. Then calling Amex DIRECTLY and confirming both accounts were zero’d
Sounds like you are good to go. I would check your credit reports and make sure your AMEX accounts have been updated to reflect their paid status. Let me know if you find anything that should not be there now that you paid ARSI.
Great,
will check my report, is there a “best” way to check your report ongoingly. I already used my free annual credit report and unfortunately, I read over all 3 instead of just reading one and using the others every 4 months. Which I guess could be a reminder to your readers, if you approve of that, I’ve heard its best to just read one of the 3, then space out the others so that you can get a free report every 4 months.
That said, do you recommend any BEST pay site or paid tool to check on it, I feel like credit karma is crap and doesnt give you a full legitimate report 🙁
I am a big fan of checking a free one from the bureaus every 4 months through http://www.annualcreditreport.com and cover that on many of the credit reporting related pages.
I like the credit report card available over at http://www.credit.com as a free credit checking tool once a month.
As far as paid services to check your credit, there are many to like, especially the ones available direct from the bureaus. But the only time I would pay is if I was rebuilding credit for a known financing purpose in the near future.
I had two American Express accounts one with a small credit line and balance and the other with a large credit line and balance when I lost my job. I now have a new job and just settled for the smaller card 50%. I don’t have sufficient income to pay as much as they would like on the large balance and it has gone unpaid for a year. The attorney took me to court but dropped the case temporarily when I asked the judge for time to meet with counsel and went to an attorney who told me I was a good candidate for bankruptcy. Now that I have a job, they are pulling me back into court next week moving ex parte for removal of the case from dismissal list.
I want to set up payments but don’t think I can afford what they want plus would like to avoid paying attorney fees. Attorneys scare me. I would prefer to work with a more collaborative agency like the agency that worked for American Express that helped me make payments I could afford for a year and then recently settle on the smaller American Express balance . Any chance I can get American Express to transfer this to that agency or another agency or am I stuck with the attorney.
If I am stuck, should I call the attorney and try to set up payments before going to court which is scheduled in 15 days? I don’t want to have my paycheck garnished because it will likely drive me into bankruptcy and it seems like it will be very embarrassing at work.
Please advise so I can take smart action quickly.
You will typically be stuck with the attorney for AMEX in your current situation.
What is the balance owed currently? How long would it take you to raise half of that?
Hi Michael .. I just got a call from Jaffe and Asher, in NY where I live .. they are trying to collect a debt from AMEX for about 6K which I absolutely do not have and they said that they are going to proceed to sue me if I don’t pay them. I explained to them that I live hand to mouth at $15 an hour and that paying them any more than $50 a month would compromise my basic needs, but that I would be very willing to do that if they would accept it .. he said he would take it but couldn’t guarantee that they wouldn’t still sue me. I’m thinking about filing bankruptcy .. is that something people do in this situation ? I was unemployed for a couple of years and basically just have nothing to give them. I really want to avoid some horrible legal problem and would rather just wipe the slate clean. what are your thoughts on this, is it even possible at this point ? thank you so much for your informative website !!
Filing bankruptcy, especially chapter 7 where you discharge credit card debts, is very common. It does not matter what stage of collection you are at with your American Express account, filing would stop Jaffe and Asher collection activity.
There are costs to filing chapter 7. You will have to work that into your planning. You should connect with an attorney in your area for a consult, but read my article about finding the right attorney before you do.
Are there other credit card bills and unsecured debts besides the AMEX account (whether in collections or current)?
Hi .. Thank you so much for your prompt reply !! I have just a little more cc debt at 1k from a different cc but my main issue is old student debt that I owe for about 30k … But I don’t think the. Chapter 7 would do anything for that ? What are the downsides to filing chapter 7 ? Thanks so much !!!
It is difficult to discharge student loans in bankruptcy. Are those loans federal or private?
Depending on your situation, there are not many downsides to chapter 7. If assets are sold that are not exempt, settling American Express debt can be a better alternative.
Read over this comparison of credit impacts from bankruptcy and other debt relief options.
Hi Michael, I have reached an agreement with jaffe and asher for 60% of what i originally owed. They want me to pay 1k today and the rest by the end of the month. Do I need a written letter agreement or an email from them is ok?
Jaffe and Asher collects on many AMEX accounts. They should readily be able to provide you with a written outline of your agreement. If it comes in the form of an email, I would still want the email to have a pdf attachment of the settlement letter.
Let me know if they balk at sending you anything in writing.
Thanks for the reply Michael, yes they emailed me 2 pdf’s 1 is the agreement and the other one is the wire transfer instruction. Could I trust this email or should I ask for a written letter?
It sounds like the letter you received attached to the email is exactly what they would mail to you. That is normal and what I accept often.
You can compare the letter Jaffe and Asher sent about settling with AMEX to the items I list in my article about what to look for in a settlement agreement.
Just reached a settlement with AMEX settling a balance of $6,300 for $3150 ($400 of that is attorney fees since this went into lawsuit).
I don’t know if thats a good deal but they accepted it very quick, I should’ve went for a lower offer but I guess its too late now.
I’m insisting on including in the settlement that the creditor, in exchange for the settlement, remove any derogatory marks regarding the account and change the account status to “satisfied in full” or “paid” status with all 3 credit reporting agencies Transunion, Equifax, and Experian immediately upon settlement.
Michael, would you recommend I ask for that? Also anything else I should ask for before I sign and pay?
50% settlements with AMEX on litigation files is often as good as it gets. Who was the collection law firm you dealt with?
Debt collectors for American Express, whether a run of the mill collection agency or a law firm, will have zero ability to impact how AMEX reports your account to the credit bureaus. Making that part of your request is not a good idea since it will fail. I would not do it.
AMEX will show the debt as paid or settled and a zero balance owed the way they normally do. The way they do it is actually just what you need to happen, so I would not get hung up on it for a second.
You do want to be sure any unresolved action in the court is dismissed as a result of this agreement.
It was Michael and Associates.
Why do you think they accepted the offer so fast? It seemed like it was lightning fast, literally the next business day. Didn’t seem like it was a difficult decision at all.
The goal is usually to resolve accounts. It is not surprising that the settlement went through that quickly. It is the end of the month after all. Debt collectors have goals to meet to…. Congratulations are in order!
I have 3 accounts with AMEX all charged off and one paid in full and good standing. Based on some of what I’ve read and what you’re saying is that AMEX won’t give me a deletion but only a paid status. Will those 3 delinquent accounts reflect poorly as I try to rebuild my credit score before the 7 years knocks them out of the report?
