Debt settlement question

An offer in compromise is an idea. You should try to find out the original amount of the debt, if there are alot of interest and late fee, negotiate and see if they can be waived, then set up what you can afford even if it taked 5 years without interest and late fee's it can get paid off and calls will stop.

The problem is I tried to do that before. They refused to even lower the interest rate, let alone stop the interest rate and I was paying $50 a month regularly and on time every single month and they were very unhappy with this payment which is why they kept moving it to different companies.

I don't understand why interest was being charged on top of the debt you have. My first suggestion is to negotiate a plan that will "freeze" the interest on the debt. I recently did this with Capital One with success.

My second suggestion is to determine what amount you can pay per month. I don't want to discourage you but I'm doubtful the CA will accept $1000.00 to satisfy the debt. Even though you've been making payments to two prior CA's, I'd ask the current CA to validate the debt, if you haven't already done so. There are sample letters on the board that will assist you.

Ensure you keep notes of EVERYTHING being discussed with the CA. Moreover, include a statement within the DV letter that you will not accept any verbal communication between you and the CA. Make it clear that you want all communication to take place in writing.

Determine what you can afford to pay each month. Essentially, you're offering a payment plan that will ultimately satisfy the debt. If at some point you have enough to offer a settlement, ensure the CA accepts your offer in writing. In addition, ensure the CA shows the debt as "paid in full" when reporting to the credit agencies.

Perhaps you could give us more information about your debt and the CA you're dealing with. I'm still perplexed over this interest you're paying.

The current agency is Protocol Recovery Services in Panama City Florida and I have not communictaed with them at all yet because my experience with the last company was so negative. The last company was Capital Management Services in Buffalo NY and they were the folks who refused to freeze the interest and were dissatisfied with the payment arrangement I made with them which is one I could afford. I am willing and able to pay $50 a month until the debt is paid but the interest/debt kept getting bigger every month. So this new Company I have had no dealings with yet.

What type of debt are we talking about? Is this a credit card? Do you know if the CA owns the debt or if they are collecting for the original creditor? I'm confident we can help you but we need to understand exactly what you're dealing with. Have you viewed your credit report from the credit agencies? If not, you can do so for free at annualcreditreport.com.

The original debt was a credit card debt and on the letter it says "previous creditor : Direct Merchants" (the credit card company). I don't know if they own the debt, I have not asked that question. I just got my credit report but I'm not sure what to look for. I declared bankruptcy 7 years ago this year and this credit card was the one card I thought I could handle (yeh right) so did not include it in the bankruptcy. The credit report says there are no accounts currently past due. There is only one direct merchant account on the credit report and it says it's a "Charge off". I don't know what that means.

Charge Off means that the original creditor charged off the account. If you were in business for yourself you can write off bad debt. That's essentially what a creditor will do if they are unable to collect a debt. When Direct Merchants charged off the debt, they either sold it outright to a CA or they are having a CA collect on their behalf. I'm surprised to learn that you were able to file bankruptcy without including ALL of your creditors. It's my understanding that you can't select which creditors you're going to pay back. At any rate, I suggest you contact Direct Merchants and find out if they still own the debt or did they sell it to a CA. If they sold it to a CA, then you'll have to deal with Protocol. Once you've found out, post the information and we can go from there.

Every company you metioned has a bad history of debt collection violations. If the current company will not accept a counter offer of settlement that you can afford, then don't pay them a dime. Eventually you might be sued, but again, you will probably be in a better position to negoitiate a settlement. Most likely they will blow bs smoke threatening to sue you. Either way, if legal in your state, record the phone conversations and contact a lawyer on naca.net if they cross the line.