I am about to negotiate some unsecured bad debts and long past due bills. I owed about $20,000 in unsecured credit card debts and past due utilities/phone/insurance bills, and I have not paid them for well over two years. I have been able to successfuly hide my tracks and locations from creditors and debt collectors quite well. As one debt collector after another has failed to get any money from me, my accounts have been bouncing from one collector to another. I am ready to rebuild my credit in the US. Since the damages have already been done to my credit records, I am just looking to settle the debts with as little money as possible, preferably at 25 cents on a dollar or even lower. I know that can be done -- a friend of mine is going to introduce me to his friend who has reduced his debt to 25 cents on a dollar in the past. I am not in a hurry to settle all my debts. I plan to settle with one particular debtor at one time, one at a time. My plan is to play off one creditor/collector against another. I will let them know that I will pay off whoever is willing to give me the biggest break -- and the statute of limitation on my debts is close to expiration. I also have a dual citizenship, connections and family members in a far away country, so I can disappear for many years. Here is the second part of my plan: at some point in the near future, after I take care of the bulk of the debts, I will hire a reputable debt settlement company to deal with the remaining collectors that refuse to work with me or give me a break. I personally know a business owner who had bankruptcy in mid 1990s, and he has had a very good experience with a particular debt settlement company that he is going to recommend to me. That company helped remove many or all of the negative items on his credit history and boosted his credit score to 800+. I have not looked into how that could be done. So, if you know anything about successful disputing and removing negative credit items from credit history, please let me know. Other than that, what other tactics and methods can you recommend for my negotiation? Can you recommend a debt settlement company? Can you you recommend a few good websites that teach the in's and out's of aggressive negotiations with debt collectors? Thank you! P.S. I do not want to get into any sort of debt repayment plan to pay the full amounts. I want to get rid of my debts ASAP, and the only way to do that is to pay as little as possible to get rid of them. Thanks.
Couple of things I would suggest. First I dont think you need a professional to do this. Prior to going into finance I was a partner at the 3rd largest collection agency in the country. I can tell you from personal experience that we would settle debts all day all night "if" I knew the "debtor" had liquid funds on hand and could wire or send the money via Western Union.. Second I would recommend to settle your debt with the collection agency the last 3-5 days of the month. Collection agencies run on monthly cycles and the last week of the month is when they are ready to make deals. If you contact them at the first of the month they would probably care less about you and your offer. Third when you call the collection agency ask them for the fax number. Let them know you want to take care of the debt they are now holding. If they ask you what you want to do say nothing and let them know you will be faxing something over to them with in the hour. Put your offer on writing and let them know the offer is good for a period of 48 hours. If they accept the offer make sure they put in writing that they will be settling the debt for the amount specified and they will update your credit bureau accordingly. This is all your "pro" is going to do. It is a bluff game. If you need a list of creditors that will work with you in reestablishing your credit, I will be more than happy to help you "free of charge". Good Luck, Jim Baldwin CEO Captiva Financial (800) 446-0087 jim@captivafinancial.com www.captivafinancial.com
