I realize this letter may be full of newbie mistakes, but I am wondering why I haven't received a response to the letter below. The background is this is a charge-off that was sent to a collection attorney. The attorney had a pattern of having a machine call my home as many as 10 times in one day, every weekday and several times on Saturday for weeks. It is a very large law firm, and because I briefly worked PT for a TV court show, I know this firm spares little when it comes to suing over credit card debt, even relatively small amounts. I would literally see rows and rows (up to 500 at a time) of cases filed by this firm on a weekly basis at each of the courts I visited. I never spoke with them, but I did send two letters attempting to negotiate the debt. The calls (and all other communication) have stopped after I sent this third letter, which was not sent certified. June 28, 2005 ***case manager*** Wolpoff & Abramson, LLP TWO IRVING CENTRE 702 King Farm Blvd Dear Mr. *****: I am in receipt of a letter from Wolpoff & Abramson, LLP., dated ****, which notifies me of an intent to sue regarding an Orchard Bank credit account, W&A File No. ****. The letter also incorrectly states that I have been unreachable. I have written several letters and responded to an offer to settle sent by a case manager. I have, in fact, received no responses to my letters. Although I dispute this claim and do not agree with the amounts stated as owed, I am interested in clearing my credit. So I am willing to work with you to settle this matter. I propose a balance of this account as $700.00 payable in ten monthly installments beginning August 5, 2005. I am currently unemployed, and need a reasonable amount of time to attend to this matter. In return, I require a complete deletion of this account and all entries related to it removed from all of the credit bureaus to which they are reported. That is, in exchange for the final payment, Wolpoff & Abramson, LLP. agrees to permanently erase any entries related to Orchard Bank, as well as Wolpoff & Abramson, LLP., from all of my credit bureau reports. As a measure of mutual goodwill, I would like from Wolpoff & Abramson, LLP., a written agreement with above specified terms returned to me prior to August 5, 2005. Payment is contingent upon a written agreement. I thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, **** ****
Since they haven't replied, they haven't accepted your offer, which also had a time limit for acceptance. They have made initial contact and received a reply, which makes receiving eventual payment more likely. If you were in their shoes, would you accept $700 via monthly payments, or would you wait for when you are employed, maybe 6 months or a year later, and seek collection of the full amount? Maybe when they have more leverage, such as when you are purchasing a house? As long as it is not too close to the SOL, if I were them, I would choose the latter over payments I still might not receive. This assumes rationality on the part of the CA, probably not a good assumption.
What state do you reside in? Wolpoff and Abramson will only follow thru with law suits if you reside in the states where they are licensed to practice law. I believe they are licensed in NY, MD and only a couple more....which makes negotiations a lot better for you if you do not reside in the states they are licensed in. They are able to settle for 50 cents on the dollar and will do it in payments over several months. They will sit on the account because it will accrue more fees for them making the settlement amount if any higher. Alot of companies are turning to Wolpoff and Abramson for collections because they are linked together with the Naional Arbitration Forum and MBNA.
Three strikes against me. I live in MD. I only responded when my job search started to gain ground, and I work now. I also own a home. The flip side is there's nothing down the pike, creditwise that I NEED to clear my credit for. I just want to do it. Well, I will be needing a car soon, but if push comes to shove, I can repair what we have. I feel as though I can wait too, if they are going to take that approach. Usually, the older the debt, the better the settlement, right? Is there something different because it's Wolpoff? Help me out here.
The older the debt the better the settlement does not hold true for Wolpoff and Abramson. They do proceed very quickly especially if you reside in a state where they are licensed. You do not want a judgment on your credit report and i believe you wont want a judgement at all, where they look for assets and possible wage garnishments.
