OK, since the "letters of validation" route is not available to me, can you help me put together a letter that includes the following information. I have a credit report full of debt I am unable to pay off. I met with a Consumer Credit Counselor last week. I am just covering monthly expenses with no extra income. I would be willing to pay a portion of the debt if I receive (before hand) a certified letter of the CA agreeing to a lesser portion of the debt and agreement to take it off my credit report when that agreement is met. For debts that are between $200 and $700 (totalling over $5000), how much should I offer to settle the debts for? Would the credit agencies go for 25%? I don't want to offer more than 50%. The debts are between 2 and six years old. $2800 of the $5000 is for child support owed to the state of California for my wife's collection of state assistance for my children. That will be garnished from my tax return. So I really only have about $2500 in total debt on credit report. I also was in a traffic accident and was ticketed for over $2000 for not having insurance on my vehicle. (I did believe I was up to date on it.) They waiting less than one month before turning that fine over to a CA, who added 50% of the fine immediately upon receipt. The fine went from $2010 to in excess of $3020 - including monetary penalty and interest. I need my licence. It has been revoked until the CA is paid. What is the least they would be likely to accept if the Consumer Credit Councelor was able to tell them my financial situation not allowing for any large settlement but the need of my driver's licence? Please help!
Why is the letter of validation route not available? Have you already determined from your own records that the debts as reported are actually yours, and are accurate? "They waiting less than one month before turning that fine over to a CA, who added 50% of the fine immediately upon receipt. The fine went from $2010 to in excess of $3020 - including monetary penalty and interest." Have you verified that adding 50% is legal? Other than child support and the fine, what types of debts are the rest?
settling debt Thank you for responding Ontrack! $5357 total debt reported on credit reports. It appears that two of the accounts are duplicates of one another - same original amount ($273) with same original creditor - through different CA's. A third account ($84) appears to (possibly) be the interest or penalty on one of the duplicate accounts. All three involve Pacific Bell as original creditor but all three have different 'date opened', 'reported since' and 'last reported' dates. I have already disputed these charges through Equifax. Of the $5357: $1703 are for PacBell and AT&T - $791 of which involve the duplicate? accounts. $2855 debt owed to California State for child support - non negotiable and accepted. $161 hospital bill opened in 2004 and $638 attorney bill (original $416 plus interest or penalty fee(?)) from 2001. What are the chances of these companies settling for 25% ? Should I offer that? Should I ask for validation on the adjusted attorney's debt? Any assistance is appreciated!
Personally, I'd ask for validation from all collection entities and verification from all the creditors absent the State. Shortly thereafter, I'd dispute all the derogatory tradelines (specific data fields which look inaccurate or incomplete) appearing on your reports with ALL the CRA's including the one with the State. After seeing which were deleted, if any, I'd focus on PFD's with the one's remaining IF they were then reporting accurately and completely (including the notation that "consumer disputes").
