Can department store cards be settled like other accounts?
I have been researching settlement companies to help me with my debt. Your company seems to be one of the better ones, but can you help with store cards? I have read where they can be hard to settle with. I do have credit cards to settle with Bank of America, American Express and Citibank. My store cards are with GAP, Sears and Lowes. Can you help with these?
Can store cards be settled like settlements with the big banks?
—Linda
Yes, we can assist you with resolving your department store credit cards. Store accounts being more difficult to settle with than larger credit card issuers is true in some instances, but not all.
Department store branded cards are often serviced by the larger banks. Settling this type of account is often done with the bank that services the credit card, and not directly with the department store.
Your GAP card is co branded for use at Old Navy and Banana Republic stores, but is serviced by Synchrony bank. Your Lowe’s account is either serviced by Citi or Synchrony (Citi sold their Lowes credit card portfolio to Synchrony. If your Lowe’s account fell behind in payments before the switch you may still be with Citi bank). Your sears account is serviced by Citibank.
Negotiating Settlements, Payments, and Interest Rates on Department Store Cards
Your options to negotiate less than full balance payoff’s on your department store accounts will be similar to settling with your general use credit cards, but not identical. There are servicing agreements for branded cards that can affect the percentage of savings targets during the different collection phases. Dealing with collection agencies and debt collectors to resolve department store credit cards is not going to be all that different from how you might deal with them to settle on general purpose credit cards.
If you are looking to negotiate a hardship repayment plan on your store charge cards you can expect mostly the same benefits and warnings I have outlined in other posts.
If your income and budget is consistent, and you want to payoff all of your credit cards (department store cards or otherwise) using debt consolidation, you could benefit from talking with a credit counselor about lowering your monthly payments.
You are doing research into your option, which is great! If you want you to talk with me more about the realities of the process you are welcome to call me at 800-939-8357, option 2 rings to me.
Readers with questions about settling retail and store cards are welcome to post questions and concerns in the comment box below for feedback.
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. He is available to speak with you about your financial struggle and helps people resolve their debt problems daily.
Hello Michael , I can definitely use your advice on a few things.
I opened a Victoria Secret Card about 2 years back , losing my job etc made it hard for me to keep up with my payments which raised interest very fast going from a $300 bill to $675 and lead me being thrown into collections with comentity bank in August 2020.
The address They have on file is my old address where my mother and gram live, My gram handles the mail but do to her illness her memory is far from good so she would forget about my mail or forget where it was placed. I received my mail from her months later to where it was too late to even act or call collections for the specific mail i received. At the time they sent me mail stating they would settle for $500 that week or it would reman at original $675, Now being it is months since all this mail has been sent to me and I am struggling financially right now. I would like to call Comentity Bank and ask if they would be willing to settle for about $300/$350 as a full payment. After the payment I wanted to see about a goodwill deletion do to being I am 21 and just starting out in life. This is having a Huge hold on my life and I cant even get approved for a apt because credit is everything. I want to focus on my score of 500 however because this was the only thing along with student loans on my credit. Its very hard to unless this is removed off my record. Any advice on how to go about getting a settled payment or a goodwill Deletion. Thank you for your time.
You can call Comenity to see if they still have the account, and negotiate a lower than balance settlement. I would not be optimistic about them deleting it, as banks are not known for agreeing to that. Comenity will update your credit to show a zero balance, or paid collection, and you can improve your credit from there.
You may learn that Comenity has sent your account out to a collection agency, or even sold your account to a debt buyer, and that can mean you have to resolve the account with someone other than Comenity.
Thank you Michael I got lots of good information on your video. I have few credits card I have been making payments. I received social security 852.00 plus I work at pride industry. I’m paying my bills minimum payment of few them I got behind because I lost my mom to Alzheimer’s disease. Woman with in with Comenity bank is horrible my goal to pay them off and close. They drive me crazy. I wrote them a letter to explain what happened she never wrote me back and I’m frustrated about it. I had credit card fraud happen to me in year 2000. So my goal is pay them off . I will tell you about my journey. Thank you
I opened a victoria secret credit card and have been unable to pay. I’ve gotten an intimadating automated voicemail saying to call a number.. so I called the number and they said victoria secret handed over the collections to them. The lady was very rude and threatend me with court if I didn’t pay 500 today or put a card on file so she could send me a statement. She said I could pay the balance of 500 or set up payments of 308 for 8 months or 616 for 4 months. I found it strange that she couldn’t send me a statement first. With court costs etc she said in court it would cost me over $2000. Is this legit and will they really take me to court over this?
