does anyone here know if penalty fees and interest continue to accrue after a written request for validation has been made? My niece owes Amex $1,359 as of today, and their lawyers / Collection Agency which calls itself Schwartz & Schwartz, and I made them an offer to settle the account at $0.70 for every dollar and the extremely rude lady said she would need approval from her boss but that she doesn't know how many weeks before she can get back to me, and we started arguing and she hung up on me. Also, if the debt gets settled for pennies on the dollar, does that ruin the credit report of my niece? All advice on how to handle this would truly be appreciated.
Make absolutely sure that one of the stipulations in your settlement agreement (in writing on their letterhead) states that this collection activity will be removed from her credit, or better yet, reported as "paid never late" by AMEX, not the collection agency. Good Luck Dancer ********************* How do you stop a lawyer from drowning? Easy, just shoot him before he hits the water.........
Paying the CA is the worst thing you could possibly do. You would lose your money, end up with a negative collection entry and remain on Amex blacklist. Saar
I agree with Saar. Paying the collection agency will not help your niece's credit rating. It most likely will backfire. Send the collection agency a validation letter. Chase them off. I have been reading your posts on both boards. Paying these slugs is a mistake.
