Advanta Bank is not willing for debt settlement - what to do?

I received a settlement offer 7/30/2010 owed $7,280.20 of about $1,180 was interest @ 34.99% + late fees. I am 4 months behind. I was a couple days late in making March payment. Paid and called to wave late fee & 34.99% interst no deal. I have refussed to pay anything unless put back to 7.99% drop late fees & 35.99% interest no deal. They have offered me to settle for 2,200 if paid by 8/2/2010.

[QUOTE=Bugstarr;729625]I have a settlement letter with Advanta through RGS Financial it is for 20%, I am making a $500.00 payment today through Money Gram at Wal-Mart today. The next for payments are due on the 30th of the next four months. It will not be an easy payment to make but it is one more step to getting my life back in order. I did not due this on my own I had help from Sherman, I found his information on one of these blogs on this website, I was a skeptic but I had nothing to loose because no matter how hard I tried I was not able to settle for anything less then 40% on my own. He charged me hardly anything to do help me settle.[/QUOTE]
Hi,
Can you post or IM contact info on Sherman and how they went about helping you. I would go for 20% if I could get it.

Can I post his information on this blog?

You can send it to Marcello via private message.

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I realize that a 20% settlement is better than getting nothing, however, taking into account that defaulted 2nd mortgagors have been routinely settling for 5%, why on earth would you want to settle for anything more on lowly unsecured credit card debt?? I owe over $100K on a 2nd I'm letting go. My strategy is season it as long as possible before offering 5% or less, otherwise they're SOL if they foreclose. Why would I pay Advanta penny one?

Because I just to move on and the only bang on my credit report is Advanta.

I completely empathise with Marcello. I feel his pain. For two years I continued the fight for good credit. Advanta was the first (and only) to screw me with 37% interest. My industry is in shambles and for the first time in my life I have miserable credit.

Subconsciously I want an end to the Advanta chapter of my finances but I am such deep poop right now it's the least of my worries.

I completely agree with "Unregistered". He is right about a tiny settlement and the only way I will go that route is if all of my creditors agree to tiny settlements. Otherwise they are as screwed as I am.

Talk about being screwed, Advanta was screwed long before they went BK. All they have is the FDIC to try and pick through the wreckage of delinquent accounts. And the wreckage is the "low-hanging fruit", the poor schmucks still left with salvageable credit and that have exposed assets and are hard-working wage earners. My attorney was a former collection attorney for many banks and he shared all his insider secrets to collections. The better one positions themselves from being a low-hanging fruit, the better the chances of a nominal settlement or, better yet, letting the statue run!

Peferct anology there. I am seeing this with other creditors already. Filing BK is always an option but it doesn't seem as necessary as before. The main reason US Banks remained open was due to rediculous tax payer hand-outs (TARP).

I am 100% sure they have another wave of poor economics ahead. Only next go-around there will be no more Gov't hand-outs.

I'm going to wait this out another year. What's the hurry? It's not like credit will be attainable for another 10-20 years anyway.

For those who worry about being "sued" by a collection company just know I'm in foreclosure on my mortgage. By comparison that is a much more real threat, and my defense Attny says they have at least 2 years of fighting to get absolutely nothing.

So what does an unsecured credit card have to gain? Zero!

[SIZE=3]My most frustration thing out of all of this is that most of us are small businesses. There is nothing….nothing out there to help us though the difficult economical times. On top of that our government is doing nothing to insulate or protect us from these banks. Yes we barrow the money but, when we barrow this money it was at a lower interest rate that we were able to afford. This should be considered a crime that the banks are getting away with the interest hikes from 6% to 32%and the penalties they are able to charge us. Our government allowed them to do this criminal act I call it criminal be. The government protected the bank and the auto makers, but did nothing for small business. How many of you are cutting everywhere you can just to survive and even possibly facing loosing you homes because the HAMP program did not approve you and you weren’t even given a reason why. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Looked up crime online: [COLOR=black](criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act; "a long record of crimes"[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR=black]Marcello[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black] [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]I have been posting for a while on this blog site but am still not real proficient on what I am doing. I sent you a private message today; I thought I sent you one the first time you asked for Sherman's number. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black] [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]To everyone out there, I do not know about everyone else but,I feel I am still rather new at this blogging and am happy I found this sit. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black] [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]You help me keep my sanity though these difficult times.[/COLOR]

You are not alone in this mess. Neither the economy nor the banking industry debocle is your fault.