It is comenity bank but the lady said victoria secrets handed it over.. she did not say comenity
When did you last make a payment on the card?
I had a Victoria Secret account from 2014. Received a call from a company claiming that the debt has moved to a legal matter. I suffered a brain injury in a car accident in July of 2015 which left me with some memory problems some of which included debts I owed. I’ve suffered in many other areas but am finding that I owe debts that I do not remember anything about. I spoke with a woman yesterday that when I asked her for a copy of the debts and the agreement with VS she said she could not provide that to me as it was past that point and she was the last option before they filed a lawsuit against me. I told her I would have to take her word on the debt and will pay what I need to pay and she said she had the attorney with her in the office and they agreed to knock off 50% of the debt because of my injury. I gave her my card number and authorized her to debt my account on 12/30 for $731. She said she would follow it up with an email and document for me to sign. Never got it. She was also supposed to call me back this morning and I haven’t heard from her. After processing the phone call in my head she never identified the company she works for or that she was attempting to collect a debt. Should I be worried?
Yes, you should be. What you shared reminds me of all the comments on this article about debt collector scams.
Never pay without something in writing first. I would talk to my bank if it were me. Your bank may encourage you to close the account.
Call the collector and find out their company name and post an update.
Hello,
I’m currently dealing with comenity bank for my gamestop card. Calls have been non stop for a month or two, I think my last payment was in August… A host of things contributed. I have 3 other credit cards that I’m trying to pay off in addition to rent, car note and car insurance. I took on more than I could chew and don’t make enough to pay everything faithfully every month. Need my car to get to work, need car insurance to drive my car, have to pay rent so I had to stop paying my card… I figured I’d wait until income tax time to make a nice payment if not all. Received a call today from a comenity rep saying for me or my “lawyer representative” to call him back today by 4pm.
That type of language from the Comenity debt collector is just designed to get you to act. It is a lot like debt collectors telling people their file is going to marked refusal to pay.
If it were me, I would stay the path and settle down the road when I have the money.
Hello my younger sister got a victoria secret credit card i want to say back in 2013 she lost her job so couldn’t pay them back right away . After a while comminty bank started calling her saying she needed to say them and she could do it in 3 payment plans of $220 so thats what she started to do , they would never take the money out of the day that they agreed on so it would over draft her bank account and had to close it so they couldn’t get anymore money from her . Now portfolio Recovery is saying she still owes $825 dollars she started paying them so why does she still owe so much can she offer then what she has and that debt it go away ? she also go a letter in the mail from a law firm about the debt as well
Does she have an agreement with Portfolio Recovery to make a payment by a certain day each month, and is she on time with those?
Balances often increase with late fees, over the limit fees, and default interest.
Could you request a debt settlement before it ever goes to collections? Like being pro active? And will that stay on your credit?
You have to be behind. And in order to get the most savings the more behind is sometimes better. The trade off is a hit to your credit reports.
Even if you did settle at 1 week or one month late, your settling still shows up and hurts your credit.
Or at least that it is showing as owed on their end.
If you did not finish the agreement the judgment cannot be updated int he court record as paid or satisfied.
If you are trying to settle this debt for less than what you owe I would focus on it first. If you are going to pay the remainder owed in full, I might leave it for last and use it as a hardship reference if you are negotiating any other debts.
The court said the case is closed but the debt is still owed to the creditor.
Why do you think it was removed from my report?
If you are off on the date of the judgment it could have been removed due to age. It could just be a snafu with the local data broker that sends court information to the credit bureaus.
Hi Mr. Bovee,
I have a question about an old judgement. In 2009, Blatt, Hasenmiller, Leibsker and Moore sued me on behalf of my original creditor (Capital One). This was when I lived in the state of IL. The amount was $1200.
I set up payment arrangements, and paid it down to about $900. In 2013, I guess the collection lawyers got frustrated with my small payments, because they tried to levy my bank account (they could not garnish because my income was too low). However, the account they tried to levy was actually CLOSED (and I was able to prove it), so the judge dismissed the case.
