I received a letter in the mail today guaranteeing approval of a capital one card to use to pay off my old charged off Citibank account with a 5k previous balance. They are offering 0% interest on the charged off debt for the life of the card and an fixed introductory APR of 9.9% on new purchases until Jan 2006. After that the rate goes to 19.8% or if I am late on a payment or go over my credit limit it will default to that rate. They also offer that my credit limit will start at $100 and increase by $25 for every $100 I pay towards my charge-off debt. So my questions are this: 1. Should I take this offer which is a valid debt and I would love the opportunity to pay it off while earning good credit? 2. Should I do nothing and wait until the SoL has past and proceed with the debt validation process, etc, etc.? 3. Counter offer the charge-off amount with a lower amount and enclose a courtesy validation letter hehe? Thanks for any help in this matter,
NO! Check your SOL, chances are the account has been long since past the SOL (or is close enough that the CA believes that it may be beyond the SOL), this is why the Collection Agency which was assigned or purchased the account contacted C1's WestMoreland Agency to offer you the offer. Taking the offer creates a new account with a fresh SOL, so that if you ever fall behind on it, then they can sue you for the amount, under the new account. Also, check to see whether the offer has all the required disclosures, chances are it doesn't (depending on the type of 'offer' envelope they used), the last time I saw a paycheck stub styled envelope (remove the outside edge to get to the letter inside) there was *NO* disclosure that it was an attempt to collect a debt, or that the consumer had any validation rights. C1 relys on the mistaken impression that they are not acting as a CA for this account, until the consumer takes them up on the offer, however there are a number of FTC Opinions which state that offers such as these are considered 'indirect' collection activity. And these offers are moreso, since basically they're trying to get you to be nieve enough to HIRE them to be a CA for the Citi account, so that they can move from 'indirect' collection activity to DIRECT collection activity.
The letter has a statement that reads as so: "Portfolio Recover Assosiates, LLC (PRA) notice: If this is the first letter you have received from us regarding this debt, please be aware that this communication is from a debt collector, and it and others from us (PRA) are an attempt to collect a debt. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose. This debt is now owed to PRA. Unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume this debt is valid. If you notify this office in writing within 30 days from receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof, this office will obtain verification of the debt or obtain a copy of a judgement and mail you a copy of such judgement or verification. If you request this office in writing within 30 days after receiving this notice, this office will provide you with the name and address of the original creditor if different from the current creditor." The letter, the Capital One Important Disclosures letter, and the envelope are identical to the ones my girlfriend get everyday with 700+ scores on her credit report. I am thinking two things on this; first it looks like a deal too good to be true I get to pay off a debt I have owed for many years without adding any interest and I get to somewhat reestablish my credit. Second this could be my first victim to the validation methods as suggested on this boards that would ultimately end with my having nothing on my CR and not paying a dime. Decisions decisions...
I am in shock, I just saw one recently (but it wasn't a full letter, but even the one which was a full letter, received a day or so later, didn't have the validation notice, it only had the 'an attempt to collect a debt' notice.)