How quickly credit will bounce back with vary from one person to the next. I would recommend you read my article about a former customer and her experience with her credit score bouncing back after settling her debts.
The more your situation resembles Nichole’s, where she had equal or more positive accounts, than resolved collection accounts, the faster your credit will bounce back.
Credit scores are primarily there to serve as a utility function for our personal financing goals. Resolved collection accounts with AMEX that will be showing on your credit reports may not hold you back from goals even in the short term.
What financing goals do you have for when your debts are all resolved?
Thanks Michael, will definitely take a look at the article right after this.
My goals are auto lease, maybe business loan, and eventually home loan down the road so I figure it would be a good idea to begin preparing.
I just listened to your voice message from last night CK. You can send an email to me at the same address you get these comment notifications from. Those all come to me.
Thanks Michael for that advice, I did not get any email notifications from this website and I don’t see any features to activate notifications. I’d like to show you the settlement offer first if thats ok.
You can send any email to info at consumerrecoverynetwork.com
I got your email CK. The letter from Michael and Associates PC outlining your settlement on the AMEX account with them would be good enough for me if it were my account being settled.
I have one other credit card also with amex that is 2500 that i’m going to pay, for whatever reason it is with a different collector (central credit services) i have paid them 330/month lately but I will pay them a lump sum to cover it before the end of this month.
People have been discussing this OPTIMA card, and the CA did offer me it at the beginning of my starting to pay them off, is that an option to get when i cover these balances i owe, in full.
I have not looked into the Optima card much. Were you quoted an interest rate?
No i was not, only that I would receive a 1900 limit which equates to about half of what i had on my card that i’m paying off in exchange for getting the card. Ive done extensive research and it is american express’s “burying the hatchet” card with you. They agree to start over with you with this card.
If you like AMEX products (it sounds like you do), and the interest rate is competitive, I see no problem with it.
It would be great if you posted about the approval and interest rate on the Optima card once you get it. That information could help future readers.
I have a letter from CCC with info about the Optima Card. The Pricing and Terms are a $9 Annual Fee and the Interest is the Prime Rate + 14.99% (+25.99 if you earn the penalty APR).
The reason I am here is I am able to pay my AmEx debt off, but I was trying to verify that CCC was a legit operation. It looks like they are. Not sure if I’m willing to take the Optima Card with those rates though. I might just pass on that.
I had a judgement back in March of 2009 with AE for 20k for debt incurred in 2006.. I have been self employed working on commission only the last 14 years so there was never any payment plan set up, deduction of accounts, etc. I had and still have no assets. I just received a letter from Central Credit Services. that they have been requested to assist them in the collection. I know this sounds bad but I am will not respond to them.. Is there a time limit that they can collect on? I am sure I have received these letters through the years. Just curious of how long AE pushes their collections. I live in FL.
Judgment debts can be renewed in many states. Your AMEX judgment in Florida can be renewed every 7 years. It is often better to resolve a debt like this than have to continue to look over your shoulder forever.
If you need help putting a plan of action together send an email reply to me using the address you get these comment notifications from, or you can call me at 800-939-8357, choose option 2.
I have similar situation, have judgment since 2011. Recently I contacted Amex, they referred me to Central Credit Services that offered to settle for around 35%. I’m getting help to pay that to start a new beginning. They accepted to send a letter after my payment to state this is settled for less than agreed and I will not owe them any more money. Do you think it’s wise to send the money and if I have any other option? How long does it take for them to send the letter? thank you for all the information.
and how do I remove the judgement?
See this article about getting judgments removed from your credit reports. The short of it is, you generally are not going to get a judgment off your credit, but will get it updated to show paid or satisfied. That is all many of us need to move on with credit and finance goals. But read the article and the comments to get a feel for where things go from here.
thank you. I will read the article.
It can take a couple of weeks after your payment clears to get a paid letter.
So ultimately, if i have the capability to pay it all off right now, is that best? Should i just stick with some measly settlement and get it done with.
My ultimate goal is to retain the best credit i can in the end. I want it back to where it was, so that being said, can I get there by settling or is it best to pay in full? For instance, my goal would be to have an amex card back in the future, is it best then to just pay in full?
If you do not pay back an AMEX account in full, and later try to get approved for new card with them, you will be declined.
If you pay ARSI the full amount owed you will have a shot at getting another AMEX card down the road.
Do you have any other accounts that are unpaid or in collection?
okay I am picking up what you are putting down exactly. I have the capability to cover the entire balance of the arsi account no issue (4200) with an 800 emergency fund left in my name. I do indeed want this thing to be marked as “paid” but after reading everyones information I truly want to hard sell them on deleting it for a quick pay in full no questions asked because I’m totally in a position to pay it the completely the second they would agree to that, but how do i approach it with the arsi rep?
-youre a god sent for having answers for people with these situations, I’m confident everyone is very thankful for your aid.
ARSI has absolutely no influence on how American Express reports to the credit bureaus. American Express is not going to entertain a pay for delete offer. You could offer AMEX more than what is owed on the account and they are not going to agree.
Once you settle with or pay ARSI your credit reports will be updated to show the AMEX account is resolved. Your credit can improve from there.
I received the last call (today), which was actually the first from arsi as well uniquely enough. (They just bought the debt obviously) because i’ve received calls last year from a different company.
ARSI did not buy your American Express account. It is highly likely that no debt collector will purchase your debts from AMEX because they do not sell debt. There are some new debt collection rules anticipated for 2016 that could lead to AMEX selling unpaid accounts.
If ARSI just got your AMEX account for collection they will have it for a 2 to 3 months. They are a good debt collector to negotiate AMEX debt with. If it were my account I would look to negotiate the best deal with ARSI and resolve the debt soon in order to avoid the risks of the account landing with another collector that is harder to deal with, or who does not settle for the best savings.
Hey! Thanks for all of your information.
i have two delinquent accounts with american express
1. Central Credit Services has contacted me and the balance was about 6k, I’ve since paid them 330 monthly and told them that I intend on paying and paying until the balance was completed entirely (we are now at 3200).
2. The other I have ignored for a while and just recently received a letter from ARSI (American Recovery Services INC.) This balance is 4200,
last time i made an actual payment (before going delinquent, was probably a year and a half ago.