I continued to make small payments against the judgement owed. Then, in 2014, I moved to the state of TX for school/a prospective career change. I continued to make 4-5 more payments against the judgement in 2014, until I was no longer able to. However, I have not heard from BHLM again.
I recently checked my credit report, because I am finally established in Texas, and in the position to start clearing old debt (I have about $2700 of bad debt -mostly medical- that is in collections, but I will try and settle it for less). Anyway, I noticed that the BHLM judgement is NO LONGER on my reports. I checked Transunion and Equifax. What do you think that means?
Also, if I were to move back to IL in a year or two, could the debt possibly reappear?
Check the court where Blatt Hasenmiller sued you and pull up the lawsuit they filed. See if it was truly dismissed or not. Let me know what you find.
If the judgment shows dismissed in the court record this is pretty much over.
If the judgment is still there you are going to want to negotiate a settlement with Blatt Hasenmiller, or whoever Capital One may have the account with now.
I had a sears card and last year struggled to pay.I then got on a payment plan and was late knocked off. I just got taxes and called for payment options and they said I was sold to Midland. I called them but they have no info on me as now. I wanted to offer a pay to sears now I am not sure what will happen. What can I do and expect? I am very new to the collections things and freaking out?
Did they say when your Sears account was sold? If you called Midland and they do not have it showing in their system yet, it could have been so recent that their systems are not updated yet. You could call back in a week or two and start negotiating a pay off with Midland Funding.
Can you come up with 40 percent of what is owed?
I opened a gap card a few years ago. I got a call from someone in new york saying they were legal aid and we’re to collect the debt payment before court. I never received anything about being sued, also he called private seemed a little odd. And I recently changed my phone number but they have it. They say that I owe 550, but I only used 300 at the most on the card. I’m willing to settle but they want it to be paid in full by the end of the month (2weeks).
No legitimate debt collectors I know of call themselves legal aid. Do you have a different name to go on?
If it were me, and I was concerned about whether I was dealing with a proper debt collector, I would call the original creditor and ask who they have the debt with for collection, and what the balance is.
Post an update with what you learn and lets go from there.
Hi,
I have received a similar collections letter from Synchrony Bank about my Lowe’s card that is 6 months past due. I know that the debt hasn’t yet been sold to an outside debt collection. They are offering me a settlement at 40 cents on the dollar. I would like to accept the offer, but they will not send me anything in writing, at least not in a timely fashion.
They say the paperwork takes 7-10 days to arrive, but the payment is due in 7 days. If I fail to make the payment, then they will charge off the debt and I’ll have to deal with a different collections company. I want to get this paid off, but I’m concerned they’ll take my payment, but the offer will vanish because I don’t have anything in writing.
They tell me the calls are recorded and everything is notated in my account, but I’m not sure whether to believe them or not. Is it a different situation because the debt hasn’t yet been sold and they’ll be issuing me a 1099? Thanks for your help.
What you described is pretty common when settling with Synchrony right now. They do record calls, and would commonly make the notes in your file, just like they say. But you want to cover your side, not theirs. If you want to take the deal, a workaround would be to get them back on the phone; tell them you are recording and why (use an app on your smart phone, or even an old school recorder with a speaker phone); get all of the important details covered like before. Save the recording until you receive the Synchrony settlement agreement in the mail, and then save it still.
If you run into any issues with the account mistakenly being coded as something other than settled, I can help you correct any of that with the recording.
Be sure to take notes of the number/date/time and person you speak with.
I have a question I have a Lowe’s credit card that I used to pay for Lowe’s to install my fence for my backyard. I have a Walmart card which I purchased my office furniture and stuff and I have a rooms to go credit card that I used to purchase my sofas and daughters bedroom. I also financed a puppy and realized it says it’s a lease agreement. Now my question is I am filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy will Lowe’s come and ripe my
Fence and take it back? Will
Walmart come pick up my
Office furniture and will
Rooms to go come and pick up my furniture too?
Generally, no, they do not come take back the stuff you bought on credit at each store.
Who is it that financed the puppy under a lease agreement?
