Back in November I started a debt settlement program. We got the creditors to stop contacting me and contacting my representation instead. 5 months in, I thought I was doing great, settled one account for 53% and one for 34%. Saved over $2700. Today I get an email from my representation saying I am being sued in two weeks by citibank and they are telling me to settle. The original account balance was around $2500 and they are suing me for around $3500. They are offering a settlement of $2490. What should I do? I am losing faith in my representation. Everything I was told in the beginning is not looking likely to happen. I faxed letters months ago to my representation from citi saying that they would settle for substantially less. I do not think they followed through and checked up and now I am the one being screwed. I have had funds available for months and they keep saying they weren't getting offers at this time. What do I need to do? Where do I go from here? Do I sue my representation for not holding up to their part of the deal and failing to negotiate when the creditor was willing. If I would of been in control I would of never let it get to this point. Man am I mad right now.
Run fast and far from debt consolidation companies...you are a textbook example of why...anyone worth their salt knows that Citi will not hesitate to sue - it should have been 1st on their list. Can you get your funds out? (I honestly don't know how this works).
Well I save my own funds and pay a small fee to them. For their service, they are suppose to negotiate settlements for me. They never once told me that I would be sued or that Citi was difficult to work with. They gave me an initial estimate of around $9000 total to settle out $17600 from 9 accounts. If I have to pay what citi is demanding to keep from being sued, I will have almost exhausted all of the first $7000 I have saved/paid in fees and still have 6 accounts left to settle. I really feel deceived and I am ready to give up. I have busted my butt over the last 6 months to get this money saved and now it doesnt even look like the end is in site yet. Do I stand a chance letting this go to court with Citi? Not sure if I should settle and risk leaving myself with very little funds and 6 accounts still unsettled.
Well, that's good that your money is in your own hands. Have you approached Citi yourself? Who knows if this settlement company was talking to Citi, or if they were talking to a collection agency. How long has it been since you made a payment to them (Citi)? Who are the other companies you will be trying to pay off?
I have not approached Citi myself but I will try later tonight. It has only been since November since I last paid and they have turned my account over to a law firm for collections. They are saying in two weeks they will proceed to court if I do not pay the 70% of what they claim I owe now (Somehow I have had around $900 in charges added to the original $2800 I owed less than 4 months ago). I have settled with Wells Fargo and Chase and I still have Capitol 1, BOA, and AT&T Universal card, which is owned by citi, as my other 3 big accounts that are between 2K and 3K. I have 3 smaller accounts under $1000 each with GE Bank, WAMU, and Sams Club credit.
So after doing a little research I have found that my account was with a previous collector and this new collector has a name that resembles it may be a law firm. I am going to check when I get home exactly who they are and do a little research. If this is the first correspondence I have had with this collector, do I just need to ask for validation? Will that delay any possible lawsuit that they are threatening me with? Would they really sue me on a $2800 debt? I made an offer to pay $1700 lump sum today and they wont go any lower than $2591. What should be my first steps in handling this? I am going outside of my debt settlement company to try to get these scumbags off of my back.
I'd contact Citi direct, like lynn suggested and keep an open line of communication between you and them directly. If you decide to continue to use the CCS, I'd still periodically call your creditors directly to see how things are going (i.e. when was the last time they spoke to your CCS, any progress made, etc.). If Citi wont come down to your # and still insist on suing you, ask em' if they'll agree to enter into a Modification or Forbearance Agreement. If you can agree on new terms with them by making monthly payments (until your situation improves), do you have any friends in finance that can take a look at the agreement before you sign? Will they accept a good faith payment from you to show your intentions are to resolve the debt voluntarily and give you 30 days to work something out with them?
Unknown in my opinion. I've seen "them" bring in witnesses for a debt of less than a hundred dollars. I think it was forty bucks. Assume you can be sued for any amount. Apparently they think you are good for it. That's too bad. If you are talking about the original creditor, you borrowed money from them. Calling them "scumbags" is the same as them calling you a "deadbeat". It's all unfortunate. What you have is a business relationship, like Delta Airlines with its creditors.