MY QUESTION: i am completely ready to pay these both off in one shot in full completely. I want to get them OFF my credit report entirely. As i read above, these agencies are collection agencies but like you said amex doesn’t really sell any of its debt, so technically they still own it. i want to approach amex with a pay for delete agreement for both of these account balances and send them a check to get rid of it all, how do I go about doing this?
American Express will not agree to delete these from your credit reports. Best case is paying or settling in order to get zero balance reporting, which is often all you really need in order to accomplish credit and financing goals.
Are you buying or refinancing a home, or do you have some other personal finance goals?
Nope, I’m not doing any of these things in the near future, so I’m not needing it to correct my score fast, however, obviously I’m looking to fix this up asap.
If they wont delete them, then i’ll still want to pay in full and get rid of them as you said, and how do I get sqeaky clean after that? Once they’re paid, can i dispute them on my report and hope they just don’t validate them or take them off that way??
my other question for you, would be, since i’m dealing with two agencies that contacted me, can I even speak with amex or just deal with these people. Didn’t you say somewhere that amex doesn’t really sell debt, they just have people working on their behalf to get it collected, so when working this out, I can work with amex??
If AMEX has your accounts with collection agencies your call to them will typically result in being referred to the collection company to resolve the debt.
When is the last time you got a collection phone call or letter in the mail from ARSI or Central Credit?
Once you pay American Express or ARSI and Central Credit Services your credit reports will be updated to show the accounts as paid. The late pay history will remain for up to 7 and one half years from the date you first stopped making your payments to AMEX.
You can dispute virtually anything on your credit reports. Disputing accurate, current and up to date information by AMEX on your credit reports is likely not going to lead to much. You would basically be doing that to see if you get lucky, and even if you were, I see these accounts pop back on credit reports.
Hi,
I owe AmEx 14,217 and have been deliquent for about 9 months. I went deliquent on several other cards and have settled most of them. I got a letter in the mail yesterday for a settlement offer of $8530 – exactly 60%. I have been getting calls from 877-443-0144 once a day for the last week. Fortunately I am in a position where I will receive enough money w/in the next two weeks to pay the settlement. I am eager to pay it off and begin rebuilding my credit history. The question I have is should i try and negotiate further down to 50%? Also, sent they sent the payment coupon offering a full settlement in the mail does that constitute ‘in writing’ or do I need any other documentation? Thanks in advance.
You may be in a great position to get a far better deal than the 60 percent settlement on your American Express account. Whether or not that is possible, or even something you should try, can vary. Call me to talk more about that at 800-939-8357, choose option 2.
If you do settle for less than what is being offered today you will need a different letter that confirms the different amounts.
I tried to call you a few times but you never answered. Anyways, I called them and and they said if I could pay 50% all at once they would settle. I told them I needed to get to 40%, they talked to their ‘supervisor’ who said 45% so I took the deal. Am glad its over with, looking forward to making the payment and being completely debt free for the first time in a really long time.
Sorry about that. I was away for the long weekend and I can be tied up on the phone solid many days. It is often best to leave a message so I know to return the call, or set up a specific time via email.
Great job getting an affordable deal negotiated on your AMEX account!
Hello Michael,
My friend passed away leaving a lot of debts. Now the wife is being sued by the debt collectors. One debt is a balance with American Express where the wife and children were supplementary card holders. AMEX has written to the wife and children that they are responsible for the total debt of the my friend who was the primary card holder. My question is are they liable for the total debt or only for the portion that they used with the supplementary card?
Thank you
Marie
How certain are you that the wife was not a co-applicant on the American Express credit card? If she was truly only the authorized user I would encourage her to contact an experienced debt collection defense attorney about how to handle the lawsuit. I can email you some contact information to any I know of in her area if you post the name of a large city near her.
It is possible that his estate would be sought for the balance owed to AMEX. And it is is feasible that authorized users could be found liable for charges made after his passing. Talk to the attorney about all of that.
What is the difference between the balance owed at the time of his passing, and the balance on the account now?
I owe about 33K to amex. I have been paying 1400.00 a month for a while, while i was on pay later plan with them, anyway, due to some financial issues i can now only afford 700.00 to them and have had to drop my payments to twice a month for 350.00 each, well below the full amount owed they want now in full. i called to see if i could work out paying them 350.00 on the 5th and 350.00 on the 20th when i get paid for my job and was told absolutely not, amex does not offer payment plans. I about to have my 3rd missed payment, although i am paying some, just not the minimum, any advise on what i should do?
How you approach Amex to resolve the debt can vary based on your ability to pay, how collectible you are viewed, who is collecting for American Express, and a host of other concerns. Give me a call at 800-939-8357, choose option 2, and I can dig into the details of your situation and offer better feedback.
Hi Michael ,
I have been sued by Amex the debt is about $70k , originally dealing with the lawyers office Michael & Associates I had talked to them about setting up payment plan, he asked to have me send an offer which I did never received a response from him , later received the papers in the mail that I had a judgement against me , that was in May -2015, now yesterday they have levied my accounts. I have placed several calls and emails to them which they do not respond to , I have no idea how the levy works or how much at a time they can take , I had 1 personal account that they zeroed out and 1 joint account they took some out of . I also have business accounts for an LLC that were opened with an EIN number and under the business name. I have called the sheriff’s department which is the number the bank gave me and they can’t give me information either they referred me back to Michael & Associates. Is their any one else to contact to get information from about the levy. These people will not return a phone call . I have no idea where to go from here.
Thank You For Your Help
Give me a call to go over the details off line Rae. I can be reached at 800-939-8357, choose option 2.
PS- I forgot to mention that the card has been unpaid since at least September 2014. Also, my mother recently, unbeknownst to me (because I was traveling at the time), sent a letter explaining her situation to Amex and making a payment of $10.
More than likely my mom will not be buying a house on her own thus having a good credit score is not that critical. In fact, I wonder if bankruptcy isn’t a good option for her? The only thing is that her house is in the process of being sold and I do not want her earnings garnished to pay her debt.
Thanks again for your consideration of our case.
Lorena
A chapter 7 is what I want to talk to you about, as opposed to settling with American Express and other creditors.
Does her home have an offer, or is it that it is listed?
Hi Michael,
Thank you for your quick reply. I am awaiting a call back from First Source Advantage any minute now and I am afraid of not settling today as they told me that the offer of 33% to settle the account may be removed if we do not settle today. My mother’s house is in contract right now and if all goes well it should be closing on September 10th. That is why I do not think that bankruptcy is an option as we don’t want her house earnings in jeopardy.
I left you a voicemail and would very much appreciate a call back from you.