Hi,
I was contacted by Commenity Bank that they will accept $420.49 towards my New York & company credit card account balance of $1,051.23.
I was making payments for awhile that was negotiated due to the fact that I was out of work and a stay at home mom with my three kids. We only have my husbands income which barely covers all our other bills, utilities, rent and car payment and insurance. I was in contact with the cc company but they were not willing to work with me or lower payments so I was forced to stop paying. I’ve received numerous debt collections calls and now have been contacted by the recover department of commenity bank with this offer. The offer sounds great in comparison to what I owe because it’s 40% of the balance but I have no income and no way of paying this. Also they say in the letter that I have 30 days to respond and once paid they will cease further collection actions against me and commenity bank will notify the appropriate national credit reporting agencies that I have settled this account. Does this mean that this would be the end of all this and it will be off my credit report?
Thanks in Advance
If you accept the offer to settle from Commenity bank, it will put this all behind you. The negative stays on the credit report, but as a zero balance owed, and only for 7 years from the date you first missed your payments. Depending on everything else on your credit reports, a paid collection may not hold you back much at all.
Thank you for your quick reply!
Do you think that there’s any chance of me being able to get a lower settle amount then what they offered $420.49? I have zero income at the moment and they want a response in 30 days.
Thanks
Given the lower dollar amount, and the critic stage collection this has reached (in the courts), I do not see them going much lower than full payment, but you could try to negotiate a savings. Can you pull together, say 300 dollars?
What do you mean by the critic stage the collection has reached – the courts?
Sorry about that. I meant to type “critical stage of collection”, and by that I am referring to collections that reach the court.
Ps Thank U for your ear!!,…Dyan Chicoine
You have too much equity in your condo at 350k to be able to keep it if you filed chapter 7. You may want to look at your options to repay a portion of your debts in a chapter 13 bankruptcy, or look into what settling your credit cards could mean for you.
If you post the balances and who each is owed to, I can offer an estimate of what you can realistically plan for, including which accounts may be the highest risk to sue. You may be able to come up with an acceptable plan to settle before sued, or even once sued, or after the fact. That kind of plan is not all that uncommon.
Im 66yrs …I always paid my credit cards for 40 yrs.on time..great credit great history of paying on time..never late…..But… 5 yrs ago .I got cancer…I was out of work 9 months(7 surgeries).. and ..medical bills…and ect ect…I’m $50,000 in debt with 5 credit cards…I’m thankful I had them but after all the drama .and I survived .I am left with Debt….I have no savings..but I do own my condo (California) worth $350,000…..I have been paying total ..all 5 cards = $1,000 a month …I make $1,200 plus $550 SS……I gave all my cash …I do Not want to move ..it’s been my home for 18yrs……I can not pay anymore …what do I do ?….will they sue me cause I own?….I have Not stop paying min…but can not anymore
Hi Michael,
I am in Missouri. I am being sued by a debt collection lawyer for debt I owe and which is within the statute of legislation ($1200). I spoke to the debt collection law firm bringing the case today and they agreed to a reasonable payment plan (in fact they were surprisingly pleasant and helpful). They are sending me the payment agreement I made with them in writing and I am going to send them a money order each month registered mail to be able to easily prove I am making my payments.
My question is: Do I still need to go to court next week? I realize a judgement will be entered against me but the collections agency told me that as long as I stayed in contact with them and made my payments on time every month, no further action would be taken. They said we would have to renegotiate the payment at the end of 12 months but since it is not a huge amount that I owe, I feel more than confident that I can and will make these payments and meet my commitment to them. I realize taking legal advice from the people suing you is not a good idea so I am asking you. As long as they put it in writing and it is the agreement we negotiated is there any need for me to go to court?
Does the paperwork show you are consenting or stipulating to a judgment? If it were me, there would be little point to making a court appearance if I already agreed and consented to the plaintiffs claims being asserted to the court.
Who is the plaintiff? Who is the collection law firm?
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the fast reply. The plaintiff is Midland Credit and collection law firm Gauvach Meyers out of St. Louis Mo. I have requested the paperwork to reflect that I have agreed to a payment in order to pay off the debt at $25 a month and that I will call them in 12 months to reconfirm the arrangement (I am boping by then to have saved enough money by then to negotiate a lump sum smaller payment amount) and in the mean time intend to make my payments every month on time every month.