Yeah I know it is wrong to call anyone a scumbag, but I was referring to the Lawyer that believes I can come up with $2591 in less than two weeks. I made a lot of mistakes in college putting myself in debt, because I wasn't informed of my options to help pay for things. I am willing to work with Citibank and will even be willing to re-age my account if they are willing and start making payments to them again. Right now I just feel that my debt arbitration firm didn't advise me very well in that I shouldn't have included Citibank with them knowing this would probably be the outcome. I asked them if they ever inform any clients that debt settlement is not the way to handle Citibank and they said no. The response basically said that they know Citibank will sue 80% of the time but they are willing to take that risk because the more balances I have with them the higher their fees are. After hearing that response, I told them I will want the 11% they charged me, roughly $300 for this account back if I have to go the route of re-aging my account and taking the hit of the extra $700-800 that have been added since I started their program 5-6 months ago. It sounds like they agree to refunding my fees, which IMO still won't be enough considering they could of advised me to just keep paying minimums on my account and then worry about it after I took care of the my other accounts. That option would of been very feasible because the amount I would have to save each month and their fees is about $40 a month for this account and the minimum payment would of stayed less than $70. I could of found a way to come up with the extra and kept this account current while handling all others. Right now my representation is telling me that going back to Citibank is the worse idea she has heard. On this board it seems like the advice everyone is giving. Is she wrong for saying it is? Anyone have any personal experience going back to the OC instead of speaking with the collector?
In my experience with CITI they did not sue in over 4 years and the amount stayed the same.Right around 12K They did not want to work with me as far as giving me break in amount or interest so I let it go. When I got sued by a CA,we went round and round as no validation, even though CITI was still the OC, although when I would call CITI said I needed to speak to the CA and would not give me any info. I sued and got almost as much as they wanted, and then it went to another CA. I then decided to settle in full for a third of what they wanted and all was fine. IMO CITI will sue does not sell or transfer their accounts and will have their ducks in a row, however if they had them there the first time I would not have been able to sue their first CA. If it were me, I would WAIT as you will be able to negotiate a much better deal, and who knows you may end up far ahead, like me : ) Woofer
So you are saying, I should just let them sue me, fight it as much as I can, and then hope after they are awarded a judgement and I still don't pay that they sell it off to another collector that will settle for less? I really don't care about coming out ahead, I just really don't want to have to go to court or have a judgment awarded where they will garnish my wages or force me into a settlement that I cant afford with deadlines. I am only like 5 months past due, do you think the threat of a lawsuit is an empty threat at this time? From the sounds of it, it seems like a lawsuit is a last ditch effort in most cases when the SOL is about to run out.
No I am not saying that as you don't want a judgement or at least I don't want one on me. I am saying sometimes it is good to let it go for now, see what transpires, and when you get a dunning letter send a validation letter CRRR. Then IF they start a suit, you can then decide if you have violations against them. They WILL try to settle with you BEFORE you go to court.They WANT to settle with you before they go to court, as hey they may lose : ) Going to court does not automatically mean you are going to lose and get a judgement against you. Perhaps though you are not the type of personality that can handle the court room and the paperwork ,if so,either get a lawyer or pay them. Yes I do, but each case is different. We need more facts. What state you are in, DOLA, what do you have, how easy to attach etc. Whatever happens nothing is going to be finished within a few months, so you have time. Woofer
I called Citibank and finally got transferred to their account recovery department. They listened to what I had to say, but then said I needed to contact the law firm because they were handling my account. I told them the law firm told me they would not negotiate and that I would like to try to find someone that could possibly help me take care of this account and the rep told me he can put in a request to have a manager to review my account and call within two days, but he said the manager would be calling during the day. I told him I work during the day and that I can not receive any phone calls because the calls would put my job in jeopardy. I asked to speak to a manager now and he told there were none available. I asked if there was a time I could call back and he said try in 48 hours. Am I just getting the run around on this?
