Settlement Offer by E-mail?????

A collection agency is wanting to make a settlement offer of $159.41 for an outstanding $250 Sprint bill. The collection agency name is DCI out of Jacksonville Florida. We wanted them to send us the settlement offer in writing to us via us mail and they said that the offer was only good for 24 hours and that they can send the limited time offer in writing only through e-mail.

My question is, is a settlement offer sent through an e-mail as binding as if sent through the mail? Can they be trusted?

NO! Don't accept it! If they were serious about the settlement they would send it via us mail.

Send them an email back stating you will only consider a physical settlement (on a piece of paper) send to you via the US postal service. You can even tell them that you would be happy to accept that settlement, but you require it in actual writing first.

Keep copies of those emails for your records. If they were serious about the settlement they should have no problem with sending it in the mail. It sounds fishy that they refuse.

Also you can take the initiative. Write up the agreement they stated in the email. Send them a copy asking them to sign it. Inform them that payment will be made as soon as you have a signed agreement in your hand. Keep a copy of this as well and mail it certified mail RR.

This way it looks like you did everything you could to take care of this and that the company dropped the ball, not you.

I had a feeling they were up to no good when they said that they do not accept payments through the mail, only over the phone they said. Why do they have to make everything so difficult by being so dishonest! thanks for the info!

That is definitely a bad sign. That is utter bull that they don't take payments except by phone. All this tells me is that they want to have a method to take out whatever payment they feel like and/or do it however many times they want!!

Should a consumer ALWAYS have something in writing before making ANY kind of payment over the phone? Giving out bank account information or debit card account number over the phone for anything thats not signed and in writing seems crazy. If they won't send something in writing via us mail and they don't take payments through the mail..., just refuse to pay them?

Have them fax it to you on company letterhead.

Okay

Pretty much in writing. A fax should work too.

I owe a loan company and I do not have the money right to pay. They came to my house to collect money but I told them all i had was 60 dollars wanted 164. Did not take the 60 stated that will have to do legal issues. First can they come to my house and if I offered what I had until payday and they did not take it what can be done with refusing to take money.