txtrouble Posted July 8, 2007 Report Share Posted July 8, 2007 Hi All,I've posted before regarding this same account. It has now moved from Viking to Mann Bracken. This is a Chase cc that I stopped paying on May of 2006. The balance now is just a bit over $19,000. I've seen a few posts on here regarding Mann Bracken but was wondering if anybody out there has had experience attempting to settle a debt with them. I believe Chase is still the OC, but not positive. I would like to settle the account for $6000 or so, not sure if that's possible. I did see a post from sifxpert and he stated that Mann Bracken settles Chase accoutns for 40%, not sure if that holds or not. He seemed fairly knowledgeable on other posts, and I know he was banned for soliciting business. I found out when I got a call on my voicemail from them. I called them back (yes a mistake), briefly spoke with them, didn't give out any info except my address and contact phone number (I've had problems with CA's sending stuff to my parents b/c their addy is on my CR). She offered 15K, but I said I was not prepared to discuss, blah blah. Also, I live in Texas. Gave me until July 23rd to respond. So questions: * has anyone settled or attempted to settle with Mann Bracken? If either, was it in regards with a Chase account?* how likely are they to sue and over what time frame? * I've seen references of arbitration and not to accept any fed ex letters. Apparently if you sign for it, arbitration is on, and if you don't, they won't take you to arbitration* I do have circumstances of why I stopped paying (as I'm sure everyone else does as well, not like any of us like going through this crap), would it help at all to put together a letter to either Chase or Mann Bracken with a sob story as to why I can't afford anymore than XXX dollars?Thanks as always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtrouble Posted July 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2007 I should also note that I live in Texas. So there are limits to what they can do, even if a judgement is obtained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted July 8, 2007 Report Share Posted July 8, 2007 sifxpert is a debt fixer...a collection agent that has found he can make more money with honey than by hassling debtors. If you fully understand that your credit will be ruined, you'll be paying income tax on the "savings", and sifxpert charges for his services...you could probably find him elsewhere on the web.NOTE: We do not recommend debt fixers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtrouble Posted July 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2007 Hi willingtocope,Thanks for your post. I wasn't planning on using sifxpert b/c for the most part, like you said, once you take into account all of the out of pocket expenses it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I figure if I settle, I'll still have the tax obligation either way. The amount he charges, even if he did get a good percentage settlement, those two added together would probably be what I could get on my own anyway. I was just following what he said is supposedly possible with Mann Bracken for Chase accounts and thought I coudl replicate it or get close to it on my own. While I'm on that subject, is Budd Hibbs another debt fixer? I found his site while googling Mann Bracken but he doesn't really describe his services, so I'm assuming he is the same as the other guy.Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 No, Budd Hibbs is more of an actual consumer advocate. His site is mostly about pointing out the illegal tactics of CAs, debt fixers, and debt chasing lawyers. I think he does charge for his consulting services (I'm not really sure about that), but he really is on our side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unusualsuspect Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 I've dealt with Chase... they tend to ignore your attempts to negotiate until they get a judgment... if this is one of their CA's then DV them. If they do get a judgment, then they will definitely take 50 cents on the dollar. It'll go back to Chase and you probably won't hear anything for about 3 months or so... I managed to get my lawsuit dismissed -- but I had to resort to some dirty tricks in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtrouble Posted July 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 Hi unusualsuspect,Wow, so Chase will ignore until they get a judgement? Meaning that they will sue you before they even think of negotiating?? I believe it is one of their CA's. Previously, it was with Viking. Those guys called family, friends, anyone because I refused to talk to them on the phone. Sent them a letter with a settlement offer and never heard anything. Then a month later (now), got a call from Mann Bracken. Haven't gotten the Dunning letter from them yet. They just contacted me this past Saturday. Took me by surprise. I was expecting another CA, not a law firm. Does this mean they plan on suing since they retained Mann Bracken? What time frame were you deliquient with Chase? Mine is a little over a year. I guess this is kinda stressing me out. And i *really* don't want to get sued. I really just want to settle it and try to work something out. I'd be curious to know how you managed to get the lawsuit dismissed. Did you hire an atty or represent yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtrouble Posted July 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 Thanks WillingtoCope. That's good to hear about Bud hibbs then. I wasn't sure what he did exactly. I did send him an email asking what services he offers. Not sure if I'd need them or not.One thing I'm thinking about is suing Viking. They handle the debt prior to Mann Bracken. They called family members, divulged they were collecting a debt from me and gave them the amount. What was really striking is that they somehow figured out where my Mom worked! They called her at her office 5 times. What was funny is that they somehow located her but could not locate my work number. I can't figure out how they found her considering my mom didn't work at her present place of employment until about a year ago. So I wouldn't have put her number in for the credit application. The *only* thing I could think of is that I ironically was employed by Chase. Maybe they gave Viking my "emergency" contact numbers. I couldn't remember if I had put her work number there or not, but aside from detective work, that is the only thing I could figure out. And if they were doing detective work, why wouldn't they just get my work number. Strange indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unusualsuspect Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 You can only sue Viking if 1 year has not passed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbaboo Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 I have had three Chase charge offs, and two ended up with Mann Bracken. These two totaled over $26,000. My experience with Chase is that they immediately sold the accounts to the collection agencies. They did not assign any of my three accounts to CA's for collections.On my two Chase accounts that went to MB, I sent them a DV. In each case, they wrote back saying that it would take up to 90 days to get the information from Chase. They never wrote back. The SOL expired after four years and I have not heard anything in a long time from MB. They never hinted at arbitration. They never sued. They just went away.I have another chargeoff (not Chase) that just ended up with MB. I sent them a DV and am waiting for a response that is due next week.I think they may be leaving me alone because they don't see any assets.My third Chase account charged off a few weeks ago and I am still waiting to hear from a CA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtrouble Posted July 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 Hi Unusualsuspect. It has been less than a year. They first initiated contact this year in February, so its been about 6 months. Not sure if its worth it or not, but might be worth doing just to hold them accountable to some degree. I guess I assumed Mann Bracken was CA for chase, are they a JDB instead and now Chase has nothing to do with it? Originally the debt was with Viking and I believe Chase still owned it b/c my CR still showed Chase and not Viking. However, I did DV them after 2 months or so, then the account left Viking. I figured b/c they were giving up on me and referred back to Chase. So do you think Chase has gotten rid of it? I guess I was under the impression that Chase still owned the debt and were using Mann Bracken. Any thoughts? How can I verify?Thanks againg guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unusualsuspect Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 Write a letter to Mann Bracken and request validation. My guess would be that they don't have anything.As far as Viking goes, go ahead and sue them... in small claims court (and start off with a violation of a state law). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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