Well that is what I told you would happen, eh? YES you are and YOU NEVER CALL A CA OR JDB. Another thing is the fact that creditors are seeing you paying, well they are sharks and now they are in a feeding frenzy. Myself I would HOLD BACK keep my money and let things happen as the fact you are talking of reaging and 11 percent and yada yada you are a sheep to slaughter IMO. Woofer
Thanks for the info Woofer. I am new at this and my knowledge is to the extent of what I have learned here in the past day and a half on here. I currently live in MO and the account was opened in IL probably 6-7 years ago while I was in school. Not sure what DOLA is. What do you mean by what do I have and how can it be attached? At what point do I need to request validation if I want to fight a lawsuit? I have received a letter from the law firm saying I have 30 days to dispute this debt. It is dated less than a week ago. Currently I am sitting on hold waiting for Citibank's legal department to answer. I called back after I got the run around from the first rep saying he would have a manager call me in 2 days and the second person I talked to was much more helpful and told me that someone in their internal legal department may be able to help me.
I answered you as I have dealt with CITI and came out a winner : ) There are many people here that have much more knowledge than I. I am just speaking from MY experience. Date of last activity. If you get a judgement against you they could possibly attach your paycheck, bank accounts, car, home. However just because you are sued does not mean you will get a judgement against you, and sometimes debts go over SOL so you have an affirmative defense and this does happen quite often. What is SOL where you are? Ok it would be good if we can see this. White out any personal info and let us see what it reads. You have 30 days and you would send off the letter CRRR, and keep records of everything. Who is dunning you for Citi? What about your other debts? What do you have right now and what contact have you had? They won't and if they do you will get nowhere fast with them. I wouldn't bother, but that is me. I'd rather WAIT and get the CA or JDB on something. HAHHAHA Woofer
Letter from collector Berman & Rabin, P.A. Attorneys At Law 10660 Barkley Overland Park, KS 66212 P.O Box 11311 - 66207-1011 March 21, 2008 My Name My Address Re: Your indebtness to: CITIBANK (SOUTH DAKOTA), NA Balance: $#####, attorney fees (where applicable), the exact amount to be determined by agreement between you and us or by a court, Our file No. ###### Dear Ms. My Name This office represents the above referenced creditor. At this time, no attorney with this firm has personally reviewed the particular circumstances of your account. Unless you dispute this debt, or any portion of it, within 30 days after you recieve this notice, we will assume that it is valid. If you notify us in writing within 30 day period that you dispute this debt or any potion of it, we will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of any judgment and mail it to you. If the above creditor isnot your original creditor and you submit a written request within 30 day period for the name and address of the original creditor, we will supply such information to you. If you do dispute this debt in writing in the 30 day period, we will pend collection until we send you verification. If you contact our office please call 'collector name' at ###-###-#### or toll free at ###-###-####. This communication is from a debt collector. This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Sincerely, Berman & Rabin, P.A.
First thing wrong, is they called me Ms. There is nothing feminine about me At this point I do believe I am going to dispute this letter. Which letter should I use asking for verification?
Just "I dispute this debt in its entirety and request validation pursuant to the FDCPA" should be sufficient. Any more is a waste of effort, IMO.
Yep....dispute the debt, get validation. Specifically request a copy of the pay history, balance sheet & payoff breakdown along with a copy of the signed contract. FYI: MO has some of the best post judgment collection remedies available to creditors. Wage Garnishment, Bank Levy & liens on realestate to name a few. Verify your last paid date and type of debt it is, so you can find out what the SOL is (I can't recall what it is at this time). Depending on the type of debt, the SOL may vary. I only agree with Woofer on waiting it out to the extent they validate the debt. Waiting it out in the hopes that you'll get a better deal later is risky and could potentially cost you more money. Plan B: If they respond and validate your debt like they should, consider finding another lending source and try to settle and if they refuse to settle (again, after validation) pay em' off and be done with them. It's too bad that your dealing with a creditor that gives you long hold times and by the sounds of it, making it difficult to resolve the matter voluntarily. Very frustrating.
