Settlement offer from Brachfeld Law Group for my GE Capitol Care Credit account.
I am currently in contact with the collection agency Brachfeld Law Group. This is for an GE Capitol/Care Credit account which was charged off in November 2012. After many calls from a non attorney agent (this is what he called himself), he states that his client has agreed to accept $3,800 for balance that was originally $10,375. He sent the info to me via a vaguely worded email which stated that payment had to be made the next day. In an effort to protect myself, I immediately contacted the agent and told him that would only pay after recieving a signed letter stating that the debt would be satisfied completely and that the matter would be fully resolved. His response instead of providing the letter has been:
1. The Email contains all of the info that I need.
2. His company doesn't send out these type of letters, but I will get a letter from the client 10 days after they receive payment.
3. I don't need a letter, because all calls are recorded.
When I refuse to proceed , he then transfers me to his manager or another agent, who yells at me and tells me that I am about to miss out on my only chance to clear this up, and that he will sue me for the full amount.
I don't know what I should do at this point. I feel that I am being pressured and set up. I do want to resolve the matter, but I cannot afford to lose the money to some sort of scam and still have the original debt hanging over my head. Please advise. I desperately await your response.
Is this a fair settlement amount? What exactly should I ask for in the letter?
—Kathy
Settling a debt with a third party debt collector like Brachfeld Law Group requires a written settlement letter on their letter head. A vaguely worded email is absolutely not sufficient to memorialize your agreement.
Brachfeld Law Group sends out written settlement agreements.
Brachfeld has been in debt collection long enough to have standard operating procedures for negotiating settlement and payment agreements, and then sending out documentation. I have several in my data base, so it is not a foreign concept to them. I am being a tad facetious, but only because of how standard it is to follow through with documentation.
An email is not sufficient to back you up if there is some error with how your account is resolved on the part of Brachfeld Law Group, or GE Capital. If the Care Credit account was sold off to a debt buyer, and Brachfeld is collecting for the investor, errors occur there too. Here are some things a settlement letter from Brachfeld will protect you from that an email will fall short of:
- Brachfeld Law does not code the settlement correctly in their system and instead your settlement is recorded as a payment.
- Brachfeld’s error prevents accurate credit reporting updates from GE Capital, Care Credit, or the debt purchaser if one is involved.
The settlement terms outlined on the letterhead of Brachfeld Law Group will help you to:
- Immediately deal with any other debt collection effort if the account resurfaces later on because the unpaid balance gets sold off or reassigned for to different collection agencies.
- Dispute any incorrect credit reporting that does not get updated by the creditor and where proof you settled will mean the difference in succeeding with getting your report corrected and avoiding what has for some been more than a years worth of headaches dealing with the credit reporting agencies to do what is right when you do not have documentation.
Emails are just not going to be the ticket, and their comment about calls being recorded being there to back you up if you need it is laughable. I cannot think of a single instance where a consumer was able to get a copy of a recorded call from a debt collector that did not require there to be active litigation in the courts.
I have noticed a trend with GE Capital debt collectors where they want payments set up in there system, or a date set for payment, before releasing the letter. You have to stick to your guns though. Otherwise you are taking a risk that you will not have the ability to deal with any mistakes they make in the simplest way.
What is a good settlement with Bracheld and GE Capital on a Care Credit account?
The offer they made to settle your Care Credit account is good. It is about what I would normally suggest you target for this type of account. You would not be leaving much, if any, money on the table by accepting it. Just not without documentation.
I am concerned about the threat the collector from Brachfeld made about suing you. Not as much from the perspective of them following through with that, but from them not following through. Depending on how carefully worded the threat to sue you was, you may be able to pursue them for a violation of debt collection laws if they do not, or are not, authorized to sue you. It is worth running this scenario by an experienced debt collection defense attorney. What state do you live in?
Here are two articles in the debt relief program series I recommend you read:
How best to pay a negotiated settlement agreement.
The importance of getting settlements in writing.
Anyone dealing with Brachfeld Law Group collecting a debt is welcome to post questions and comments below for feedback. If you would like to talk over your situation you can call me at 800-939-8357, choose option 2.
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.
I had a settlement of a judgment from Brachfeld for Wells fargo back in 2011. I am now trying to get a home loan and cannot verfy the debt was paid. Even though I have all the canceled checks cashed by this “law firm” from the escrow account set up for my debt settlements. The debt has been sold off again and the new agency is giving me a run around about the settlement agreement and payments..How can I get a satisfaction of judgement ? I have a letter from Brachfeld stating that they would process the satisfaction within 15 days after the last payment. However, they failed to do this.
I would call Brachfield and give them one final shot at correcting their error immediately. If they fail to, or are responsive, I would file one complaint with your state bar and one with the CFPB.