So no need to go to court still right? I feel the matter has been taken care of, but I just wanted to double check.
If I had the paperwork outlining all that both sides have agreed to, and I were satisfied with the outcome, I would not see much need in taking time off work to go.
If I did not have the paperwork by the time promised, I would show up to court.
Thank you very much for the advice. You have been a big help. I will follow your advice.
We went into this blindly actually. Stopped payments. Later learned about settlement. So we never have talked to our creditors. We do get calls. We get letters every now and then. We did write one hardship/settlement letter to discover asking to settle the 4000 balance with 1000. The next letter received from them was a letter from a lawyer group. So we are assuming discover will sue. The lawyer group is Stephen & Bruce Associates. Tried settling once with my walmart card, i think its a GE card. We asked to settle the 3000 with 800 but they didnt budge. We havent heard from them in awhile.Midland owns that account now. Any information we can get a hold of about cc debt and stopping payments on them has become valuable to us. I ran into this site and have read all the comments. Very helpful! Thanks so much for caring about people.There are people who cant understand how anyone can get into debt the way we have. Our debt was made in the past 15 years raising 4 children and having one grandchild for his first 2 years of his life. Its not our excuse, its just the way life went for us.
Because we have a son in college still and helping him to pursue his degree, any extra money we have at the end of the month goes to him. He does have a scholarship but it doesnt pay for everything. He has 2 more years left. After my husband retired he had found out he had cancer so we had to deal with that too. I had a job for awhile last year but hurt my shoulder and needed surgery. All of these things collided together which got us in financial trouble. This is why we stopped paying credit cards. Right now the extra money is great for what we need but still unable to save. My husband and i will eventually need to get jobs. We would love to be able to settle all the debts. We are hoping some will just float around until SOL is up and the ones that will sue we will just have to try to negotiate with them for lower monthly payments or no interest. We just dont want to be surprised one day that we have a judgement against us without our knowledge there was even a suit.
Some of the debts will likely go the way you are hoping. I am glad you have the mindset you do about navigating the stuff that will happen along the way. The squeaky wheel gets the grease approach is not one I recommend unless you are cornered, so to speak. Having a good attitude about all of this, and realizing it is all just math and timing, puts you miles ahead of others when it comes to this.
If a judgment is entered without your knowledge it can be a simple thing to unwind.
Did you call your credit card banks to let them know your situation in the same why I outline in the first stage debt settlement section of the site? How about any of the collectors and debt buyers that may already have your accounts?
My husband and I have credit cards that we stopped payment on.We were no longer able to afford the monthly payments. We own our home and have no mortgage on it.Our only source of income is my husbands retirement pension.We are aware that his pension can not be garnished from our bank if we happened to get a judgement in the future. How do we make sure a creditor does not freeze our bank account anyway? How will they know that the only money in our bank is retirement money? Do we have to do something to make sure they dont take our pension illegally?Also, how often do they actually put a lien on your primary residence? We live in Louisiana,have homestead exemption,but i believe only 30,000 is exempt.As you can see we are afraid we will be sued and have a lien put on our home and possibly have our bank frozen illegally.
ThAnks
You could go on file with your bank letting them know that the only source of funds on deposit are from an exempt source. But I would not do that until/unless sued. Not all unpaid debts end up in a collection lawsuit.
Who are your creditors and each respective balance?
How long ago was it that you stopped paying on the credit cards?
We have about 60000 cc debt. 3 cards in my name that we stopped payment on June 2013, chase 8000 citibank 8000 and walmart card 2000. My husbands cards are 2 chase, 8000 and 3000, bofA 16000,and a credit union visa 13000.All of his cards we stopped January 2014 except for the credit union one. The credit union card we stopped 3 months ago.We are scared about the credit union sueing. They are local. Discover has already sent our account to a lawyer group.We are nervous about that account as well at the moment.
It is good you are thinking of these things now, as I have little doubt you will be sued at least once.
You can assume that a judgment creditor will get a lien on the home.
When it comes to navigating all of this, it just is what it is when you have no money to settle the debts over time, and do not want to file bankruptcy. You can sometimes invest in defending collections lawsuits by connecting with an experienced debt defense attorney. I know some good ones in Louisiana. If you are sued by a debt buyer, let me know, as defending can be the most cost effective way to manage the problem, and debt buyer lawsuits can be beaten back with a higher level of consistency.