Thanks very much,
Lorena
It was good to connect with you Lorena. Please do keep this thread updated with how you progress with your AMEX debt settlement.
Hi Michael,
Thank you for the helpful advice you provide for those of us dealing with debt collectors. I am writing to ask for your advice in how I can best negotiate a settlement for my mother. She is 74 years old and recently divorced. Her ex husband wracked up debt on her Amex card which my mother had for over 30 years with a zero balance as she always paid all of her accounts in full and on time every month. With the divorce she was left with $15K in debt to Amex and we let the card go into default as there were no funds to pay the bill. We now have a little money to work to clear her many debts as a result of the divorce and we would like to begin with the Amex card. Today I took a call from the debt collector First Source Advantage. We offered to pay them $4K to settle her debt. They countered with an offer of 33% or $5, 124 and said that this was the absolute best they could do. I asked for a 24 hour window to review this deal. They said they would call us back tomorrow at 1:30PM. I am wondering if I can negotiate down to closer to 25% or max to $4K. My mother is living in affordable senior housing in NJ and on a very tight budget, she’s even collecting food stamps meaning she has very little to give. Her lifestyle has changed drastically as a result of her divorce and I would like to help her retain what little money she can for healthcare and other necessities. If you wouldn’t mind giving me some tips, I would greatly appreciate any assistance you can lend to us.
With gratitude.
Lorena
Give me a call for a full consult about your mothers situation. I may suggest you make no settlements at all. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, choose option 2. Leave a message if you get voice mail so I know to return the call.
You do not have to commit to anything with First Source Advantage tomorrow, or before we can connect on the phone.
There are instances where you can get AMEX accounts being handled by third party debt collectors settled for less than what is on the table.
I just got served court papers from Amex. Attorney representing is zwicker and associates yesterday. I owe 15 thousand. I did not pay bill for about 4 months. What do u suggest as my 1st response to get best settlement amount. Should I call Amex or the lawyers? Any other tips?
Your next step dealing with an AMEX collection event like this can often depend on how collectable you look Zwicker and Associates.
You may want to call in for a phone consult. I will have numerous personal questions to ask that most folks are reluctant to answer online. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, then press option 2.
Hi Michael,
We got sued by AmXpress last December for a little over 10,000. The suit seems to be brought directly by AmericanXpress, i.e., it is from American Express Legal. I negotiated a 55% deal to stem the lawsuit, payable over 12 months, but have been unable to pay due to college expenses being a top priority for kids., Now, 7 months later, they are ready to move to default, based on a stipulation agreement. (We have 10 days to pay the balance owed.)
We are trading off whether to just let them get a judgment or to try to come up with the $$. My question now, do you know what AmEx typically does with their judgments? The account is in my wife’s name but she wasn’t working and has no $$ in any bank accounts. However she just started a part time job which may lead to a full time position, so I wouldn’t want her to be faced with any garnishment, lest it kills her chances at the full time job. There’s no way Amex knows where she works (I don’t think) but I assume they have ways of finding out. We have a house with a big mortgage and would be exempt from foreclosure for many years if they put a lien on it (unless another housing craze starts in New York suburbs, which is quite unlike). We have a huge Federal tax lien too, over 120,000 from ~ 7 years ago, which is attached to the house.
Granted, a judgment lasts 20 years and they may sell it to a third party, interest at 9% (unless we eventually declare BK), which leads me in the direction of just taking the 55%.
Once the judgment is in place it can be much more difficult to resolve the debt, and 55% may not be on the table again. That said, if getting the money together was going to create a hardship with knock-on affects of its own, it could suggest settling the judgment, after saving up to do so later on, would make more sense.
Are there any other unpaid bills out there besides this one?
Is the tax lien from personal or business related taxes?
Mike – Thanks for the reply. We had a total of 58,000 in credit card bills that we defaulted on, two credit cards of which were AmXpress, 10K (Costco) and 15K, both in wife’s name. We defaulted on all cards in mid-late 2013. I eventually got offers as low as 15% from Chase, one for 9K which I settled for 15%. Then there’s the issue of Federal and State tax owed when you settle, so it’s not as cheap as it sounds. Two other cards from Chase they just wrote off themselves (total of 4K). Hence we are now down to ~45,000 in total credit card default.
We only got sued on the 10K Amex card (so far). The 15K card was originally a Macy’s AmEx, but it is now listed with Department Stores National Bank, and we’re getting settlement offers from ARS National Services collection co. (which were once at around 50% but now they are only offering ~75%, maybe they think our situation is improving). Naturally I’m worried that they will sue on this one too eventually.
The tax lien is a personal one – in the mid 2000’s things were going great until they weren’t. Then the recession hit and 2-3 years of sub-par employment , plus 3 teenagers with only one reduced income, caused the situation that eventually led to default. Considered BK but I don’t pass the means test, so we’re now on an installment plan with the IRS after a few years being uncollectible status – they count all of your expenses but do not include college.
American Express is a priority, but one that has to be juggled with the other account they have, and the other debts too. Call me for a consult at 800-939-8357, choose option 2. If you get my voice mail be sure to leave a message so I know to return the call.
I have been sued by American express and summoned to court. Already am going thru prime solutions to get my debt resolved. Don’t have that much money and I am between ( low paying jobs)…what do I do… I can’t settle on my own at this point.
What state are you in? Who is the debt collection attorney firm working for AMEX?
What advice did Prime Solutions offer to settle this for you? Do you have payments going out to any other settlements right now (ask Prime Solutions if you do not know)?
Hi- for the last couple of months I have been working on settling my parents credit card debt. It’s a long story but to sum it up they had to close their business and no longer pay their debts. I have manage to come to agreements on settlement on 4 of their cards And of course the last one is their Amex that has refused to negoiate. This past week my patents received a letter from the collection agency Central Credit Services formerly known as Veldos LLC. They have been and were the most unpleasant people to negoiate with. It was high pressure to get me to agree to an amount and the offer was only good if I paid immediately. I was able to get them down from $10,000.00 to $3,500.00. I was willing to accept that amount however wanted it in writing. They said that I would have to first set up payment. to be received by tomorrow and that they would send out a letter at that point in time. I of course didn’t agree. Was I wrong? Should I have trusted that they would send the letter of settlement? I just didn’t feel that they were very legit. I did call American Express after and confirmed that this was the agency that they hired to work from them on their behalf. Have you ever heard of them?
