If I settle a debt, what happens then?

[maurissastar]

I'm new to this wonderful site and it's resources. I have stayed current on two credit card accounts after successfully negotiating lower interest and payments, as they were willing to do an automatic debit. However, the one account that has my ex's name on it would not do an automatic debit, and my current husband - who handles the bill paying - stopped paying the account because we had nearly no income for an extended period of time. We have just sold an automobile, and I would like to contact the creditor that I am behind on 4 months and see if I can get a settlement. If I do, how do I make sure that they 1) do not go after my ex husband for the remainder of the amount and 2) make sure that they remove any negative report from his credit record. This account was never supposed to be a joint account - I don't know how or why the bank has it in their record as a joint account and have been unable to get them to validate the signatures on the opening of the account. Any advice? I am most concerned about correcting any damage to my ex's credit as it seems to be more important to him than it is to me.

Thanks

Maurissa

[DocDon]

The first thing I would do is find out why they took it upon themselves to report the account as "joint" when it wasn't the case. You may not have any luck with the 1-800 reps on this, so you may have to take it up with their executive level. I would demand they remove any reference to the account from his credit files.

Because the account is only 4 months behind, it may just be going into collections. They may or may not settle at this point. Either way, it won't hurt to ask for a settlement amount, close the account, and ask that the derogatory info be deleted. Again, it would be in your best interest to contact their Public Affairs office or someone higher up than their phone reps and supervisors.

Be sure to get any correspondence from them in writing!

Welcome to the board!