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ssgnewtonjw · Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 8:24 am Subject: CHarge off

just want to clarify...i want to settle a debt with citifinancial (citibank). I was contacted by a collection agency that said they would settle for 5 grand (original debt is 9600) I said okay but after checking here i pulled my report. They report on my credit report as a charge off. is this a case of buying a junk debt. and if i want to settle with citi should i just contact them directly or deal with this CA??? oh and they wont send a written agreement unil i agree to an electronic check. i could see that i would get screwed.

newt

Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:42 pm Subject:

Citibank will not accept your payment proposals if they have already sold off the account to outside CA. Most of the times, creditors sell the charged off debts to the CAs for pennies on the dollars. The collection company will offer you settlement after keeping their cost and profits. Make sure that the CA has shown you all documents they got from the original creditor confirming about the debt. They must validate the account before you work out any payment arrangements. It's not right that they want you to agree for the electronic check before sending the details of the debt.

ssgnewtonjw · Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 3:28 pm Subject:

now the thing is how do i get my credit report fixed? The CA says its the creditors responsibility and they can not make them do it..i left the settlement letter at work...but thats what it said..that they would mark the accout settled in full-paid..should i ask for something different? citi already charged it off so what should i do to fix my credit?

Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 3:41 pm Subject:

Look on your credit report. How is Citibank reporting the account? They should be reporting a zero balance if the account is sold to the collection agency. In that case, the collector will report a SIF when you clear the account.

ssgnewtonjw · Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 3:47 pm Subject:

okay it says charge off and has a balance..so shoud i work with the CA or directly with citi?

Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 3:57 pm Subject:

Call Citibank and put your proposals. The CA didn't send you anything in writing yet. So, it's not completely sure whether their settlement offer is real or not. Work out directly with Citibank. Get the PIF letter after clearing off the account.

ssgnewtonjw · Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 4:03 pm Subject:

okay thats what i was just thinking..i have no letter from the CA...if by chance i get to work monday and its in writing should i still work with the CA or still contact citi?

Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 4:23 pm Subject:

When the collector calls you, he has to abide by the federal laws and confirm their collection practices. You should have the debt validated as mentioned in the FTC. This way, you will buy some time while working with the creditor.

Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 7:23 pm Subject:

If Citi is reporting a balance, then they might still own the account, and just hired this CA to work it. Sometimes the creditor who hires a CA will give the CA permission to offer a settlement. That may be they case here.

Call Citi and find out if they still own it or not. Tell them you received a settlement offer from the CA but the CA will not document the terms of the settlement. Then ask Citi if you can settle directly with them instead of through the CA.

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 12:04 am Subject:

The hospital placed my bill with a collection agency. They said on my credit report that my account was unpaid and in collections. The collection agency that they sent it to did not want to make a settlement offer because the hospital said I should have made the settlement before it was sent to the collection agency.

Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 3:45 am Subject:

SSG
If citibank will work with you that will be great. However, if you end up working with a collector make sure the first thing you do is debt validation, make them prove they are authorized to collect the debt. If they are and you agree to a settlement amount, make sure that you get the agreement in writing and have them state that they will mark the account paid in full. If you don't there is a good chance they will turn around and sell of the balance and then you have someone else hounding you for the balance. You will also going to have to find out how they plan to report it on your credit report, you will want to have a good outcome here also.

ssgnewt · Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 8:13 am Subject:

well they "said" they want to mark it SIF settled in full...of course they threatend that the creditor wants to take me to court..to which i replied i will be deploying and will simply invoke my right under the SCRA(service members civil relief act) then i will just file bankruptcy when i get back..lol

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