I need to settle a judgment that is on my husband's report. I am hoping they will be happy to get anything and will settle for 1/2 the amount of the judgment. It was done through an attorney in 1999. They have never contacted us to pay the judgment. We have not moved. I have no idea of their attitude or the type of people they are. The money is owed to a business. I checked them online at the court website, and they have been the plaintiffs in about 8 or so lawsuits, but never defendants. I did not read all of them, but one was for l;ess than $300. I am afraid they will want the entire amount with interest for 3 years, which I cannot pay. I am also afreid they will come after my husband's paychecks, or insist on large monthly payments which we cannot make. I have to settle it now, or we will not be able to get our house.I even thought about sending a plea (begging) from me instead of hubby, because I have nothing to do with the debt. Here is my first attempt. Any comments welcome: -------------------------------------------------------- I understand that you have a judgment against me. I would like to make an agreement with you to settle the debt. I can get $1200.00 and send it to you immediately. Would you be willing to accept this amount as payment in full for the debt? Would you be willing to agree to the following statement: "All amounts owed have been settled and we will not oppose the Plaintiff's motion to vacate". I have a large family to support and I am hoping you will understand that I have worked hard to accumulate this amount so I could offer it to you in hopes of settling for the sake of my family.
The debt is actually almost $2500. I am offering half, which is really more than I can afford. Do you still think I should go lower?
As I understand it, the older the judgment, the less it is worth. If CAs can buy debts for pennies on the dollar, why can't we pay them off for pennies on the dollar? I saw a settlement offer letter over on http://www.faircreditmovement.org They settled that one for about 0.25 on the dollar. You may want to take a look. P.S. Be sure to get EVERYTHING in writing and take the advice of one of our fellow creditnetters (can't remember who) and put the line "FOR SETTLEMENT PURPOSES ONLY" somewhere in your correspondence. You might also want to include something about them not fighting you if you should chose to have the court void/vacate it. Also a statement about them not selling the difference to another CA or something like that.
Smogtek - I tried to find the letter on that site, and I couldn't. I could only find a place to buy letters fro $21. I tried several searches and nothing came up. I guess I am just not prepared to deal with another credit site!! Could you possibly help me out? Breeze, Thanks. Haggling is ok with me, I am just worried they will want to do it on the "high end" !
otherterri, Try this. It's under "Individual Progress", "Negotiations" by agapeac. http://www.aimoo.com/forum/postview.cfm?id=332192&CategoryID=28354&startcat=1&ThreadID=270219
I think that vodoochild wrote a really good settlement letter a few weeks ago. This letter stated it was for settlement purposes only. It had many good points of info in it that protect you (the defendent). Whatever happens, good luck. Sirrowan
One more bit of wisdom. Do not tell them that you need to take care of this before you can get your house. They will hold out for the full amount if they think it is important to you. One negotiating tactic: tell them you are trying to settle bad debts. You have a limited amount of money to pay the debt, and you are willing to offer them 25%. If they are unable to help you, you will try to settle another debt. They will probably counter with another amount, but frequently they will negotiate because they know the amount you have is limited, and they would rather get something than nothing, especially if you say you will send it to another creditor. (How is that for a run on sentence?). One last thought. If this money is in your bank account, get it out. If they know you have something there, it might be worthwhile for them to garnish it (if allowed in your state). If they did, you would still owe the rest. But, if it is your husbands debt, and your individual bank account, you should be ok. OK, here is one more idea. I know I said I only had one idea, and this is #4, but my brain is working. Instead of asking them to agree to not oppose a motion to vacate the judgement, why not get them to agree as part of the settlement, that it will be vacated? All it will take is a simple stipulation, and it will save some time in the long run.
Should I put the statement about agreeing to vacate the judgement in my initial letter? I need to do this quickly. It seems like I have read some posts where people made an initial contact, then sent a letter to be signed. I need to get this done quickly, so can I send a first letter that is worded for them to sign it and send it back to me? PS The money is in my acct, and it is my hubby's debt. gib,Breeze, Sirrowan, smogtek and Thomas: Thanks for all the helpful tips
You might want to include: (Collector) agrees to keep the terms of this settlement confidential and will NOT discuss or verify this settlement with credit reporting agencies or anyone else. ----I would probably change credit reporting agencies to 'business entities, individuals etc. so they don't see your real intentions. Apparently this letter is supposed to prevent them from ever responding to ANYONE concerning this account. You should then be able to validate
Re: HELP - Is this letter too SILLY Thanks. I sent the letter. Will post hear when I receive an answer!