I am familiar with Veldos. You put together a good settlement. They can and do send settlement letters. Stick to your guns about wanting a letter before paying, or you can schedule the payment date for a week to 10 days out in order to allow the agreement to arrive before that (if mailing to you).
You can also record the call you have with them that covers the agreement to settle for the amount you are paying. Tell them you are recording and why. But you still want the letter.
Hello Micheal,
I had an american express debt of about $3,000 back in 2007. Before I lost my job I paid the balance in full every month. Once I lost my job I fell behind with the payments and I didn’t realize I had relief options (silly college student). Fast forward to 2015 I am currently cleaning my credit and most of my delinquent accounts have been paid off and removed from my report. My credit score is in the “Fair” category, and although I’ve never paid the American Express balance they are reporting positively on my credit report with a balance of $0. Once my credit score rises, I’d like to apply for another card with them, but I’d hate to have a hard inquiry on my credit report, and be denied because of my past delinquencies, even though, it looks like they have been forgiven or simply overlooked.
Do you think I should give them a call? or should I just steer clear of them? I’d hate to “rock the boat”!
Thank you,
Claudette
You generally need to have resolved any past debts with American Express before they approve any new account. You will likely want to payoff the debt with American Express prior to applying for a new card.
You can also just skip applying for an American Express account. The one you had that went to collections is too old to appear on your credit reports (it was not an oversight).
Got behind 3 payments with AE…now caught up…owe 4300. Received letter from zwicker and associates. ..will be calling tomorrow…..will want to set up payment plan with them…is this realist in working with them?
You can set up payment plans with Zwicker and Associates. The amounts they will accept can vary depending on several things. What can you afford to pay them monthly?
I had 3 amex cards, I missed one payment on one of them and they closed all 3, I paid off that one card, shortley after I moved and updated my new address but it didn’t get updated, so I wasn’t getting the statements and forgot about it, that was back in 11/2014, in 1/15 I got laid off so I couldn’t afford the payments anymore, it went into collection, I owe on one card around $1,900 and another about $3,000 I asked them to settle the debt in one lump sum, but they said they would’nt because it was opened in 9/2014.
What do you think my chances are to get a sertlement, I have a friend that is willing to help me pay them off in one lump sum, other than $80 verizon collection account and two late mortgage payments in the past 6 months, I pay all my other accounts on time, so I might seem collectable, how do I convince them that I really can’t afford a payment plan and get them to agree to settle.
Thank you
Joseph
You will likely have to wait until your AMEX accounts are out with debt collectors. Even then the account that is not a year old may not settle for less. Unseasoned accounts are difficult to settle with AMEX and other banks too.
Have you heard from any third party debt collectors on either account yet?
We have owed A/E about $26,000 since 2011 and not made a payment since 5/2012. We were contacted by a collection company and was offered to settle for about$7,000 – but I didn’t have the money at that time. I contacted A/E direct within the past month and we have worked out an agreement of about $14,000 (65%). I have built up our FICO score to about 680 and need to keep it moving north. I want to settle, but their letter states “no attempts will be made to collect remaining balance while you are making payments in accordance with terms listed below. Upon payment of the settlement balance due, no attempts will be made to collect remaining balance.” Nothing is stated about removing it from the 3 CRA. Also, what is strange about this – they do not show up anymore (since 4/2015) on any of the CRA’s??? What do you think of going forward with the deal?
Expecting American Express to remove the collection item from your credit reports is unrealistic. That just does not happen. They will update the account to show it is resolved though, and your credit will improve from that. Based on the dates you gave the account would normally fall off from age in 2019 or early 2020. I am not sure what to make of the AMEX collection account no longer showing on your reports now. Was this an AMEX business account?
Accounts that should be on your report, that inexplicably drop off, can and do just reappear.
Moving forward with this AMEX settlement will often depend on your goals. I would want to dig into what those in order to offer the best feedback about moving forward. For that reason, and if you want to see about getting that settlement dropped some more, call in for a consult and lets talk about your situation. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, then choose option 2.
Sorry I should have included that! It is Amex global collections out of Leigh Valley PA. Thank you!
That sounds like Nationwide Credit Inc. If it is, I like your chances of getting your settlement lower, and closer to 40%.
You may have to wear them down a bit by making the offer more than once.
I owe AMEX $2500. It was originally $2100 and went up due to fees. They sent me a 60% offer and I just cant scrape up that much right now. I can do about 40% in one lump sum. Do you think they will take it? I’m a single mother and I just don’t have the extra cash and neither does anyone I can ask. It sounds silly for such a small amount but right now that is my situation. I fell behind on my minimum payments in December around Christmas and never caught back up. I would love to take the offer but just cant. If only they would go a little lower. Not sure if they will make another offer. Will settling affect my credit score as much as not paying it all together?
Who is the debt collection agency working for Amex? That will help me be realistic if encouraging you to contact them and make a count offer to settle.
Resolving a debt collection account is better for your credit reports than unpaid ones. Your score will likely improve given the recency of your delinquency. Also consider that, depending on the credit opportunity you would later apply for, unpaid debt can often prevent approval regardless of your credit score (home financing being the main concern).
Hi Michael,
My wife and i are trying to refi our home and ran into a title lien against our house during a recent credit check. We have an outstanding AMEX debt that is 4 years and 6 mos old which I tried to neg with the attorneys who sued us ( I had offered a 55% lump sum and was told it was accepted – failed to get it in writing and then they dropped negotiations abruptly the day I had $ in bank ready to pay!) so I abandoned the debt without realizing the potential harm this would do to us later..
We owe Amex 13K and there is a title judgement against us.
I approached a lawyer and was told that it would cost $1500 for them to neg for me and that they could save me some $ on debt but wouldn’t tell me what to expect so I did not go that route
I just inherited 5K and would like to offer the second collection company this for a settlement.
I have a 620 FICO credit score ( my wife’s is worse 570 or so)
I probably appear collectible because I have stayed on top of my student loan (mostly) and never missed a car payment. I have a Discover card with 4K on it and have rarely been late.
I am self employed and want to reduce my mortgage to save money to change business locations but don’t know what to do. I have tried to refi with bank and Quicken loans and was told that I first had to get the title judgement removed before they will consider it
I have read all your previous comments regarding similar scenarios….
Do we even stand a chance at negotiating on my own again for a lump sum of 5k? Or do I stand a better chance hiring you or a lawyer to negotiate it for us?
Not quite sure what to do next but would be grateful to hear your opinion,
Thanks
The results of settling the AMEX debt at this late stage of collection can vary. You know some of what makes you look collectable. Who the attorney is, and other factors, will come in to play.
