This morning I received a call from Creditors Interchange in regards to a Chase Visa Account, I have. I have fallen behind over the last 8 months or so and my payments have been sporadic at best. The last payment I made was Sept. 27th and it was not the full minimum payment required. The guy I spoke with talked as if he worked for Chase- but when he left the original voicemail he said he was with Creditors Interchange. He told me they would settle the account if I could get them 70% of the amount owed, by Dec. 16th(yeah right) I have to call him tomorrow by 2 to let him know if I was able to work something out! Anyway he stated this was my only option and that if I couldn't come up with this money by the 16th, they would have to forward the account for proceedings?? At the time I was pretty upset and I took it to mean that they were going to sue me, but after I thought about it- it seemed like a pretty abrupt move to sue me- since today was the 1st contact I had with Creditors Interchange(plus that is not actualy what he said, although I think that is what he wanted me to believe), also I am still receiving my statements from Chase. Would I still be receiving my statements from Chase if they had Charged-Off my debt? Is it possible that they just assigned my account to this agency to attempt collection and did not actually charge off the account? I do not have a lump sum of money to settle but if I want to make a payment- whom do I pay? Chase or Creditors Interchange? Will the collection agency set-up payment plans? My credit is trash at this point, so I almost feel like it would be better if they charged it off- that way at least the balance would quit accruing the outrageous interest and late fee's. Those charges can't be charged by Creditors Interchange can they...Ugh. I'm sorry I am kind of all over the place- the call really upset me and I have never been in this position before so I don't know what to expect and/or do!! Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
It's certainly possible that Chase has just assigned your account for collection. How does it show up exactly on your credit reports? I wouldn't recommend setting up payment plans with a CA. It's usually not a good idea. If you're going to negotiate a settlement, negotiate a lump sum payment. Your first step in dealing with Creditors Interchange is to send them a DV letter within the 30-day time period. Then, await their response before doing anything else. Don't let them scare you into settling too fast.