Are you able to set aside any amount of money each month to prepare for dealing with these debts later?
Grown daughter lied about a Lowes credit card I had taken out with her as secondary and her dead beat husband ran up 9400 on the crd they did not pay until I discovered the problem and then they sometimes pay. Lowes sold the debt to whom I do not know, But refuse to talk to her about reducing and clearing the debt. She is trying to move on but is a single parent -deadbeat gone -and is working and would like someday to buy a house. Options ?
Find out the name of the debt collector and post an update. That information impacts my feedback greatly.
It would also be good to know when a payment was last made to anyone on this debt, and the balance owed as of today?
My daughter had a Victoria secret credit card she lost her job now a collection agency is calling her. She said she owes the $200.00 they want her to pay over $500.00. They told her to get the money from me just give them my banking information. I refused now they told her I need to call them. I have nothing to do with them. She’s 24 years old and I signed nothing. What can I do or she do to stop this? Is she obligated to pay the $500.
Once a collection agency has an account, it typically means the account has gone unpaid for some time. The longer it has been since a payment was made to Victoria Secret, the better the savings you can often achieve negotiating a settlement. If your daughter legitimately owes, and wants to pay, I would try to settle for the amount she can afford. 200 dollars is 40% of the 500 balance they say is owed, and is a realistic settlement target.
You can haggle where the additional charges and interest are coming from, and some of the fees may not be legitimate, or the collection agency may not be able to prove the validity. But as much as a 35 dollar monthly late fee, for say 6 months, before the account gets placed with a debt collector, would cover 210 dollars by itself.
What is the name of the collection agency? Can you confirm the date your daughter last made a payment on the account?
The agency is World Financial Network National Bank WFNNB and it h aww s been 7 months she believes since she was able to make a payment
If WFNNB is still collecting, the account is not yet placed with an outside debt collector. If you cannot negotiate with, or convince WFNNB to settle for an amount that is affordable, you could hold out for a bit longer and work out something with the collection agency you first hear from.
Hi!
Last time I wrote in you assisted me with a judgement made against me. I have a couple totaling over 40K in credit card debt and I also had to foreclose on my home in Galveston after Hurricane Ike. (destroyed). I then became ill in 2012 and at 58, am permanently disabled. I have some money in my 401K that I would like to take out and spend on a small fixer upper-cash transaction, no loans to worry about. I assume the people who want my money would place a lien on whatever I buy, but could they acrually prevent the purchase? I have never kept enough in my bank account to have them hit me there (social security). My main concern is to not be reliant on fluctuations in rent the rest of my life-after I die, I don’t care if they take posession of my house. I have no children.
I do not see your having any problem making an all cash purchase. You could talk this over with an attorney in order to move forward with confidence.
I am active duty military stationed in California. I have been summoned to court for unpaid debt in Louisiana which was my last duty station. About 3 years ago, I borrowed money from a Lending company called Tower Loan. I have been on time paying my bills until I got transferred here in California. Due to my move, I wasnt able to find a renter to my house, was forced to short sale 1 1/2 years later. I owe about $2800 but after a year of no payment, I was told my balance is now $4000. I tried contacting the attorney handling my case to plea for settlement but they wouldn’t budge in. Told me I have to pay the amount in full. I have other credit cards that I’ve been working to pay off. I’ve tried the help of debt settlement agency and unfortunately haven’t had the best results so I closed my account and have successfully settled two credit cards on my own. I am trying to avoid filing for bankruptcy since I believe that I can slowly pay my debts off. I have a reliable income right now so I know that they are probably going to garnish my wages. The original court date was scheduled December but I was able to request for another date so I can attend the hearing. The new hearing is now set for January 6. I don’t deny the charges and I take full responsibility for the debt but I want to know if representing myself would do me any good? I can’t afford an attorney right now. What documents do I need to bring with me to help in any way? Am I protected under Service members act for being in the military? What should I do? I need your help/advice. Thank you!
