After reading many post, today I decided to call two collections agencies to see if they would consider PFD. The first collection was for a $55 copay to a hospital and he didn't know what I was talking about, he just kept insisting I pay the $55.00 and walk over to the hospital and show my receipt that I paid and they would clear me. Is this possible? Would a hospital clear it off on your credit and should I simply pay the $55.00 and call it a day? The second collection agency was for an Orchard Bank master card, and they are willing to settle, but clearly stated it would show up as a slow pay on my CR, now when I bought up PFD, they did say I would have to pay the full amt., which is $644.00 and it would come up as "Balance Paid In Full" Should I do this? Please someone give me some advice on what to do on the two of these, they are tangible, but I want to make the right decision. morenita
That doesn't sound like a deletion. If you're paying in full, then you should hold out for a better deal. Remember, YOU have the money that THEY want. But you might consider which you need more, removing a negative tradeline that will have less and less influence over time, or using the money for your groceries or rent or some other more immediate priority.
I would go ahead and pay HSBC insofar as they will sell the account at charge-off or very soon thereafter. At that point, not only will you have an unpaid charge-off to contend with but, also a debt purchaser, their tradeline, and possibly a collection tradeline by whomever they farm it out to. Paying HSBC may not do much by the way of your FICO scores but, in light of the above possibility, its worth taking care of now rather than later.
Sounds like you are far better off writng letters to these CA's than talking to them on the telephone. You are speaking with commissioned salespeople, and if they think they can get you to pay a higher amount, then most likely they get paid more. There are reasons why most veterans prefer to use the US Mails for negotiations of this sort, and your results are a good example. If you do decide to settle with them, don't send them your own check with your bank account information on it. They may well use that information for other purposes, none of which would be good for you. Have you already done basic disputes with the CRA's about these accounts? No reason you can't begin that process at this time.
