Negotiate a Settlement with CIR Law Offices
I received an account charged off-letter from CIR law offices in San Diego. Now I've read all the posts on how to negotiate debts with debt collection agencies and I actually sent a certified letter with a proposal to pay 25% of a $10,000 debt in full. The law offices waited exactly a month to send me a letter back, but instead of responding to my offer, they sent a cheesy letter with a "Special tax season settlement offer!"
Is this for real? They said "if payment is received no later than 2/23/16, you only have to pay 68% of the debt to settle account in full! "
They said after they receive payment, then they'll send a letter stating settled in full..
I'm just not sure how to go about this? Should I call? Because honestly I can only pay $2500 in full right now..
How do I respond to CIR Law Offices?
—Serena
Some of the first questions I ask when someone calls in for a consult on something like this immediately pop up. Before I get into some general feedback about dealing with CIR, I will list the questions.
Who is the original creditor for the account CIR is trying to collect on?
Is CIR collecting for someone other than the original creditor, and if so who (your account may have been sold)?
When was it you last made a payment to anyone on this account?
What state do you live in?
Read more generalities for when you are negotiating with debt collectors after charge off
How to Negotiate with CIR Law Offices
How I would recommend going about negotiating with CIR can change depending on whether they are working for your original bank, or if your account was sold off to a debt buyer. But, regardless of the debt owner, I rarely advise sending in a letter offering to settle.
Calling debt collectors like CIR Law Offices to negotiate is more ideal because:
- You have a better shot of conveying a financial hardship when speaking to a debt collector.
- You have the ability to use your own talking points to overcome the bias they may have when only looking at your credit reports to determine how high a collection target you are.
- You eliminate the risk your offer is viewed as a written acknowledgement of the debt, which can reage the SOL for CIR Law offices to sue you in some states.
There are limited benefits to sending in written settlement offers. Are you uncomfortable talking to the debt collector?
You do want things in writing when you are dealing with a debt collector, but I encourage doing the negotiating over the phone first, and then waiting to pay a dime until you have what was agreed to in writing.
How much can you save?
CIR Law is a known litigator. They use the courts to sue people in order to collect. Depending on who they are working for, your realistic targets for what you can save will change. I would generally not expect you to be able to settle with CIR for the 25% you offered in your settlement letter. But you have accomplished one of the first goals in negotiating… they countered your offer.
If you simply do not have any additional money to work with, than you may want to respond and hold fast to what you can pay. If you can pull together some more money, you may want to consider making a counter to their counter offer.
CIR collects on unpaid Discover Cards. You may need to double what you can afford in order to settle if that’s the case. Also, the older the debt, you sometimes have a better shot at saving more in your settlement.
Post your answers to my questions in the comments below and let’s go from there.
Anyone with questions or concerns about negotiating a settlement with CIR Law Offices is welcome to post in the comments below for feedback. You can also reach me by phone at 800-939-8357, option 2 rings to me.
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.
Mike,
Hi. I have a question about unpaid HSBC credit card. it looks like this debt has been passed on to one too many debt buyer and now in the hands of CIR Law firm who said they represent Calgary debt collection agency.
It seems like that debt collection agency is illegal because the debt keep on changing hands and every time it changed hands, it shows as negative in my credit report. It also somehow it seems like reset the credit falling off date from my report.
By law, how many years does a collection record falls off my credit report?
The credit reporting that has happened sounds wonky, but the debt sales are not illegal.
Check out this post about how long negative credit reporting takes to age off your credit.
Check out this DIY credit reporting dispute resource if you need to get things corrected.
Hello Michael:
I have been sued by CIR.
Amount owed to a credit union was $10,000.
I received summons a door.
Court date set for next year
Retired no income..
I have called them and offered $4k to settle.
They said they would get back to me.
I explained that my income was only from SS.
I do have property out of state.
Can they take any assets which are minimal “94 Dodge van,”04 Car, “99 motorcycle…
What should be my next step,
Thanks
Bob
What state do you live in?
Hello Michael:
I’m in California….
Check out this video I did with a great debt collection defense attorney in California. Call him for a free consult.
Hello …I am being ignored buy CIR….is this a good thing?
They do not return calls…
You have to keep at it. What is it you are looking to accomplish when you reach them? What is the disposition of your account they are collecting on?
I am trying to negotiate a reduced primary debt… so far they have not been receptive. I offered less than half of debt value.
The account has gone to court as I am being sued for sum by CIR that is representing the CU.
Depending on the credit union, you may need to come up with way more than half to settle, and some won’t.
You can often get where you need to be by defending the lawsuit first, and then negotiating. This will allow you time to save up more money, and also show them you are not part of the 90 percent of people that fold when sued, or fail to defend it.
Hey Michael,
Thanks for your speedy reply.
Who is the original creditor for the account CIR is trying to collect on?
Discover Cards is the original creditor. I called Discover and confirmed that my account has been charged off and sold off.
When was it you last made a payment to anyone on this account?
The last payment was made in September 2015. I paid $200 consecutively for 5 months, but after September I was no longer able to make any payments. I was making monthly payments on time for the past few years, then I suddenly got really sick in 2014, and was and still unable to work. Stopped making payments completely in October 2014, then restarted paying in May 2015 with help of my daughter.
What state do you live in?
California.
25% of my debt is ideally what I can pay as a lump sum. Their counter offer of 68% is too much for me. I’m just not prepared to how to respond to them via telephone. I’ll do my due diligence and research how I should approach speaking with a debt collector, however I’m afraid I’ll get backed into a corner and end up agreeing to pay a lot more than what I can afford.
My goal is to take care of this debt ASAP and not get sued. At what point will they attempt to sue me?
Thanks for your time Michael.
Serena
Discover bank has not been much for selling debt of late. Are you certain they said they sold your account to CIR?
If I were unemployed and unable to work due to ongoing health concerns I would not have any problem talking about that with a collector at CIR Law. If I had an asset like a home with a good amount of equity in California I would be realistic about settling for 50% as an optimistic target. If no assets I would try to get lower than 50%.
You are at risk of being sued by CIR starting when they got your account. If you are unable to negotiate a payoff I find it likely you are sued any time between now and the next few months.
Are there other unpaid debts on your credit reports? That can sometimes help you in your efforts with CIR.
Yes, I’m certain because I called back Discover and they transferred me directly to CIR law offices. I spoke with the manager there and he said they can try to 50%.. he said he will call me back and see “what Discover says..” Sigh, 50% is tough but at this point I just want to avoid a lawsuit.. I do have another unpaid debt and i’m in the middle of working on that too.
So based on reading other people’s comments on getting Settlement letters, I should definitely get that first via fax or mail before I make any arrangements correct?
thanks for your help.
Okay, but I do not think Discover sold your account to CIR, but that they placed it with that office for further collection. That is normal.
You can only afford what you can. Be sure to be up front about that and not to agree to something you cannot live up to.
You absolutely want the agreement you reach to settle with CIR Law in writing. This is normal for them to provide, so it should not be an issue. Only make a payment once you have the letter.
What is the other debt you are working on (who with and how much)? It can sometimes help to bring that account into your discussions with each bank or collection agency.
I have another debt with Bank of America for around $9,000.. I am currently trying to settle this account too.. so far they gave me option to pay monthly or an amount of $3600 lump sum.. but together with the Discover account, I’m not sure how to go about settling both.
It is going to boil down to having the resources to settle both.
I have a page up dedicated to settling with BofA.