D – As an active duty member of the military you are at all times protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. There are varying degrees depending on whether deployed etc. I know you said you cannot afford an attorney, but I think you cannot afford to at least talk to one, especially when the initial consult with the type of attorney you need is usually no cost. There may be actionable angles a consumer law attorney can see where they pick up your file at a low cost, or even perhaps no retainer whatsoever if there are cut and dry violations.
I am emailing you contact points for a debt defense attorney in Louisiana. Make the connection and post a follow up comment with any update from that and lets go from there.
Michael,
I have a complicated situation. In 2007 I bought a motorcycle using HSBC finance(financing in form of a credit card for motorcycles) . I loss my job and be ill soon after. I was behind on payment. I even went as far as trying to send lump some payments(borrowed from family). By then it was too late. The repossession process began. I had many threats of them trying to collect it. I left it outside for their collection of the bike. They never picked it up.
Between 2008-11 I was out of work and couldn’t find a job after graduating college.
Several collection agencies called trying to negotiate and settle however I couldn’t(no job or income). I let it go by until I received a letter from the law office of a suit. I missed a court date and received a judgement against me. This was in early 2012.
Fast forward to this year I contacted the law office(representing the collections agency) and set up a payment plan. They really are working with me as they brought the balance down a great amount.(40 %)
I decided to start back riding the motorcycle, keeping in mind that I am working now and making the payments. (Not to HSBC but towards the law office representing the collection company). A month ago my neighbor, considerably older and more experienced rider, made bad decisions and crashed the bike. He died on the scene. It is now totaled! The insurance company would like my lienholders contact info/account info to send the settlement check to.
What will happen to that check since that is an old debt and I am now making payment through the collections agency’s law firm. ?
Is there a way I can have that check go to the law office instead? Even better towards paying off the remaining balance.
I have not told the insurance it was a chargeoff account I am making payments through.
I’m in the state of Massachusetts.
Thanks,
Steve
Steve – The situation you outlined is a bit tangled. I would recommend you consult with an attorney in your state, and one with debt collection defense experience. If you post a comment with the city you are in I can help you locate the type of attorney you would want to call.
Hello Michael,
Im located in thé city of Boston. Any referrals and advice is gladly accepted.
Thanks again,
Steve
The email I just sent you has contact info to 3 different attorneys in Boston with collection defense experience. All of them likely offer a free initial consult which will help you determine your next step.
Hello Michael,
I’ve been reading your blog and you appear to be a valuable resource to your bloggers. Maybe you can help me better understand the process.
1. I was served yesterday, 9/19/13, a summons that I was being sued by CAVALRY SPV1, LLC. However the summons is dated 8/28/2013. Do I have 30 days to respond FROM 9/19 or 8/28? The court is an Orange County court (Santa Ana, Ca)
2. The damage is 31K. Originally a balance transfer credit card debt to BOA. I stopped paying my 600ish payment circa 8/2010 when I could no longer pay everything. Not coincidentally… the same time I stopped paying my mortgage…which sold short 8/2012 (also BOAmerica). The question is…can I declare bk before and/or during the summons?
Your time would be greatly appreciated.
Curt – Your response time to the lawsuit starts ticking from the date served. Yes, you can file bankruptcy at any point (now, before the case is decided, or after). Is this old BofA account the only debt you have that would push you into bankruptcy. If it is the only one, I can suggest some alternatives. If there are more than this, please answer the following:
When debts were last paid?
Who is collecting on them now?
Balances on each account?
You can often defend debt buyer collection lawsuits, like this one from cavalry SPV, to the point of greatly reduced settlements, or get them dismissed. If you have many accounts out there that can reach the courts, bankruptcy could be the least expensive and quickest solution.
I have several other smaller debts. I stopped paying on all of them at about the same time (circa 8/2010) . That was when I calculated I could no longer afford the house I was living in (short sale). I figured if my credit was gonna be shot…I might as well make a clean slate of it.
1. citibank master (now associated recovery) $5915
2. discover (now northstar location) $5670
3. boat and rv raytown lee summit credit union. boat 18493 and rv 3173. (I don’t know how hard they are trying to collect these last 2 debts? I haven’t heard directly from them. a vp of the cu tried to connect with me on linked in.
