i just ordered my online credit reports and am now trying to repair my credit. my biggest debt that's delinquent and in collection is the following from discover: i have received a 70% settlement offer from a collection agency regarding this debt that i never replied to. now i am thinking i should respond to this letter offering a smaller percent, and if they agree, sending a check with a westcap endorsement in order to remove the negative remarks you see above on my credit report. is this the best course of action? should i try dealing with discover to settle this or just the collection agency? it seems like i would need to deal with discover in order to get their remarks removed from my reports, but i am fairly new to the credit repair game so i'm not sure. i apologize if these questions have been answered before, i read over the faq and didn't find any answers. any input is appreciated.
What was your date of last activity on this account? Was the account charged off more than five years ago? If so, you just might want to wait it out and dispute the account through normal channels for the time being. Also, what is the statute of limitations in your state? It is very possible that the worst the collection agency can do to you is put another temporary black mark on your credit report. If they can still come after you in court, be very careful about even contacting them or Discover. You can talk to Discover and try a restricted endorsement, but check your state laws first. California, for example, requires a letter on top of the restictive endorsement. In most states, fortunately, it holds without additional documentation. Discover will settle for less than the original dollar amount, but they will not settle for deletions (that I know of). If you do somehow get them to accept a restricted check, be prepared to take them to court. They are a very difficult creditor and, again, will sue you in a heartbeat if the SOL is not up. Fortunately, payment departments tend to be pretty sloppy and will most probably cash any check sent into them. You may want to get a settlement agreement from them and pay them using a back door approach via a different department? Once the check is cashed, it is a binding agreement, but again, check your state laws first.
according to my report the account went delinquent in 12/2001, i'm not sure if thats what you mean by last activity. Experian shows it going into collection in 6/2002 and equifax doesn't show a date (were you able to view the pic i included?) I live in Illinois, have no idea on the statue of limitations, and I'd like to repair my credit now rather than wait 7+ years for it to go off my record. so you're saying they won't accept a lower settlement and delete it from my record? i'd have to pay the full amount and then still have to take them to court to get it removed? how much is a lawyer going to cost to take them to court? this all seems like so much trouble :/
I'm still relatively new here, so hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong. From looking at the entry you posted, I think you might have to deal with the CA on this one because the OC (Discover) is showing a ZERO balance. I *think* that means that they SOLD the debt, so it wouldn't really do you any good to pay/settle with Discover because they don't own the debt anymore. peace, delilah
You are very right. Discover no longer owns this account. there is absolutely nothing you can do to get discover to change their listing. They are a very dangerous company to screw around with. you best bet is to wait until chod week and then dispute in the hopes it is removed. This is a few weeks before the thanksgiving holiday. I also would not fool around looking for the CA either.
Re: Re: discover debt query (includ picantel...you are SO right.... discover is the WORST to default on... i know that first hand.... they are the ONLY bad thing on my report from 7 years ago.... and they STICK like crazy....they are no deal for anything... good thing they will be gone soon... QUESTION: what is CHOD week???? probably something to do with how OC/CAs report to CRAs????
Re: Re: discover debt query (includ if discover is never going to remove that remark from my reports why do i have any incentive to pay the CA that mailed me? this is all so confusing to me
Re: Re: Re: discover debt query (in discover will eventually remove the mark (it can only stay up to 7 years from the date of last use) you may want to consult one of the experts....psydoc, bbauer, george...etc....
Re: Re: Re: discover debt query (in That is the whole point crab. Some CA bought it for pennies on the dollar and seek to make a profit. chod week: as we know the CRAs and OCs and CAs are often understaffed. They have 30 days to respond to a dispute. People swamp them right before thanksgiving because 1)the more the merrier 2)you have thanksgiving and christmas vacation during those 30 days 3)most people take this time off so they often cannot respond to the dispute so it gets deleted.
Re: Re: discover debt query (includ If its been transferred, the only advantage to paying it will be that it will show as a "paid collection" and/or a "paid charge-off" and peace of mind. You won't be able to deal with Discover anymore, so there goes any chance of removal from them via a restrictive endorsement. If you can make a deal with the CA though, then you could at least possibly prevent them from re-reporting it as an additional collection. You won't really be able to do much for now other than pay it or ignore it and hope that they don't sue you. You can't get heavy handed until the SOL is up. Otherwise, it is likely that they will just sue you.
Re: Re: discover debt query (includ thanks for your advice everyone, i've decided now i'm going to settle with the CA in hopes that it will improve my credit situation slightly. my question now is if i go this route how much of a discount can i realistically expect from the full amount? i owe the CA $2704, they offered me a 70% settlement about a year ago, if i offer them 30% or nothing will they laugh at me and then sue me? also, i don't want my credit report to say i paid less than the full amount if i do settle, is this possible?
Re: Re: discover debt query (includ You can still try to use the westcap endorsement on the CA. The only catch is you probably won't get discover off your credit reports, but you will get the CA account deleted and keep the debt from being re-sold. I'd start by offering to settle for around 50% of the balance.
Re: Re: Re: discover debt query (includ thanks for the response, do you think i could settle for less than that though? 50% of the $2800 i owe is still a lot of money if they aren't even going to delete it. i was thinking more like 25-30%, is this realistic? also, should i write them a letter with my settlement offer or phone them?
Re: Re: Re: discover debt query (includ I don't want my credit report to say I paid less than the full amount if I do settle, is this possible? crabber ===================== Dint pay the CA a cent without deletion in writing or you will still be screwed for the 7 years.
Re: Re: Re: discover debt query (includ I think you are making a mistake to settle. They will sell the unpaid balance to another CA, you will then have to start all over again. You will have a "paid for less than owed" notation on your report - just as bad as an unpaid collection, no matter what you do to try to force them to delete it. You can try to write your own settlement terms, but then you will probably have to enforce it by taking them to court, because they routinely ignore these settlement agreements and continue to find a way to report it. They are TRICKY. If they are actively trying to collect it, but have not threatened to sue you, keep a low profile, do not send validation, string them along and hope for the best. If they do decide to serve you, you can consider settling then. I am amazed to read all the people settling with CA's, getting very little in return, and returning to rejoice in their victory. There are other ways to handle collections!!
