Hey, I was wondering if I could solicit your expertise on something? I posted this before, but here goes. The situation: I owe the credit card company around $15,000.00 on three different accounts (which they bought from other companies), mostly in interest, late fees, over-the-limit fees, etc... since I got into trouble a couple of years ago (this was a legitimate emergency). They've strung me along for a while on their "assist," "re-age," or whatever programs. My balance is now higher than before. The main points: I made the last payment a few months ago, so it's nowhere near the SOL or anything like that. I stopped paying because I was told that I "no longer qualify for the `assist' program." I did this to try to work out a settlement. They wouldn't work with me until I got a couple of months late again. Typical. My questions: 1. How do I get out of this mess? 2. Will they sue me? Or judgement, garnishment, etc...? 3. I would never consider bankruptcy, CCCS, or whatever. I want my credit life back, not trashed for years to come. How do I get them to be reasonable? (yeah, I know, that's an oxymoron, a reasonable credit card company). What would you suggest? I'm not trying to escape the debt, but to settle it fairly. I just want their collective corporate "member" removed from my backside. Thanks! P.S. No offense to all who responded on my other thread. I'm just hearing a lot of conflicting opinions.
Well, as usual, you have to first of all reduce thie problem to it's lowest common denominator(s) In other words, do you want to pay them or not. 1.If you wish to pay them, I'm sure it would be no problem to dig up the $15,000 from under your matress or whatever other hidy-hole it is that you keep your spare change in. Having dug it up from wherever, you simply pay them off and be done with it. In the event that your hidey-hole is temporarily depleted, then move to #2. 2. Forget it. You just set fire to the mattress while smoking in bed and burned up the 15 grand. (Or whatever) Move on to #3. 3. You dont have it and you don't have any idea when you will and don't want to pay it anyway since the junk charges they keep on adding to your already bloated account simply mean that you won't ever get out of debt at this rate. No, I'm not really being facetious or making fun of you.. I just need to figure out what you really want to do. I have to presume that you really either need or want to tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine anymore. That's probably the best decision you can make anyway since it don't make good business sense to keep on throwing money at an account you can't ever catch up with anyway. Your credit is probably ruined anyway by now and if that's the case you are simply going to have to start over and get yourself a new lease on credit life. If that's the case then you simply need to let the ashes fall where they may. Once the account has gone into total default and delinquency and the serious collections efforts have begun, you wait until the phone starts ringing off the hook and you tell them that you are not going to speak to them on the phone about this matter under any conditions and that they are going to have to communicate with you by mail only and slam down the phone. As soon as you get your first collection letter demanding payment, you send them your validation letter and go from there right on into the point where you make them "eat" the debt, give up and make them clean up your credit report for you, removing any and all adverse reports they have put on your credit bureau files. That's the way to do it. Now then, I realize full well that I have not given you anywhere near all the information that you might need to get the job done. And no, I'm not trying to sell you anything. The reason I put it to you and then leave you hanging in mid air with no real viable answer is that I've given you the basic steps to get started if that's the road you want to go. It's going to take you a couple of months or more to get up to the point where you would need more advice, so when you get there, that's when you need more advice. Getting it all now would be useless by the time you needed it. And maybe I have not even understood what it is you might be thinking about doing. So let's hear more from you so I can see if we are thinking along the same lines or not. If we are not even on the same wavelength in thinking, then we need to see if there might be other ways to go.
****************************************** Yes, I want to pay them. That is , I want to pay them an amount that is fair to me, not an amount that includes their trumped-up charges from the past couple of years after I got behind. ****************************************** ****************************************** Number 3 pretty much nails it. I can afford to pay it off in payments over the course of a few years, I just can't drop $15,000.00 in their greedy little paws at once. The junk charges account for probably 50-60% of the entire debt. ****************************************** ****************************************** Here's the thing: my credit is SLOW. No BK, repo, chargeoff, anything like that. We got behind so, naturally, they slammed us with all they could. I don't think it's fair for me to continue throwing money at an account that will only give me a "Paid Collection." ****************************************** ****************************************** That sounds fantastic! But what are the chances they'll sue me, seek a judgement, garnishment, etc... I realize that I need my credit life back, but I can't stand the thought of waiting 7 years to get it. ****************************************** Now then, I realize full well that I have not given you anywhere near all the information that you might need to get the job done. And no, I'm not trying to sell you anything. The reason I put it to you and then leave you hanging in mid air with no real viable answer is that I've given you the basic steps to get started if that's the road you want to go. It's going to take you a couple of months or more to get up to the point where you would need more advice, so when you get there, that's when you need more advice. Getting it all now would be useless by the time you needed it. And maybe I have not even understood what it is you might be thinking about doing. So let's hear more from you so I can see if we are thinking along the same lines or not. If we are not even on the same wavelength in thinking, then we need to see if there might be other ways to go. [/QUOTE] ****************************************** Here's my basic premise: I want to pay them a FAIR amount (as in close to the actual amount I used the cards for), not their thousands in junk charges. I want them to remove my prior late payments from my credit records. I'm also even willing to pay them interest on an installment buyout (something reasonable, like 10-12%), not their usual 28+ crap. Again, I'm concerned about them coming after me legally. I REALLY don't need for that to happen. Thanks again!!!!
Here's my basic premise: I want to pay them a FAIR amount (as in close to the actual amount I used the cards for), not their thousands in junk charges. I want them to remove my prior late payments from my credit records. I'm also even willing to pay them interest on an installment buyout (something reasonable, like 10-12%), not their usual 28+ crap. Yes, but are you willing to pay them and have them put the notation on your credit file that you paid a chargeoff or made a settlement and have it remain on your credit report for the next 7 years with little or no possibility of getting it removed because when you paid the money you admitted the debt and agreed that you have no right or basis upon which to dispute the listing? That's basically what you will be doing if you pay them a crying dime. Here is why. When you pay the debt, it is no longer a collection item and once paid and no longer a collection item then you will no longer have any protection whatsoever under the Fair Debt Collections Act which would give you a way to go up until the time you paid them. So if you want to live with it for the next 7 years AFTER YOU GET THE DEBT PAID IN FULL then go ahead and pay them. Again, I'm concerned about them coming after me legally. I REALLY don't need for that to happen. First of all, you won't have to worry about that if you handle the matter properly because you will have it in writing that you do not owe the debt and you will also have it in writing that they will immediately take the necessary steps to take it off your credit reports. So it's up to you. You can either pay them off over whatever period of time and then wait 7 more years to get it off your credit report or you can fight with them and get rid of the debt entirely and get them to help you take it off your credit report on top of it. So which will it be?
I'm very intrigued by what you're saying. How would I go about doing something like that? What I've been hoping for is a happy medium where they let me pay it out (most of it) over several years and also remove my prior lates. Also, what is the "proper" way to handle this? I'm very interested. Thanks.