I have a job now…but I’m statutory/contract employee…. it’s 100% commission. I go months without making a dime…sometimes. I have rental income…but that is upside down after I’ve paid the mortgage, taxes and miscellaneous repair (the unit itself is still upside down…too). In short, I make less than I owe every month…at this stage.
ps thanks for replying.
curt
Thanks for the additional details Curt. With the other debts you have out there, an upside down rental (costing you more that you bring in), and the lawsuit, it is a good idea to learn more about chapter 7 bankruptcy. You can call 877-278-8117 for a free BK consult. You should learn that chapter 7 will be the most economical approach. Probably less cost total than defending against the Cavalry lawsuit, and whole heck of a lot more affordable than the settlements you could negotiate on the debts. You could shed the property too.
Let me know what you learn, and post any additional questions afterward for feedback about alternatives if you learn something that would prevent you from seeking a fresh start through bankruptcy. If you do not go that route, it would be in your best interest to answer the lawsuit in time.
Please notify me through email, I forgot to post that in my earlier post.
Thanks,
YA – If you are subscribed to the comments you will get automatic emails when there are replies.
My son graduated in 2008 from a top university in CA, where we live. Could not find a job, waited 2 years, went back to grad school. Now he has accumulated credit card debt that is out of control and is driving him crazy. His student loan is about $100K, he will somehow settle that, they are in deferment. It’s his other cc debts that we. Would like a solution to. We pulled his free credit report and a whole bunch of them are saying “estimated month and year that this item will be removed” and a date in front of them. None of these are liens or judgements. He is again looking for a job in teaching which are hard to come by.
My question is, if he waits till those dates pass, will the items not only fall off his report, but will also not keep an option open for the creditors to come after him later in life when he does get himself established. Or is BK-7 his only recourse, because he can certainly not pay any other debt besides his student loans, which he feels compelled to.
Also, there were a few student loans that were unsecured, they also say charged off with a date given for them to fall off. Are there certain student loans that get charged off if they end up with a collection agency?
Please help as this has taken our sleep away.
Thanks,
A concerned mother
YA
YA – What are the balances on the credit card debts? When were they last paid? Who is collecting on them now? Same questions on the student loans that are not in deferment and showing charged off.
Post answers to those questions and lets go from there.
I had a court ordered garnishment of which my creditor wasn’t able to get much because I wasn’t actually earning much. I’m more of a dependent to my husband. I had to quit my job due to disability. Next thing, was a bank levy. My creditor had not really collected much from me. I owe them approximately $6,000, when this court thing started which was two years ago. I am now getting worried about what they are going to do next. I live in California and I am wondering if bankruptcy would work for me.
You do not have a job where your paycheck can be garnished. If you take your name off of any bank account and just work from your husbands, you could short circuit any bank levy attempt. You could have a lien placed against your property that would have to be dealt with at some point.
Bankruptcy is always an option to eliminate judgment debts, garnishments and liens, when you can qualify for a chapter 7 where the debts get discharged.
In order to get a good grip on what bankruptcy would mean in your situation you should connect with an experienced bankruptcy attorney in your area.
received notice of a lawsuit being filed. original creditor was Chase bank, who sold it to MCM. I tried to work out terms of one lump sum payment with them but they wanted me to give them bank info to take payment and I said no I would send them a check and they refused. Now it is sent to wwr attorneys who on a $1, 846.00 debt would only go down to 1590.00 for payment to be made by the 30th of this month or 2 payments with half on the 30th of this month and the other half on the 12th of next month. They also said this would go against my credit. What steps should I take or should I go to court. If lawsuit is filed when should I expect summons for court date> thank you for any advice…
You mentioned being served notice of the lawsuit on the Chase Debt by who owns it now, Midland Credit Management – Midland Funding. But you later refer to having not been served the lawsuit yet. If you would like to prevent a new negative entry on your credit report (Chase already likely shows a charge off), by allowing the lawsuit to proceed, or signing paperwork with the debt collection law firm hired my Midland Funding, you should look to settle this in one lump sum payment. Be sure to get the settlement documented prior to funding the payment. If you have documentation in hand prior to funding, and the agreement has everything in there you need it to, that will protect you when making a payment in a form other than a mailed check.
Read this report on debt settlement letters.
I am not sure why you would want to go to court if you can resolve this before you are even served. Do you have a reason or desire to defend the suit?