What percentages can I expect?

Hey all, I have a question I am sure others have since some of us are now doing our own debt settlement.

I have accounts with Chase, WaMu, Citi and Discover. No payments have been made on these since last August; September was the first month we didn't make payments. Most of these accounts are with CA's; the Discover has gone back to them and has been flagged to stay there with them. I hope they will.

I am wondering, if anyone can tell, from their own experiences settling accounts, what percentages would be in line for each of these companies. I agreed to 50% on one Chase account today and wondered if I was settling high.

Any advice?

I am also wanting to know the answer to you question. I have a Chase, Discover, BofA and Amex with CAs that I haven't paid since January and will need to settle. How did you get Discover to take your account back? Mine is with Zwicker right now and when I call the Discover number they tell me to call the CA.

I didn't. It just had happened that way before I had to take this over. The lady at Chase led me to believe that their accounts do the same thing. She said they are reviewed after a period of the CA having them and may be brought back in house.

Wow...that's good! I will keep in touch with them to see if I can get them back to the original creditors.

50 % settlement isn't too shabby.

The problem is that they all want to settle at once now. I don't know if I should keep ignoring calls on the ones I can't now or what order I should put them in.

Discover= most aggressive creditor you have
Citi = 2nd most but not too bad but can be a pain in the butt.
Chase = 3rd most but not that bad
Wamu= 4th most , should be a piece of cake

Where does AMEX fall on the list above?

About the same as Citi bank. The two worst most aggressive creditors right now are Bank of America and Discover card.

So are you saying that you should try to settle with the most aggressive first and then go down the line.

I'm in the same boat. I settled with Chase for 55% and Citi for 38% just recently and right before charge off. A second Chase, BofA, Discover and Amex are all with collections. I won't have any sizeable amount saved after paying the 1st two settlements until after the 1st of the year and then most likely only enough to settle one account. The BofA is the most at 20K right now and Amex second at 16K, Discover 7K and Chase 6K. All are about 6 to 7 months behind. I have just this week sent DV and limited CD to each of them by CMRRR.

What are the chances a CA for Citi Card will accept a settlement over 12 months?

I'm not sure about a CA, but Citi settled with me directly for $1000 down and then monthly payments for 11 months.

Let me get this strait. The BofA for 20K right now and Amex second at 16K, Discover 7K and Chase 6K are all you owe left right ? If that is correct , I would settle the Discover and B of A "or the collection agencies that are collecting for them" next. Those creditors are known to be more aggressive. They might do a structured settlement. What state do you live in ?

What is a structured settlement?

Mobile0311,
Thanks for the heads up. I have both BoA's settled, thanks in part to James. I will give credit where it is due.

Discover seemed very nice. This charged off on 3/31. They had turned this to Redline Recovery and they were horrible to deal with and were breaking every law known to man. I DV'ed them and finally had to to a CD. Discover has taken this back in house and the lady there told me she would flag it so it stayed at Discover since I was willing to eventually settle. It is one of my highest balances left.

Would I be better off to forgo settling with Chase now and save for Discover?

On the flip side, your post says WaMu should be a piece of cake. On that one, ours has been sold to Arrow Financial. They seem very aggressive, as does Citi. Arrow is threatening that on or about August 21, this would "escalate" if not settled by then.

I know whoever holds these probably makes a huge difference. I am not afraid to deal with the CA's but would like to do it as smart as possible and in the most sensible order. Your input is greatly appreciated!

"escalate"

A lot of collectors will say that to scare you . They want you to assume that means lawsuit. I would just tell them you are not refusing to pay but you just don`t have the money right now.

Would I be better off to forgo settling with Chase now and save for Discover? If you already agreed on a settlement with Chase you need to stick with it because if you renig on the agreement that could tick Chase off and they might sue you.