US Bank Settlement

[jeajack21]

Hello. I have been trying to negotiate a settlement offer with US Bank. I have now sent them two settlement offers. The first one with a 20% settlement over a 6 month time span with no lates reporting and no 1099 C Forgiveness of Debt. A representative with US Bank, Mrs. Ferguson, called me directly and informed me that US Bank will not remove lates and will always send a 1099 C for less than full balance. She also informed me that they will not accept anything less than 25% of a settlement and can not exceed 90 days for a time span.

I sent a second settlement requesting 25% of a settlement with complete deletion of the account off the credit bureaus and no 1099 C Forgiveness of Debt. The same representative, Mrs. Ferguson, contacted me today and informed me that it is illegal to remove or not report a debt to the credit bureaus and that it is illegal to not send a 1099 C. I informed her that both are untrue. She then said that it is US Bank's policy and that they are unable to remove the debt from the credit bureaus and that they have to send a 1099 C. Also, she said that they will not do settlement via written correspondence and will only make settlement offers over the phone. Once terms over the phone have been met, then they will send a settlement letter via email, fax or mail.

Lastly, she said the last day to negotiate on this debt before it gets escalatate is 180 days after the last payment, which is today. I am sure they would be willing to help still. Just need some suggestions on what to do. Otherwise, my wife and I will be seeking our counsel's advice to file bankruptcy.

Thank you in advance.

[Quader]

you probably won't get around the 1099 ..

put into the settlement a non disclosure .. then you can dispute what you want with the CRA and the bank can't talk about it

also put in the settlement like a 10k due to you if they break the non disclosure

I would go ahead and offer the 25% to show them you are trying ... but they can extend the terms ..

if they won't give it to you in writing .. record the phone call .. check to see if you are in a 1 or 2 party state

Q

[jeajack21]

Is there a preformatted Non Disclosure Form that I may be able to edit and utilize?

[Quader]

Is there a preformatted Non Disclosure Form that I may be able to edit and utilize?

on this site but I'm not sure where it would be .. I don't know this site very well but I'm sure someone on here will ring in here soon

you could try to get them to write it .. and then you could alter after the fact to get it the way you want it .... or you could just write it (it's not rocket sience) .. then post it on this site and I'm sure many on here can critique it for you

Q

[thomassl]

I suggest you do some research on some of the Debt Settlement posts! There is a lot of people doing debt settlements and you can use their methods. I would definitely check the forum in detail first.

[jeajack21]

I understand how to do the settlements and what angles to take, but what do you do when the company is unwilling to negotiate in writing and will only do it verbally? After the settlement is reached verbally then the bank will send out the written settlement offer. Just never dealt with this situation before. Please help.

[thomassl]

Trueq posted this in another settlement posting which I think is very effective: "A good settlement will terminate the balance AND INDEMNIFY YOU AGAINST ANY FUTURE COLLECTION EFFORT BY THE CURRENT COLLECTOR AND ANY FUTURE COLLECTOR.If someone else comes after you for it in the future, you can sue this collector for breach. "

Amerikaner83 posted this in the same posting which is also very effective:

Settlement should include the language "this settlement amount is to be considered PAYMENT IN FULL, with no transfers or assignments of the difference to any ohter 3rd party. ALSO, as part of the settlement offer, "collection agency" will delete any and all references to this account with the credit reporting agencies including but not limited to Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, and Innovis. Any breach of the agreement by either party and is Actionable in any court of competent jurisdiction. For the purposes of judicial efficiency, violations of this agreement will result in monetary liquidated damages to the damaged party in the amount of $5,000 (five thousand dollars)" What this does is deletes it off your CR as well...which realistically is your goal, right? It also creates a NDA if needed (if they refuse to delete it off your CR, use this part in bold...leave out otherwise.

I find both of their comments extremely helpful in making sure that they are not bullying you into something you can't afford. You can always tell them that you are going to file bankruptcy and they won't get a dime! Her statement regarding that it's illegal to not post it in the credit bureaus is garbage as there are many companies who do not utilize the credit bureaus. I know of car dealers where you have to ask them to post it...even so, even if one company posts it in one bureau, they don't necessarily post it in all of them. As I stated, take time to review the debt settlement forum. If they have waited this long, they will wait longer especially if they think you are going to file bankruptcy!

[jeajack21]

This isn't a collection agency, it is US Bank directly. I did put all of the terminology as mentioned in the below post in our written settlement offer and Mrs. Ferguson said that they only negotiate verbally settlement and once an agreement has been reached, they will send me a written settlement form for me to sign. I have been trying for over a month to get this resolved and this lady is just not willing to budge. I have informed her on several occassions that if US Bank is not willing to settle / negotiate that I will be taking my counsel's suggestion and file bankruptcy, so it is in their best interest to negotiate.

Has anyone had any luck with US Bank directly negotiating / settling in writting? Is their a person in US Bank's department you suggest I talk to since Mrs. Ferguson doesn't know what she is talking about?

Thanks.

[willingtocope]

Well, here's the thing...they're an OC (usually, OCs do what they say) and any conversation you have with them is probably recorded. Come to a verbal agreement...but...do not send money until they send the agreement in writing for you to sign. If the written agreement isn't what you agreed to...sue for breach of contract, and supena their recordings.

(And, by law, they must issue you a 1099c for the amount "forgiven", unless its under $600. And, even if it is under $600, you still owe taxes on it.)

[echo1]

You can/should also record the conversation...have everything written down and then read it off to her (it will be easier than trying to remember everything).