To Low Hanging Fruit - did you try a loan mod before throwing in the towel? How long have you been in default on your mortgage? Is your attny just saying that it will take 2 years because the lenders are so backlogged - or are you having him use "stall tactics"? I am researching this subject as I write this. I have heard some borrowers can extend the time frame up to 3 years and live payment-free! Great way to "get back" at these evil and corrupt lenders!

As I've pointed out before, unsecured debt is SOL when you have other secured priority debts (which most of us do) such as mortgages. All the more reason to just let go on Advanta and all the rest. Look at it as a business decision: How much is it worth to you to pay a "nuisance fee" to eliminate them? For me, that fee is almost nothing because I have bigger fish to fry, credit is already shot from defaulting on mortgages, and I have bigger fish to fry. If they sue, go right ahead. There are no assets or income to attach.

"...and that have exposed assets and are hard-working wage earners. My attorney was a former collection attorney for many banks and he shared all his insider secrets to collections. The better one positions themselves from being a low-hanging fruit, the better the chances of a nominal settlement or, better yet, letting the statue run!"Excuse my ignorance, but what are "exposed assets" and how do you go about protecting yourself from exposing them? TIA...

The mortgage is on my second home. It is a condo that's been on the market for 4 years. Foreclosures in the building forced me to keep lowering the price until I owed more than current market. I've been delinquent since Sept 2009.

My Attny charges $300/mo so he has a vested interest in delaying it. The lender "approved" my shortsale and sent a document for me to sign...the fine print said I aggree to remain obligated on the loan even though I am selling the property. What total scammers! We sent it back unsigned.

He then filed a motion to dismiss the foreclosure. Not just because of back-log but because of the lenders poor record keeping they are looking at 2 more years of legal bills when all they had to do was remove that rediculous stipulation.

Advanta was the first creditor to screw me.

Everyone who reads this please know I have been licensed by the department of Banking and Finance since 1990. Prior to, I have never been late on a payment to anyone. The Banks stopped making loans to deserving borrowers. Our economy is based on finance-period! Banks drove the economy into the ground and it will remain here for years to come.

Assets can suffer from two kinds of exposure ... the first is where they're titled in your name so they show up on a commonly available investigative report ANYONE (not just creditors) can get. Cars, real estate, etc.

The second kind of exposure is where you own them and must disclose their existence in the course of answering the kind of asset discovery that occurs after there is a judgment against you. Say you have a stamp collection ... if it's included in a rider you put on your insurance policy then there's no denying it at deposition and you'll likely face a turnover order.

Asset protection is placing assets into trusts or other vehicles where the creditor can't legally touch them. Asset avoidance is the use of legal means so that assets don't get into your name in the first place (for instance, disclaiming an inheritance so it passes to your children instead of you--the creditor can't do anything about that). Asset evasion is having an asset and (illegally) omitting to disclose it when the discovery colorably asks about it. The last is pretty risky.

exposed assets: any bearer assets that you hold personally (titled in your name) i.e. real estate, stock and bank accounts, vehicles, boats. Retirement accounts and income is exempt from creditor attachment.

Sage just sent an offer at 30% on a $16.5k balance.

"Be advised that ignoring this matter will not make it go away."

Well, it's worked so far! I can handle the occasional call and letter.

"Should we receive no response from you, we will have no alternative but to interpret your silence as refusal to acknowledge your financial responsibility as it relates to the repayment of this debt."

Interpret away, schmucks!