You can call me for a consult at 800-939-8357 then press option 2. Leave a message if you get my voice mail. You can also email me directly to coordinate a time. The email address you get these comment notifications from is mine.
Sunrise,
I recently had similar issue, now I am on a process of paying settlement amount. Like Michael said, it is all depends on who is attorney, and what stage of your debt situation.
I talked to Michael, he actually helped me a lot. Feel free to talk to him.
I just settled just one credit card, I do have to deal with bunch of other account though. I think more you talk to Michael regarding your case. He can assist better.
Thanks for the encouragement..I will do that and let you know what happens
OK I recorded the conversation verifying terms of agreement and terms by which they are to be carried out. I have confirmation that they sent another letter in the mail to me on the 17th as well as previously on the 4th. I have not received any of these letters. I asked that they do not contact me until I call them back when I have the agreement letter in hand. So I have 21 calls in 4 days filling my voice message system. 1-877-443-0144.
So I don’t get out much because of my condition and I don’t stay out long when I do. So I went to a Kinko’s to get a fax from them as per an earlier conversation as a way around not getting letters, my original call went through at 143am I left Kinkos at 240 a half hour after they insisted they showed the fax transmitted and was received. Wow! here we go again. I was not going to sit around and wait so I left and that’s a good thing because now at 320 they show a fax arrived. I so hate this process.
While I was on the phone with him he was insisting that I give him a check number and my account. Had I done so I am almost certain that fax would never have come through almost an hour and a half after he said it was transmitted.
So tired of this game that must be played with collectors.
Krazy Kev… just a little more crazy now that I have to go out on the town for this fax.
Try not to let it get to you too much. I would have been okay with the recording, but if you have a letter waiting for you, I would pick it up for sure.
Who is the debt collection agency you are dealing with again?
Michael,
I have desperate situation too. To make a long story short, I have $9250 debt with AMEX. At first, I hired Debt Settlement firm Brownstone Law Group, they helped to settle two account so far. But, Amex became serious. Before I joined this program, I never made late payment. Anyway, I was told not to communicate with creditors. Now, Jaffe and Asher sued me while my debt settlement firm failed to settled. Jaffe & Asher wanted full amount. Tomorrow, I will call them and find out what they can offer me ( or they are not willing to offer). Few questions regarding Jaffe & Asher.
1. Should give offer from my end, or they will usually try to toss the number?
2. Since my debt settlement company failed it, is it better to call them or attend trial and try to delay my payment.
3. if they offer, how much do they usually offer, (so far, they wanted 100%)
American Express credit card debt that lands with an attorney rarely settles for great reduction, and AMEX collection lawsuits can mean even less favorable negotiation results.
You can start the negotiation with an offer, but what can you pull together as a lump sum?
Whether or not to take your defense of the lawsuit further to buy time is often something that will depend on the reason you need to buy the time, such as save up more to fund a realistic settlement.
Jaffe and Asher is not going to lead with the lowest they are able to offer you for a lower payoff and to dismiss the case.
How collectable do you look on paper? Are you paying other bills on time that shows on your credit reports (home, auto loan, other credit cards)?
Have your other credit cards updated to show that they are settled?
How long ago was it that you stopped paying AMEX?
Thank you for your kind response.
Here is my answers ..
How collectable do you look on paper?
I am working for a US big corp., and I have about 17 credit cards debt 4 of them are $5000 or more, rest of others are low. before I started debt settlement program. It was fine. I do not own home, my car is leased car. But I think Jeffe & Asher think I can still pay back full amount
Have your other credit cards updated to show that they are settled?
two settlements made and still paying not fully paid yet.
How long ago was it that you stopped paying AMEX?
Since last November.
Looks like I have a some plan based on your comments.
1. call Jaffe and Asher ( Not thru my debt settlement firm) personally, and ask for settlement . Hope they offer me some guidance or other . I might about to offer 50% lump -sum. is that good idea?
2. If they do not take it, go to trial and ask for extension to gather more money. but, when I go to court on the day 7/1. if judge give me extension. which means it is not “judgement” ruled yet in record right?
3. questions…is that really matters for me leaving “judgement” on my record. since my credit is already drop bottom?
Thank you very much again…..you are a big help.
If you are paying several other credit cards on time, even though credit cards other than AMEX went to collection, you are going to look more collectable.
You can use the fact that there are other unpaid debts as a talking point, but there are limits to how far that will take you.
1. My target would not be any less than 50% for the settlement, and I am more than a little skeptical that you will be able to get this one done that low on your own.
2. Have you filed an answer to the complaint with the court?
3. Yes, a judgment on your credit report does matter. You really should try to avoid it if possible, but I understand when you can’t. It just is what it is in some cases, and you circle back to settle the judgment for less later on, or agree to make payments to prevent other collection activity.
Michael,
Yes. I provided answer right after i received the summon letter. I was thinking that i could have more time but they set thr court date as 7/1 so quick.
I called Jaffe and Asher ( JA), and in fact they are not willing to drop down any pennies. However they can give payment plan after substantial down payment. I said, i cant afford payment plan because, debt settlment escraw already taking huge money every months not other options for payment plan. Even $100 / mo is hard ( while regardless of how much I can pay as dwon payment)
JA strongly urge to call them back after i should seeing any other ways to gather money.
While I am not sure how to gather money( still wrong on it) to pay as lump sum. I can’t think about punch line to settle with any discounted money. I think JA attorney has some guideline not to settle during initial litigation. Not sure systrm wide or not..(.do you know? ) do you think it is better idea to reach out to my debt settlement company to ask settle again regaring lump sum deal? Would it be easier ?
I gave up for bargaining for 50%. My goal is now to deal for 30% and pay.-If i could get money. But not too sure how to talk to JA since they are not willing to take any below from what I owe.
Thanks Michael. Dealing with attroney is very hard…..
Did you not already cover this scenario and the options available to assist you with the debt settlement company? What exactly was the outcome of that discussion?
Can you raise 50% of the balance Jaffe and Asher are suing for? What if the deal ends up being 60%… can you pull that amount together?
There are times where having a pro handle the negotiations is just better. This could be one of them. I can help you with a resource if you like? But first find out if the debt settlement company you have now will do the work, and if not, fill out this consult form and I will call connect with you off line.
