I have a weird situation or maybe not so weird? I have been offered to settle a loan for more then half of what I owe but it will say "settled for less then the balance" on my Credit report. I do not know where this came from. I am never late and they collect 40$ a month in intrest. Is this something I should consider or will it be a really bad mark on my credit report? There is only 3 bad marks on my report and they will be gone in 2002. Thanks for any info....Ron
Hell no. That is exactly what Discover did to me when I was struggling to pay down my account with them when I was a broke azz dental student. That did not help my credit at all. That settled statement saying "settled for less than balance" will not help your score or your file. Of Course ask for paid as agreed to appear on your report or no deal.
I was under the impression that "settled for less..." is actually looked at in a negative way....I have 2 of those on my report! :-(
I would think that it would be negative, because future creditors would see it and possibly think "Hmm....they only paid so-and-so 50% of what they owed THEM....what if they do the same to us?"
how much do you still owe? a caveat- if you owe $5K, and settle the debt for $2500, the creditor will report the other $2500 as a loss to the IRS, and send you a 1099-C showing the "amount forgiven" as taxable income.
RE: how much do you still owe? Not 5k but just enough to think about it. I am not going to do it unless I get it in writing the say Paid as agreed. I really have no reason to do what they want me to do other than get rid of another acct and get a better one with someone else. Thanks for all your help..Ron
RE: how much do you still owe? How do you go about getting your creditors to settle a debt in this manner? I would rather pay the income tax than X years of interest.
RE: how much do you still owe? It is not paying it over the years. I could pay it off right now but I use it for my credit report scores. which i guess it is not helping because they are low so I will probably close the account and pay it in full since they do not want me anymore.I did not ask them to settle for less then the balance they approched me.I dunno no!...Ron I might just tranfer the balance to my Mbna acct.