Been awhile since I posted but all of sudden calls have started again from 877-630-5819. Caller does not say who but message says "Card Services" . I told her I am unemployed and have no income(true) and cannot due to health reasons(true). all she could say was that she would accept a post dated check hahahaha! I'm just ignoring them but getting 4-5 a day now. Still getting statements and APR was raised from 7.99 to 34.99 ! No payment made since March 2010 and no more planned. I made a note on my last statement that I will not accept any phone settlements and all contact should be in writing and that I may consider a 10% settlement ! yeah right...we will see how that goes....
I

I also got a 30% settlement offer in the mail today. I am going for 10% and negotiating the TL to delete.

Phantom-you crack me up.

Guys-do what I did and file a complaint with the State Attny's office. Haven't heard from anyone in 8 months.

I don't care if the alleged debt is of business nature. They completely backed off me.

What did the complaint consist of?

The complaint was directed at Phillips and Cohen (the CA). They constantly harrassed inspite of numerous requests to provide written proof of the alleged debt. In addition to not being able to substantiate any debt, they provided zero proof my business owes them (PnC) one cent. Lastly, other than hearsay, they never proved they are the CA company for Advanta.

As a result of the heckling and trashy comments from their blood-hounds, I filed a complaint, received a case # and they were forced to respond. The State Attny's ofc forwarded the response which included a statement agreeing to never harrass me again.

If everyone else would do the same, crooks like P and C would be put out of biz!

I got my 1st letter from P&C today demanding settlement in 5 days! yeah like that's gonna happen...what have others done with the letters? Has'nt gotten to the hassle yet except for calls coming from an 877 number which no one now answers if I pick up.

Best $80 you can spend is go to the local electronic store and buy a Panasonic cordless phone (with call block). Once an unwanted number is determined simply add it to the "blocked" list.

Next time they call you will only get half of a single ring as the caller ID recognizes it and blocks them. They can't even leave a message.

Without telephone's, CA's have no other weapon. Do you really think they will incurred the legal expense associated with filing a lawsuit and summons to collect on an unsecurred debt?

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"Do you really think they will incurred the legal expense associated with filing a lawsuit and summons to collect on an unsecurred debt?"

I am sure that is on all our minds.

5 mos. of non-payment for me and still ticking! At this point, even WITH a full-blown lawsuit, there in NOTHING for them to attach. My retirement account and income is protected from creditor garnishment and there are no assets worth liening.

My exit strategy is to wait out the statute of limitations which is about 5.5 years from now!

Has anyone received notice from ACT on behalf of Advanta? Has anyone DV this CA?

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I highly doubt ACT's letter told you it was time for you to do a DV letter. I suspect it made reference to a 30 day period in which you could dispute the claim.

Guys-google "Advanta Bankruptcy" It looks like Advanta Corp is trying to get Advanta Banks IRS tax refund to distribute to it's unsecured investors. Either way I suspect the out come might persuade Advanta Bank's CA's to take lower settlements.

Could also be a perfect time (say in 30-90 days) to dispute any negative reference on your credit report.

Has anyone tried to dispute the Advanta Negative Reference off there credit report??
Anyone have any Luck getting it off. I have not tried to get it off, but would like any advise out there.

I don't want it off. The more of them there are, the less likely any particular one is to sue. If the pie's already shrunken, you don't fight for a tiny slice of it ... at least not when there are other pies where you get bigger slices.

The thing is that Advanta is the only negative item on my report. I was just not going to pay 36% and I am not going to settle for anything less than 10%

I just got a letter from Equifax after sending explanation letters to all 3 credit unions. My letter explained how Advanta's first communication with me where I signed for the company I'm part of had nothing about being personally responsible for the debt. I signed as an LLC member. Only later did they send their booklet that said in the fine print that they could hold me personally responsible for the cash advance we'd already gotten. When our company went bottom up, after refusing to work with us on any payment plan (other than $30 less per month) we stopped paying about 8 months ago. My letter also explained what Advanta did to thousands of customers to virtually drive us out of business.

All that to say that Equifax just responded that Advanta verified the debt was mine. Unfortunately it seems all credit unions can (or will) do is ask if the debt is still there. If the company responds that it is, that settles it in their minds.