At this point I can probably only afford to pay $250 max per month. I have other financial obligations that total about $4k per month that represents well over half my monthly net income. My goal is to start off with a payment plan of $200 a month for the first year and then increased to $300 year after until it is paid off. Ideally, I’d like a settlement but not in a place where I could afford 50-60% up front.
That payment offer will likely not prevent them from suing on the AMEX account. It is worth trying to negotiate with debt collector though. I do see one off scenarios where longer term payment arrangements are excepted.
If your payment plan with the collector is declined, you may end up being sued. Once a judgment is entered and they try extra ordinary collection efforts that fail, you could likely get them to agree to smaller payments for a longer period of time. Just know that judgment interest is usually going to be applied, so the smaller the payment, the less of a dent you are making on the total owed.
I asked about the other unsecured debt totals in order to make some observations about chapter 7 bankruptcy. Have you looked into it?
I received a letter from Michael & Associates, PC (attorney at law) regarding my AMEX account that was sent to their office for collections. I called AMEX and got an automated message that my account has been closed and sent to ARSI for collections. One is a collection agency and the other a debt collector possibly hired out or affiliated with ARSI that contacted me. Would you suggest I reach out to ARSI or Michael & Associates. My debt is $20k (last payment made Jan 2015) and the only viable prion is a payment arrangement as I don’t have the financial means to offer a suitable settlement. it would be great if you had any insight on these two agencies and how to approach them.
thank you!
I do have some feedback Lulu, but it would be helpful for me to fist know answers to the following:
Did you send any kind of letter to AMEX since you missed payments, and if so, what did it say?
Did you speak with AMEX in the since January, and if so, what about?
Were there any large cash advances or purchases made using your AMEX credit card in the 6 to 12 months prior to stopping payments?
I am looking for reasoning as to why your AMEX account has been placed for potentially more aggressive collections this early in the collection cycle. If there is a reason for it (there isn’t always), that can often help you target realistic outcomes.
No communication from me to AMEX since last payment and no large purchases 6 – 12 months prior. I was also surprised to see this account handled so aggressively. I received a notice from AMEX that this would be last communication to work out payment terms before it was sent to a CA. Shortly after the time expiration to contact AMEX I received the letter from Michael & Associates (within the week).
It is normal for AMEX accounts to get placed with a debt collector earlier than other major card issuers, but legal placement at 4 months is often triggered by something.
How much of a monthly payment can you afford?
Are there other debts besides the AMEX account, and if so, how much do all of them add up to?
I owe Amex 7725.66. I missed 2 payments and a partial 1. Jaffe and Asher called me in March 2014 and demanded $2400 within 4 days. I didn’t have it. I scraped together $1900 and have been paying Amex on line since. In 1 year I paid them $4122.00 I just received a phone call from Jaffe and Asher stating there will be a lawsuit against me from Amex. I need to pay the remaining balance $7725. I said I don’t have that kind of money and the other alternative was $3575.66 by next Friday and 5 monthly payments of $1050.00. I asked if they would offer me a settlement and was told no.. Should I call Amex?
I have seen this type of development with AMEX accounts that get placed with debt collectors, but where account holders work directly within the AMEX payment systems.
In the Amex system, Jaffe and Asher are on contract for collections. American Express will likely tell you as much and typically not work directly with you toward any resolution.
It would be a good idea for us to cover some things in a phone consult. You can reply to the emails you get from the comment notification system, as those all come to me, and we can set up a time to talk.
Hi,
I have a judgement filed for an Amex account in 2010. In 2013 I paid in full to Zwicker & Associates and settled quickly as I was in the process of selling a home. I am selling again and the judgement is still showing and was not reported as settled. I have my payment receipt from Zwicker. What is the fastest way to resolve this judgement.
Thanks
If the court record shows no update since you paid the judgment I would:
1. Call Zwicker and Associates and let them know they dropped the ball with notifying the court. Demand they do so inside of a specified time frame or you will file complaints with the Bar Association and the CFPB.
2. Skip right to filing your complaints.
3. File your own motion with the court using your own attorney.
I reside in Florida and own my property tax homesteaded condominium. American Express Centurion Bank has filed a civil lawsuit against me; the summons hasn’t been served. The credit borrowed was approximately 10,000 dollars. My financial reality is that I don’t have enough to pay even a portion of the money sued for or for an attorney. The legal aid service near doesn’t offer assistance with consumer debt or bankruptcy concerns.
How do I protect my Florida residence from a judgement lien? Thank you very much for the service you provide!
If you live in the Condo you do not have to do anything to protect your home if the collection attorney for American Express gets a judgment. There is no dollar cap on the amount of home value Florida protects from judgment creditors, only the property size is capped (by acreage).
Michael-
How are you affiliated with Cambridge Credit? Also, what are the benefits of using a non-profit debt management company?
How do I confirm that AMEX is receiving payments and has agreed to the deal? Do I get a notice from AMEX?
I have no affiliation with Cambridge Credit Counseling currently, paid or otherwise.
The benefits of using a credit counseling agency (they are nearly all nonprofit), at least in your situation, would be the long term fixed monthly payment you said you were seeking. Many banks will not extend their hardship or reduced payment plans more than once, or more than once in a so many year period. But some will still work with you the same way, and longer term, if you are enrolled in a credit counseling debt management plan. I have a whole section of the debt relief guides dedicated to the topic, starting with an outline of what credit counseling is and how it works. You can review more about the benefits of credit counseling.
You generally will still get your monthly billing statements from American Express while you are enrolled in a DMP. I encourage people to review those statements each and every month to make sure payments and credits are applied according to the plan.
Michael-
I want to repay my entire balance (e.g. not looking for a settlement) and owe about $40K on my Gold Card. I have completed the first 11 of the 12 month program to reduce my balance, but want to set up something more permanent at a much lower rate for a much longer period of time. I have done that with all my other credit cards but don’t have a sense for AMEX since I, maybe mistakenly, entered into ther initial 12 month program they offered.
Do you think this is possible? Do you think I should try and work that out with Amex? They seem only to be willing to do 12 months plans. I don’t want to wait until it goes to collections; I want to pay what I owe over time and set up a permanent plan.
Any recommendations?
Thanks,
Mike
Call my hotline, 800-939-8357, and press option one to talk with a credit counselor about whether AMEX would accept you into a debt management plan with just your one account. If you can, your payment plan with AMEX can be stretched for several years.
I expect the answer to be no while you are still in a temporary payment plan with AMEX. You might want to wait to call between the 12th payment being made, but before the next one (non payment plan monthly payment) is due.
