Pay original creditor, not CA

Hello there, and welcome. I am actually a firm believer in cutting out the middleman (collectors). If you can, work it out with the original creditor. Collectors are shady, and some will take your money and it will vanish. Yes, yes, yes, contact Chase, and do whatever you can to pay them directly. Be sure to tell them that dealing with a collection company is not an option.

Hi, thanks for the quick reply. I did contact Chase today and the rep told me the account was charged off so I have to deal with the CA. I made it very clear that I won't deal with a CA and that I'm ready to make the payment, but only directly to Chase. Their response was sorry that's not possible I'll transfer you to the collection agency to make payment arrangements. After that I even asked to speak a supervisor, put on hold then told none was available but one would call me back. It appears they don't want to accept payment directly from me. For some reason I recall hearing that I can't be forced to work with a CA if I prefer to pay directly. Is this a legal truth or an accepted guideline or something?
Thanks again,
Sasha

It is actually the choice of the creditor. The collection company paid for your account, but you need not stop trying due to a rep's say-so. You can always contact the corporate headquarters, and seek a remedy there.

Hi, I've been reading post after post and came across a brief mention of what I'm dealing with here. According to the post on collection agencies in that forum, once an account has been transfered to a CA, it's no longer possible to work with the original creditor. If this is the case, and calling the "collection" department of Chase gets me the same stone wall, am I stuck dealing with "Client Services" which I hear has numerous complaints filed, or do I need to find an attorney?

Thanks again,
Sasha

I personally went over a collection companies head, and dealt with the credit card company. It is possible, even if the stonewall seems hard to get over.

Thank you. I'll get back on the phone with Chase to see if they're going to budge. It's my fault for not accepting earlier but it would be nice to take their settlement offer. However, my main concern is dealing with a company with numerous complaints and having to possibly run around complaining after a payment has been made.
Thanks again for your advice,
Sasha

Got an update: spoke with several departments who all pointed me back to the collections department who won't budge. The debt is still owned by Chase but has been "legally" assigned to an CA who is entitled to arrange payment, etc. They informed me that there is no other department that can offer me anything else. Apparently there is 0% chance of paying Chase directly, instead my only option is to pay this "Client Services". The things I've heard about this company has made me nervous to deal with them. I don't understand what people have said or done to get companies to reverse decisions already made. Even the supervisor in this department is unable to work with me. What a frustrating event when you're trying to pay a bill but the creditor won't/can't accept. Thanks again for all of the advice. Not sure which path I'll pursue now.
Sasha