How long will it be until Advanta is completely dissolved ???? Anyone have any input on this- Please share.

Not till a jdb buys in.

Does any one know who owns the advanta accounts now I am still paying them the 29% interest wen it went from 7.99 and they will not drop it down at all they are really the worst bank ever to deal with they say pay it or we will ruin your credit what happened to the credit card plan to help the little guys and lower the interest could someone post the up dates on what to do at this stage and who to contact thanks in advance

For all intents the FDIC is the temporarily owner. Your run-of-the-mill FDIC takeover involves a "buyer" who backed by FDIC in pre-aggreed terms, becomes the new owner.

In our case there was no buyer for Advanta Bank. So the FDIC had to step in and settle deposit accounts. I am 100% sure they are negotiating with Junk Debt Buyer's for pennies on the dollar right now. Until then the previous agreement will stay in place with Collection Agencies.

My .02 is to wait for the balances to go to a JDB and then begin the negotiation process. Apparently CA's are not allowed to settle for less than 25-35% of the alleged balance.

Patience Grasshopper.

Chucky, you're between a rock and a hard place. You can stop paying and wait to see if you can settle with them, or keep paying. They will indeed ruin your credit. The way things are going though, good credit isn't going to be worth much. You may be overestimating the value of maintaining it.

I stopped paying in March and have not heard a word. I don't even get statements anymore, but the only bad tread on my CR is Advanta. I hope to settle for 10% or less and then try and get it off my report. As phantom debtor said, credit is not what it once was.

Sage Capital Recovered offered 40%, but I just can't make that. It'll have to wait for a brighter day.

Just started getting calls from CardWorks Services. Anyone getting calls from them? Think you will be able to settle with them????

I read somewhere they assumed the role of servicing card holders who weren't write-off's. Apparently they service current as well as slightly late accounts.

Keep in mind Advanta "Corp" is BK'd. It was also the owner of our beloved Advanta "Bank". Everybody here should follow the BK proceedings with equal interest. Reason being the "uninsured investors" of Advanta Corp just got screwed last week when Advanta Bank won a $50m IRS tax carryback.

Point is there are probably closed doors talks on how to mimize the Bank's losses since it will come completely out of the FDIC's pocket-book.

Haven't read one word on what will be done with us "bad debtors" who couldn't afford 36% interest. But would bet you a dollar (if I had one) our balances will be sold for dirt cheap to a sleezy JDB in the next few months.

So how late are you?

I stopped paying in Feb of this year. One month before the FDIC came in and took them over. I wounder if Cardworks will write me off or not. No need for me to talk to anyone, because I am not settling for 40%.

How about you. How late are you and have you been written off yet.

For Cardworks:

The FDIC still runs the RTC's old JDC program, in which the JDB that wins a "beauty contest" gets to pay 1% of the face value of the portfolio, absorb all expenses of collection, and split whatever it collects halvsies with the FDIC.

Gotcha. I stopped paying them back in May 2009. Right when they took my rate from 6-36%

Interestingly yesterday I got a call from 877-630-5816. Did not leave a msg. I never answer toll-free #'s. Did a google search and......Walla! Our buddy's at Cardworks are now calling me.

How special. I will not give them the time of day. They must have inheritted my account from the a$$'s at Phillips and Cohen where Ms. Tamika and Ms Dupre were going to make a "negative recommendation" and of course "do a discovery to get a default judgement"...yikes!

Lucky for me our judicial system doesn't flow the way our Jive-talk'n legal experts at PnC say it does.

I stopped paying in May and get hounded lots with calls, many of them now are auto-dialers with no live body on the other end. The other day my son answered for kicks and lo adn behold, a live person was tehre! We chatted a bit adn then I mentioned a settlement and they quickly offered 50% in 6 pmts. I said not good enuff and they said 38% was as low as they could go, with mgmt approval of course. I didn't bite, but would probably take it for 20%-30% just to be done with it and move on, ya know?

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