Settlement letter!

The account you have with JCP, I think i can help, there is a lady @ their collections dept that is very helpful. I'll find her name and number and post tomorrow.
Lucas

 

It can't hurt.

When I was a bill collector, I worked for a number of different creditors. Each one had their own guidelines on settlements. Some were pretty loose, they asked that you shoot for 80% but said you could go as low as 50%, others were a lot more strict, not allowing anything less than 70%. One had a rather complex chart where you compared the size of the balance to how long it had gone uncollected, and came to a figure that way.

Usually there was some method, supervisor review or some paperwork you could do to get a settlement that was beyond the guidelines approved. Often this involved some sort of documentation of the creditors specific hardship, and it sometimes required proof from the customer.

Keep in mind that the decision will be made based on your situation today, not as it was when you became delinquent. If you had an accident two years ago and was out of work for six months but are making good money again today, they will be unimpressed.

We never negotiated on this point. We collected the money, but had nothing to do with how the account reported to the credit bureaus.

Which is not the same as saying it can't be done. Others say they have been able to negotiate for deletion, and I have no reason not to believe them. I suspect it's easier to get a collection agency to delete their entry, and not the OC.

I will say that if a bill collector tells you that the account will read "paid in full" that the bill collector is likely misinformed. A settlement will read "zero balance, settlement accepted on the account."

Good luck.