How to start negotiating with CAs?

[tldebo]

I am assisting my fiance in repairing his credit. I currently have an 805 blended FICO and he's down in the low 600's. We want to get him financially clean!

I pulled all three credit reports and compiled a list of accounts that he has showing in collections. Four of them are bounced checks that have been assigned to a CheckRite Collection Agency. The original checks total $80.76 and they have tacked on an extra $160 in "Service Charges". The checks are almost 5 years old.

The other debt showing in collections is an ATT Universal Credit Card debt that has been purchased by NCO Financial. The original debt was $538.45 and they have added $678 in interest (at 23.9% interest). The debt was originally assigned to NCO on Dec. 14, 2004. My fiance, in his infinite record keeping (read the sarcasm), has no records showing when the account with ATT Universal was charged off and sent to collections. He thinks it was 2000 or 2001 (he's following up).

So here are my questions -

1. How do you start negotiating with these 2 types of CAs? Do you call first to get to a number and then have them send everything in writing before you pay? I was confuseed abuot how effective negotiations would be if it was all done via letter.

2. What other approaches can I take to clear the debt and minimize it on his Credit Report?

3. Will me assisting him in this process impact my credit at all? We are not married yet and do not share any financial accounts.

Thanks for any and all advice!

[MadinKS]

First of all, welcome.

1. How do you start negotiating with these 2 types of CAs? Do you call first to get to a number and then have them send everything in writing before you pay? I was confuseed abuot how effective negotiations would be if it was all done via letter.

The purpose of doing all your negotiations and disputing in writing is to provide a paper trail of evidence in case you need it for court proceedings later. Also, if you have a CA's promises in writing, you can hold them to it later. By the looks of your FICO, you haven't had to deal with too many CAs. They will lie, cheat, and steal to get you to open your wallet. That's another reason to do it all in writing. If you contact them by phone, they will badger you until you cave and pay. That's their job. Always communicate w/a CA in writing.

2. What other approaches can I take to clear the debt and minimize it on his Credit Report?

Have you ordered all 3 CRs from the individual CRAs? If so, start first by disputing all the negatives, in writing and sent CMRRR. The online disputes allow the CRAs to do an "expedited" dispute, which means they don't have to do a full investigation basically. So that is step 1. After the disputes come back, you will have a better idea of what needs to be done. Read this primer and it will give you a good plan of attack.

http://www.debt-consolidation-credit-repair-service.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263069

3. Will me assisting him in this process impact my credit at all? We are not married yet and do not share any financial accounts.

This should not affect your credit at all. Once you're married, I'm not sure if it will or not. You'll have to check CO statutes regarding that. Good luck.

[bigjohnstud4200]

DO NOT CALL THEM.

DO NOT NEGOTIATE WITH THEM.

MAKE THEM PROVE HE OWES THE DEBT AND ARE THE ASSIGNMENT OF THE DEBT.

Do a lot of reading on this board. You will find that most CA's don't have the paperwork to prove you owe a debt and that they are the assisgned CA for them.

You also need to know the SOL of the debt for the state they incurred in and where you are presently living. If after all else fails, you may be able to negotiate something on debts that are out of SOL (statute of limitations).

Also, paying a bad debt does NOTHING for your credit. It will not increase your score and is only beneficial if you are looking to be financed for a mortgage or something.

Also, during all disputes refer to the debt as "alleged".

Welcome and good luck.

[Recovering Attorney]

It isn't a lot of money, so I might prepare to offer a pay for delete. In the meantime, he could dispute the items on his CR with the CRAs as "not mine" or " paid before collection" or some other reason he feels comfortable with. The hope is that they will not verify and the CRAs will delete them. He can also start by trying to clean up old addresses and such on his CR

Assuming they still are on there, you could approach Checkrite with a money order for $300 and a promise to send it to them if they agree to have the items deleted from his account. May or may not work, but worth a try.

Also, I'd irder a copy of all his CR and see if there are other things you can do to improve his score. Maybe he has a utilization issue. Paying down a cc can help raise a score, too.

Lastly, get a copy of Mary Hunt's " How to Debt-Proof your Marriage" I got mine 10 years too late.

[justincase]

Sounds like they all have reached sol for legal recourse according to your states laws, what MadinKS, BJS4200, and Recovering has told you is very good advice. I would take a little from each. I would start by disputing with CRA's first and then go from there. You seem to be in a good position for PFD due to the fact that legally there is nothing they can do to him and ultimately they want $!!! As long as you hold your money in your hand you have your negotiating power. Start paying CA's without these guys advice and his credit reports will be poisioned for another 7 years.