Settlement ltr received...how to respond?

[lisag72]

I'm back at it again fixing the credit monster
Sent a letter to pay for delete to American Financial Credit Services (CA) - pay in full (already checked and OC would not take the payment). The response from CA came back with the following:

"Upon receipt of the total due to-date amount above, this account will be considered closed by our office and updated on your credit history with EXPERIAN."

This CA has a history of only reporting with Experian, so I'm not that concerned about that. However, the "closed by our office" and "updated" does not necessarily mean removed.

Do I now reply with another letter asking for the additional information to be included before proceeding with the settlement? I only want to pay for delete, otherwise, they can wait on their money. I have until 3/14/12 to respond/pay.

Thanks...

[willingtocope]

Personally, I would call the OC again, ask for a supervisor, and tell them it is my personal policy not to deal with CAs, and if they want their money, they will deal with you directly or take you to court and let the judge decide. Follow it up with a letter CMRRR addressed to the person you talk with...

And, I'd send the CA a C&D. You cannot trust them.

[Coltfan1972]

Translation- We reject your offer. However, we will respond to your offer by writing to you in an effort to make it appear we are agreeing to the terms. However, we are simply confirming that we will comply with the law (FCRA) after you make your payment.

We hope that you will think we have accepted the terms of your offer, which we have not, and will pay us.

Originally Posted by lisag72

However, the "closed by our office" and "updated" does not necessarily mean removed.

Right, ever seen a father yell at the TV camera, "I pay my child support, I pay my child support?" Like he's doing something that deserves attention simply because he is confirming he's doing the right thing.

That's what they are doing, telling you they will do the right thing, by law, if you pay them.

[cinnamngrl]

It seems like they are trying to see if you are unsophisticated enough to think updated=deleted

I would send another letter stating that the settlement depends on the deletion and you need a yes or no. what is the SOL?

[lisag72]

I did a little digging around after I posted this and found some letters way back in my files that were from the OC (hospital) stating that they were writing off 3 different date ranges of services as a "charitable" act. I called the billing company (OC) back for the 3rd time and they were able to show that the items sent to collections were actually some of the items that had been written off. Took about an hour on the phone with a few different people to finally get the hospital to understand the error - accept payments directly on all the other outstanding issues - and send email directly to the CA to remove and cease and desist as this was an error on their part.

Now just wondering how long before the CA drops the listings! I have them all in dispute and will be another two weeks before those results are back in. Guessing they will just "not respond" to the disputes.

Crossing fingers that I can celebrate soon!