20% settlement citi. is this real?

my account was passed to a second collection agency. still seems that city owns the debt. i got a settlement offer for 20% on a $21760.79 balance. i ask for physical letter, and they say NO and wanted to provide electronic letter by email/fax. I haggle with them, and then they say they will mail letter, but it might take a while and if I don't send payment by the 27th, then deal is off the table.

I am suppose to be getting the settlement in the mail, but they emailed me one. I am worried that it might be worded in a tricky way because it says resolved, and it doesn't say the balance will be zero after settlement payment. It just says settles. It can technically mean that it's settled as in account is current, and I have to continue making payments. They won't reword it. I'm kind of thinking on passing it and saving the four grand. I'm judgement proof.

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Balance due:$21760.79 Total Settlement Offer: $4352

In an effort to resolve the Citibank, N.A. - CITi AADVANTAGE WORLD MASTERCARD account, your creditor has authorized our offices to extend a reduced settlement offer on the above balance due. The current settlement offer is $4352.00. To accept this settlement offer, please make the initial payment by the date listed beside payment one This offer is continent upon timely receipt of all payments. Reserving the right to negotiate, your creditor will accept the following payment installment settlement as outlined on page two of this document.

If you accept this above terms, please contact our office immediately by calling blablabla….

We look forward to working with you in resolving this matter.

Thank you


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Payment 1: $4352 due date:12/27/2011

Have them fax it to you on their letterhead...faster than mail.

Hi Bobby,

The verbiage of the letter combined with your meeting all the terms would be sufficient to beat somebody over the head with should it prove necessary later on if additional collection attempts on the ramaining balance were made.

It is a great offer. You say you are judgement proof right now. Will you be so forever? What I mean to say is, you may not be able to be garnished direct for the source of W-2 wages and may not have property to lien if you are sued and a judgment entered against you, but a judgment could lead to a levy on your bank account(s). If all you deposit now and in the future are funds from an exempt source - not much to worry about. If your financial situation turns around in the future, you would have concerns and it is extremely unlikely that you would see a 20% settlement offer from an attorney for citi either pre or post litigation.

Best of Success to you!

This is a good settlement. I settled with Citi for 25%. They faxed me the letter and I accepted.

I also settled with BofA with a collection agency. This was done via e-mail.

I've paid the settlements and all is well.

Good luck with the settlement, keep good records and put it behind you.

I would recommend that you take their offer, ask them to fax you the offer on a company letterhead, and then pay the money using a traceable, verifiable method. This is a good settlement offer, you will be hard pressed to get anything better. Also, you are judgment proof now, but what about down the road? This is a rather large sum of money, and it will accumulate a good chunk of interest if left to do so. Just so you know, it will still be reported on your credit as "settled for less than full balance", so it will still be a bad mark against your credit, but it already is that now.

We advocate that people pay their debts, and you most likely will not find a better deal on this debt than the offer in front of you. Down the road, even if they offer you the same percentage, which is unlikely, you will still pay more because of all the interest. But do this in a manner that protects you--get the fax from them first. Do not let them tell you that it will "take too long" to send a fax....the person should be able to print out a page and fax it to you within a couple minutes. Get that in writing before you send payment.