I have an account with Discover card with a balance of 10k and have not been able to make payments in 7 months. I recently spoke with a rep and after some negotiating she offered 6k as a settlement offer. This sounds ok to me as the debt is mine and I have the money to pay. However, when I asked for a letter to confirm our agreement she said that Discover doesn't send settlement letters before they receive payment only after. Also I requested "payment for deletion" and of course she said they don't do that either. What can I do? I am satisfied with the amount but can I trust Discover to send a letter after they get my money? DavidS
No ... You have to get it in writing! The person you were talking to may not even have the authority to settle the debt. Not only that, Discover may come after you for the balance later. Instead of asking Discover for a letter, why don't you send one to them with all the details from your call and your stipulations (i.e. settlement is payment in full, no reselling of remaining balance, and if Discover accepts settlement they agree to delete the tradeline).
The OP should definitely listen to this advice. Discover and anyone else out there that will not give it to you in writing PRE-PAYMENT is lying. No other discussion necessary. By writing this particular rep and recapping the discussion, you are properly memorializing your file and now it's just a question of time before they will know you mean business. (and probably settle in writing)
