Hello all. . . A few questions for you. I just got off the phone with Gulf State Credit, with whom I have a collection through a charged off Providian credit card. I inquired about a settlement. The amount I owe is: $728. I explained to them that I could send out a check for $200 (aim low) tomorrow if they would sellt for that much. She "spoke with her supervisor", and came back to the line to state that the lowest they could go would be $375, because they checked my credit and saw that I'm current with a few other credit cards and never been late with my car payment. Can they run your credit at any time? This is still a good deal at $375, but should I try negotiating with them more? Or should I just pay the $375. Of course I would love to save money if I can, and either way it is going to look the same on my report. The collection rep also said that they would not make another settlement offer to me. Only one. Is this a scare tactic, or is she probably serious? ....Lord, I hope I don't start another huge debate on here... Thanks!! -Eric
Is this debt showing on your CR's? Are you settling for deletion? Have you tried asking for validation(it may be to late)?
I would like to settle for deletion, but I'm not sure exactly how to go about it. Maybe I should try writing them a settlement letter, and include in it a deletion clause. I found a good link on here for a settlement letter. Maybe they will accept this if I wait a week or so, and send the letter. I have not asked for validation. I'm not sure I completely understand demand for validation. I've searched for posts on it, and read them... I know I used the card, and am responsible for the payment...Is demand for validation kind of searching for a loophole? -Eric
Gulf State has historically not had records of alleged debts they have placed on credit reports. It sometimes takes a while, but it is fairly easy to make them go away. If you do a search for Gulf State, you will find tons of posts regarding dealing with them. Before I found this board, I had called and made arrangements to pay an account on my credit report. The next day I discovered this board and called them up to request deletion. Naturally they laughed at me, so I stopped payment on those postdated checks...lol. I then sent them a request for proof that I was obligated to pay the account. That letter was ignored...ditto for the followup letter and ditto again for the estoppel letter. At that point I drafted a complaint and faxed it to them. I told them if I did not hear from them within 48 hours, the attached complaint would be filed in US District Court. I got a call the next day from their compliance manager and he deleted it from all three bureaus and sent me a letter of apology along with the UDF's to the three CRA's. My advice would be to not deal with anyone you get through customer service because you won't get anywhere. Do it through mail and once you have a paper trail...then start dealing with their complaince department. Oh, I also meant to say if they can prove the account, that would be the time to discuss settlement for deletion. Good luck! L
Eriadam1 Be very careful dealing with Gulf State credit. I have a horrible and horrible experiance with Gulf state.i Wish I could make Bar-b-que with Gulf State. They are the Arthur Anderson of All major CRA and CA'S. I was outraged by their inquiry on my Experian credit report. I called Experian and they told me Gulf State has access to all Experian file and they can acces to those file any time . Gulf state put wrong collection on my credit file three years ago and after fighting for a long time they deleted it and sent me letter saying sorry for the mistake . But after couple month they reinserted again , again and again with different name like OSI, Palisade. I have three letter from them that they say sorry for their mistakes. Gulf state is not only Gulf state they have lots of other hidden names. I will suggest you to be ready and face the same tragic drama I faced. Make sure you save all the the correspodence from them. Click on search and type "Gulf State" and you will find how many people are mad at Gulf state. Join the club. Stay tuned with creditnet. Good Luck
Settling $375 on a $728 balance is not bad. Almost 50 cents on the dollar. I've never seen an offer go below 50%. Keep in mind that they will send the IRS a 1099 for the balance $353, which you will owe taxes on this year. So tack on another $100 in taxes. Don't believe her when she tells you this is a one time offer. It is not. Don't believe anything at all unless she puts this offer in writing. She will demand a "good faith" payment before sending the written offer. Don't fall for it. This won't improve your credit history unless you can negotiate a removal. On the above terms, you won't. An agreement to remove the tradeline from GSI has no bearing on what the OC will continue to report. So why are you doing this?
I'm with Whyspers, VALIDATE!!!! They don't keep good records and cannot prove the debt. I had two dumb bogus debts with Gulf State and had them both deleted. I sent a first validation, then a second, then a third and final to Samual Shannon, their compliance manager. Deleted within twelve hours. Gulf State is notorious and even after settlements w/ deletion have put your debt back on your CR via another arm of their organizaiton, ie OSI, Palisades, etc. Stop talking to them on the phone!!!!!! Send a validation letter CRRR. Make them prove the amount you actual owe before you pay or settle. It is not a loophole. It is merely a means of ensuring that they have the proper paperwork that they need to have in order to collect your "debt".
Hi eric :=}}, Here is a site that discusses your situation...basically accord and satisfaction letters with restrictive endorsements...http://www.faircreditmovement.org/alternatives.htm. Maybe this might be the info you are looking for in answer to your question. I agree with the other poster that the settlement number seems fair...but we want to make sure that you will get a deletion. The person at this site sells her letters...but I have copies of them if you want them...just email me...my email is on. Hope this helps, clc
Hi clc!!! Nice to hear from you again! I appreciate the advice from everyone. I am actually going to send out the settlement letters today, certified mail with a return receipt. The only reason I am going to do this as opposed to sending validation letters is because I would like to get this completed as quickly as possible. I know with validation letters you usually have to send one, then another, then another, then an estoppel... etc... I know there is no guarantee that this settlement letter will expedite anything, but it's worth a shot, and I would like to do it at a point when I actually have the money to send them (now)... Here is a copy of my letter: 07-11-2002 Gulf State Credit LLC P.O. Box 105460 Atlanta, GA 30348 Re: Collection of Providian Dear Sirs: This letter is an offer to amicably settle the above account. It is not to be construed as an acknowledgment of my liability for this debt in any form. I will pay your company the amount of $200 as full settlement of this account. If you accept this agreement, I will send you a money order or certified cashiers check for the settlement amount of $200 in exchange for a full deletion of all references regarding this account from my credit profile and full satisfaction of the debt. This agreement is binding and will be void should you not hold up to your end of the agreement. Furthermore the debt will be deleted from my credit profile at all three credit bureaus or the bureaus your company regularly reports to in the course of doing business. If you agree to the above, please acknowledge with your signature and return a copy to me. By signing below, you also agree not to sell/transfer any portion of my account to any other agency, and to completely stop all collection attempts. This is a full settlement. Upon receipt of this signed acknowledgment, I will promptly send you a money order or cashiers check in the amount stated above. Notice: This agreement is restricted. This is not a renewed promise to pay but rather a restricted settlement offer only. By not signing below, you agree that the debt has not been renewed nor has any concrete written agreements been exchanged. Creditorâ??s Authorized Signature: _____________________________ Date:____________ Sincerely, Eric Adams Social Security Number: xxx-xx-xxxx
