Collection is past the statute of limitations, what should I offer in a PFD?

[creditsamurai]

Do you think I can get away with 30%?

[Bulldoger]

How close to dropping off Credit reports?

[creditsamurai]

4 years away

[Bulldoger]

No I don't think they will accept 30 percent if you go after it.  You may be able to get close to that if you respond to an offer they send or answer one of their many calls and express it's all you can afford and that they can take it or some other creditor after you can take it.  Cold calling will just alert them that you want your credit repaired for some compelling reason (buying a house, car, security clearance etc..).  They will just hold out for a bigger portion because they sense urgency in you calling them vs them calling you. 

If I wanted to settle my PRA it just passed SOL I would wait for a call  tell them I can only pay 75% of whatever I had to pay at the time. Explain first collector that settles for that amount is getting it and it will be another 6-8 months before I could save that amount again. If they come down to what I can pay, I would still tell them I can do that but it will have to wait till after next payday if they can make the payment date after that payday I can do that much more. Can we start the paperwork now?  

[FreedomAwaits85]

Creditsamurai, Bulldoger raises a great point about alerting them but perhaps there is away around it. If you are not in a rush, what about calling and offering 15% of the balance for PFD. Let them know that's all you have and if they don't accept the funds will be used to pay off another debt under collections. After they say no wait at least 45 to 60 days and call back offering the same amount. When they say no on the second attempt wait another 90 days to call back but this time offer 20%. If they say no again call back every six months offering only 15%. Never act desperate and never offer more than 20%. As the clock runs down eventually you will be able to settle for 30%. 

A side note. I read in a debt collection book to never negotiate in terms of percentages and instead always offer a dollar amount. I've followed this approach and it seems to work. 

[Flyingifr]

My offer would be "I can pay you $XXXX in full settlement of this matter now. Since you cannot force me to pay you, this is the only time I will ever make this offer. It's $XXXX now or $0 never - your choice. You have 24 hours to notify me of your answer, in writing." Then I would stick to the "now or Never" statement and if they counter with a higher amount, my counter to that would be even lower than the original offer, basically holding a reverse auction.