kenpo1980 Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 Hi all, I recently came into a little cash and I am looking to take care of what is my last "bad debt", a debt with a collection agency. I was thinking of sending them a settlement offer but I just found a letter from a few months ago in which they offered to settle the debt for almost half of the original amount. There is no expiration on this offer and I am guessing they would still take this amount. So my question are these, if I want to take this offer would the creditor probably still apply these terms or could they come back and say that this offer had expired and just ask for the remaining balance? Or would I be better off just sending a completely new counter-offer for a smaller amount?Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divemedic Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 That depends on a lot of factors. If they smell money, you can bet that they will push it. More details are needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenpo1980 Posted July 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 One other thing I should point out is that the settlement offer say's that the "account will be considered settled in full" and that I "will be released of all liability". Would I want to make another offer to negotiate for better language? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHateCAs Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 Hmmmm...I wonder what any implied time limit there is on mail offers? You could form a valid contract by performing on their offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenpo1980 Posted July 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 Well, I am not sure what other facts might be needed here but the offer is pretty clear and it was made back in March. In the interim they have sent about one bill a month. There last offer being that if I start paying $25 a month they would consider it good faith. Perhaps I should just counter propose a lower amount than the settlement offer and see how they respond. The truth is that I think their offer is fair based on what I actually spent on the credit card but I also know they probably bought this debt for a fraction of what I actually owed. Just as an fyi, the collection agency is Financial Recovery Services in case anyone has had experience with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divemedic Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 One other thing I should point out is that the settlement offer say's that the "account will be considered settled in full" and that I "will be released of all liability". Would I want to make another offer to negotiate for better language?That means you get a "collection settled for less than full balance" on your CR. That means absolutely nothing to your credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenpo1980 Posted July 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 So then I take it my best move would be to send a counter offer but with some kind of stipulation as to what they will enter on my credit report, correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swirlgirl Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 Hi, you should do a PFD, which means you offer to settle for an amount with the provision that they agree to completely remove the tradeline from your CR. By the way, how old is the debt? Does SOL come into play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenpo1980 Posted July 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 Thanks for the suggestion on the letter. I am not really sure how old the debt is or if the SOL would come into play. I believe the last time I used the card was '02 and I believe it was probably still with the original company, Providian, through '04. This actually dropped from my radar a few years ago and I didn't start getting any letters or collection calls on this until the end of last year. I believe I sent a debt validation letter on this quite a few months ago but I am not even sure if this was even the same company but the calls stopped but instead of getting all the information I requested in that letter and I just started receiving a basic statement. Again, I don't dispute that I owe something I just want to get rid of this. I just want to make sure that I don't pay more than necessary and that I get the best notation on my credit report possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenpo1980 Posted July 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 Also, can and should I send a dv letter to them? The fact that they were willing to settle for half of the debt tells me they purchased it from Providian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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