Thanks Michael
I owe around $13k. I can get family help for 50% in the next 10 days but
would the second collection law firm accept to settle for 50% taking into
consideration the court settlement order with the first law firm that
requires full payment.
Thanks
Sal
You can circle back and settle debts for less than the balance owed, even when you are making small monthly payments that were agreed to in or out of court. We have helped people negotiate this result with American Express accounts in the past.
Am I certain you will be able to do this? No. While I see settlements on AMEX accounts at this late stage of collection go for this low, it can often depend on how collectable you look on paper. If you are paying a host of creditors on time, and that shows on your credit reports, you will often appear to debt collectors as someone who can manage to pay more. And sometimes it can come down to how well you carry yourself as having a hardship, or some internal dollar or volume goals at the collection firm.
If that made all this sound complicated, it isn’t, you just need to pick up the phone and start the conversation. Negotiating the better savings tends to favor the person with a financial hardship and/or someone who has other collections appearing on their credit reports.
I called to try and settle and found out that my debt was closed from Collection agency and sent back to AMEX. (collections issues judgement and tried to empy my bank, which had zero balance) I called AMEX 800 number who said they would “take 80%”. by a “supervisor”. (80% equals $17k) I keep hearing 30-60%. from others?? And was it a good thing to go back to AMEX or do collection companies typically better to deal with? If they would take 1/2, or 10.5k, I can pay it but no way the full amount.
Give me a call to discuss the overall situation Jim. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, choose option 2. I am on the phone a good amount of the day. If you get my voice mail be sure to leave a message so I know to return the call.
Hi Michael, My problem with AMEX is while I was hospitalized from 10/30/2014 thru 1/5/2015 due to a screwup that occurred during a laminectomy on my spine. So I missed 3 to 4 payments and they would not talk to my wife because she was not on the account. However, I had gotten her a card on my account but they still would not discuss the account(s) with her. So here I’m stuck in a hospital with no way of taking care of this issue.
They turned my account over to Zwicker, in which are a bunch of liars. They threatened court and even told me that they entered Summary Judgement on me but I have not received any paperwork. I did negotiate a monthly payment with them. $500..
I’m prepared to call AMEX soon to argue that they first sent me to collection too early. Is it not the standard 6 payments late then off to collections. At the same time they cancelled/closed my Costco and Simply Cashcards. I’ve been with AMeX since 1987.. they have srewed up my credit score it dropped from an average 760 down to a 508.
So, can you give me any insight on which I should be handling this problem?
Thanks in advance
There is little point to calling AMEX and arguing anything with them.
American Express is not limited to when they can send your account to a debt collector. No credit card bank is. You could be a day late and the bank could use a collector. Most banks just tend to wait until they have to take the accounting loss which is the charge off.
I would encourage you to call me for a phone consult.That way I can dig into the details a bit more before offering actionable feedback. You can call 800-939-8357, option 2 rings to me. I am on the phone a lot, so be sure to leave a message so I know to call you back. You can also email me a number and some good times to reach you. My email address is the same one you get comment notifications from.
Hi Michael:
I have American express credit card debt that was charged off and a collection law firm which I settled to pay in full through monthly payments for three years after I signed a court settlement order. I paid my monthly payments for 16 month and recently I received a letter from another law collection firm asking for settlement. I reached out to the original law firm and they informed they no longer managing the account and I should contact American express collection which I did and I was informed that my account was transferred to the second law firm. I have couple of questions:
How can I get a written letter from the first law firm certifying the payments I made for 16 month and stating the my remaining balance
What tactic should I use with the second law firm to settle the remaining balance, is it possible to negotiate the remaining balance taking into consideration that I have court order settlement?
I would appreciate any advice you may have to negotiate the tensing balance as I am trying to recover my credit ASAP.
Regards
Sal
I would request an accounting from the prior collector for AMEX In writing, and also from the newest collection firm handling the account. American Express will likely be of little help in this regard, but I would ask them as well.
As far as settling, what do you estimate you owe now? How quickly can you pull together half of that to settle the AMEX account in one lump sum?
I have a delinquent account with AMEX. I tried to settle with the collection agency but was told AMEX doesn’t settle and wants the full amount paid. I tried to enter a payment plan and was not able to keep it. I then got sued by the collection firm. I have negotiated a payment plan thru a stipulated agreement that I am about to sign. However, I keep wondering if it is true that AMEX won’t settle in this case. The stipulated agreement says I will make payments until the full balance is paid and that if I go into default they can request a judgement. This is very serious and scary so I want to just sign the agreement and move on to make payments. But I also keep wondering if I am being naive and have not negotiated hard enough.
I have settled with 2 other credit cards in the past and got a 15% settlement and 30% settlement. So I am not new to negotiating debt settlements but in this case I haven’t been able to get anything other than a repayment plan.
There are indeed instances where you will not be able to settle a credit card debt. I do not have much information to go on to say that is whats happening with your AMEX account, or if the attorney debt collector views your file as highly collectable, and will not budge based on that.
How high are you willing to go to settle? Your expectations may be for too good a savings, as AMEX does not excel in the area of lowest offers approved. Now that you have been sued, the settlement rates can get worse. But debt collection law firms know the real time value of money, even with a file that they see as likely to pay in full (plus costs). I have done 60 to 80 percent lump sum settlements in this situation.
If you do not have the resources to pull together a much higher lump sum offer than what I think you were trying for, and making payments is how you need to proceed, is the amount you are agreeing to pay the law office each month something you are completely confident you can follow through with?
Did you file an answer to the lawsuit with the court?
What is the total you are agreeing to pay?
Who is the law firm handling this for American Express?
The law firm is Zwicker and Associates P.C. The total debt is $15,200 which is the amount I owed AMEX. I do not have the resources to pay a settlement at this point but tried to negotiate with them. The stipulated agreement states that I will pay them the first appearance fee. They will file the answer as well. I received the stipulated agreement from them. I am agreeing to pay $250 per month for the first 12 months and then $300 for the remaining of the debt until it is paid in full.
At first they wanted me to commit to $500 per month because AMEX wanted the debt paid in 36 months at the most. I almost agreed to that but continued to negotiate until I got this plan. Again, I am trying to figure out if I could have done any better.
Thank you
If you are not able to fund the settlement of, say 60 percent, in a lump sum, or broken up into a few payments, than I do not think you were going to succeed with settling. But you did get them to go longer on the payments than I typically see with Zwicker when collecting AMEX accounts, let alone once sued. In that way, you have exceeded expectations!