Had a credit card Discover which went into collections. Husband received a letter from attorneys office offering him a settlement. They offered a settlement of 65% of debt. Balance is 5291. They state in the letter that it is only a valid offer is funds received by Monday NOvember 19th. We are in New Hampshire. Basically my husband just lost his job three weeks ago and is unemployed,. I am the sole provider. We own nothing anymore, i.e. nohouse etc and have two children to support. Not sure how to approach this .... We do not know what to do. We could come up with half which would be 1600. and then the other half the end of December, do you think they would agree to this. I am afraid. 65% of original debt would be 3439. Not sure how to proceed on this ... Totally stressed and can't afford to have wage garnished or money taken out of the bank since we live check to check? Any suggestions?
you have 2 options. 1. Review flyingifir www.debtorboards.com. This gives you a good approach to how to handle these situations. 2. Send a validation letter to buy you some time. Catch them up in violations. Start recording the calls. 3. Re-negotiate the settlement, ask for the world, like .35 per dollars, total deletion of the T/L, request for more time, with the above conditions. Experts, are these approaches on track.
The first thing you need to ask for is proof that it's your debt (your husband's debt) and an accounting of how they arrived at the balance. In the meantime, get hard copies of your credit reports from the three bureaus and see if and how it's reporting. Request the validation and accounting of the balance in writing. Send it certified mail, return receipt requested. While you're waiting for your reply and your credit reports, read as much as you can here. If you search Bizwiz's posts, you'll find where he has written a pretty lengthy primer on how to start the process.
From a collectors point of view if you send them a dispute letter, and they get all the paperwork required to validate the debt, the next thing you will get, if it were my account, is served. If you know the account is valid, and can account for the last balance plus interest to get to the balance now, why dispute it other than using it as a stall tactic? Negotiating for a lower settlement is always an option, don't expect them to agree to delete the tradeline unless you pay the full balance, if even then. Is the account within the statute of limitations? NH SOL are 3 years from date of deliquency or date of last payment.
Before you start throwing your money away, let's look at the facts: 1. NH is not a Community Property State, so your income cannot be taken for Hubby's debt. 2. Hubby is unemployed so he has no wages to garnish. 3. Get Hubby's name off the bank accounts and the bank accounts can't be attached. 4. Tell the lawyer to pound sand, hubby is Judgment Proof. 5. Search here or in Debtorboards for a thread entitled "Now the Fun Starts - they have an Attorney". This post will show you how to fight the attorney and either win or run their legal fees so high they simply give up.