Care credit did a phone transaction settlement for $1200 in 2012 everything was good until now 2 years later, this debt had been sold off several times now finally reaching back to me to pay off over $2000. The phone number associated with my bank statement is no longer in service and the letters rsti follow the phone number on this statement. Has anyone else seen rsti associated with care credit They sent a receipt but failed to include the account number so the current debt collector wont accept this receipt.
Who is the current debt collector trying to get a payment from you?
My bf settled his medical debt through brachfeld and then months later it showed backnupn on his credit report and no one recieved the money and the memo had insufficient information to prove payment. I cant get a hold of this company and filed a complaint with the ftc
Kendra – I may have some additional action steps to offer as feedback. Can you provide a complete chronology of what happened with your boyfriend’s accounts, and the settlements with Brachfeld Law?
Alliance one had sent me a letter on behalf of capital one the Account is 2 years old the credit card limit was 200 but balance is now 313.00 alliance one called me yesterday to settle my account for 156.68 I sent the money order yesterday as well before talking to anyone and not knowing any knowledge of payment of deletion on credit and settlement can drop credit score lower well long story short stopped the money order because called alliance one today to get a payment of deletion they said they don’t have access to do that . I want to get my credit score higher and get this removed I’m only 20 years old and this is really affecting me . Dont have money to hire help ..What is my next step? What do I say to get it off ? Please help me
brittany – What you are talking about is pay for delete, and it does not work with most collection situations regardless of what you may read about. And will certainly not work in the situation you described with Capital One. Settling an unpaid debt will update to your credit report that you no longer owe anything, which is a good thing, and will help your credit in the long term compared to having it show as never paid. The update of a settlement does bring “newness” to the credit reporting, and it can sometimes result in a slight lowering of your credit score for a few months. In other words, paying unresolved accounts can be a necessary step to improving your credit.
I can offer some feedback about building your credit, but first, what all is showing on there now (good and bad)?
I haven’t the slightest idea who you are but money is being taken out of my checking account for the last 2 months.I would like to know who authorized these transactions and the name of the person I’m suppose to speak to.I nwver received any kind of letter or email from anyone.So please do not take anymore out of my checking account until I get some answers .thank you gregoria
Hi Gregoria,
Can you be more specific? This is a debt and credit self help website. CRN would not be deducting any payments from you. Are you referring to GE Money or Brachfeld Law? Certain kinds of transactions will list a toll free number along with the transaction details. Can you post the name of who is debiting money from your bank account, along with any toll free number associated with the transaction? I will try to assist you with getting to the bottom of it.
Thank you so much for the information. I will definitely do as you have suggested. I have not spoken to anyone at the collection agency in a week. Should I contact them, or wait until they contact me? I live in Southern California and would appreciate any anformation you could provide as far as a debt collection defense attorney. What is most likely to happen next in this situation, and what should I do to prepare for it?
If you want to settle the account I would not wait for Brachfeld to call you again. Be proactive and call them. Just reiterate the need for documentation.
What happens next?
Brachfeld Law Group settles with you and provides the written agreement.
Care Credit/GE Capital pull the account from Brachfeld and then send it to another debt collector.
The account gets sold off to a debt buyer (if that has not occurred).
The account is placed with an in state attorney to collect – which means there is the immediate risk of being sued for collection.
Ideally, it would be great to resolve the debt with Brachfeld now, and at the great savings currently on the table. If you want to get this done now, but cannot get the documentation kicked loose, consider becoming a CRN member so we can better teach you how to get this done, or get the documentation for you.
I sent you an email with attorney contact info if it becomes necessary.
I appreciate your call back and enjoyed having the chance to speak with you. As we discussed, I would like to know if bankruptcy should be a consideration before settling. My husband and I currently have $26,359.73 in combined debt to 11 different accounts. $10,375 is for the GE/ Care Credit account and $3,996.26 for my visa which has always been kept current. The other is 9 debts( which are in my husbands name) and vary from $166.46, the smallest amount to $3210.68, the largest. We owe $442.644.70 on our home. after checking on line, I find that comparable homes in the area sell for @$400,000. My husband has been laid off since 2009. After a recent modification, our mortgage is at an amount that is comfortable for us. After learning what I have from you, I think we could take care of the debts in a reasonable amou. Especially if we can negotiate with the collection agencies for amounts similar to the agreement with made with Brachfeld Law Group. Is this a better plan than bankruptcy? And if so, how do I go about it?
I live in ohio planning to get a car by summer my credit is 562 I checked my credit report I have three collections where by two of those are paid off, and one is 446 medical bill from2009 should I pay it off or wait for it to fall off, an trying to raise my score please advice me on what to do thanks
Does your credit report show when the medical debt is due to come off your credit reports?