Bank Of America Credit Card Settlement: Willing to settle for $11k.

Quote:

Done Deal! I just got off the phone with Chase and they settled me for $1000 on a debt of $4955, which is 20%. I just stuck to my guns, I told them yesterday that I could $1000 that's it, my house foreclosed and I had another card I was trying to settle and if they didn't take my $1000 then the other bank was going to get it and they wouldn't get nothing because if they didn't settle I was filing bankruptcy, of course they did ask where I was getting the money and I told them I was borrowing it from my brother and thats why I had only $1000, period. They said all they could do was $1950, I said fine "bye" and he said wait I will put it through and see if can be approved, today he called and said it was approved and I set everything up to settle!

Thank you for everybody's help here all the information has been tremendous, I hope you all get what you are hoping for.

How do you go about getting BoA to settle with you. I have $34K outstanding balance and they set me up on a payment plan. If I even mention the word 'settlement' they state if you can come up with that type of cash, why can't you simply apply it to the balance? So they aren't working with me on settling at all?

How late are you with Bank of America??

If you stopped paying they will settle in 6 months.

I am current. Is that the problem... although I cannot afford the monthly payment they want from me but was trying to keep in good faith...

Do you accept the phone calls when they start contacting you each month about not making payments? If so, what do you tell them? If not, who initiates the settlement? Me or them?

How does this affect your credit? Is it poor or considered settled?

Yes, being current does not help settlements. No on will settle with someone who is current. I took their calls every month and told them the same thing " I have no cash". After 5-6 months they offered me a settlement. I never mentioned. If you settle, it will be reported to credit bureaus as settled and your credit will drop.

I have been posting in the past about my 10k debt. At the end of this month I charge-off or go to their recovery department. Either way I'll be past 180 days. When speaking to my account manager, he increase the settlement from 30% to 45% I'm like. I couldn't afford 30, so why go up? Anyway he mentioned that if I could show them I've consulted or even just called and bankruptcy atty. He could get the settlement down to 15 -17% has anyone heard of this? Does it work? What else could they do?

I have heard where a person say's " I have been talking to a bankruptcy attorney" may get a better deal but would not count on it. Now, if you contacted a local bankruptcy attorney and probably pay a small fee they may take the call from credit card company or send a letter stating you have consulted them. This may work.

Most say if it charges off you can get better deal from collection agency.

Ok - a couple of things. 1 - as for BofA settlement - yes, they are offering .30 and below as settlements (depending how old and how you incurred the debt with them). With any creditor that you settle with, if you agree to make payments and you miss one, the deal can be considered off. You will be back to square one on your balance, interest that accrued and other "junk fees". They may be willing to renegotiate but as a general rule, make sure you can meet the terms of the agreements before you commit.

I agree, wait until just before charge off. Remember, it's a creditors job to recover as much money as possible. When it is about to charge off, the creditor is left with a couple of alternatives. They can send it to a collection company (most collection companies only recover about 7% of the portfolios they manage and it takes about 1 1/2 to 2 yrs), it can go to a debt buyer (which they may receive .05 to .15 CTD) or they can send it to an attorney for law suit (which doesn't usually make sense, they can let interest and fees run; let the statute of limitations run (4 - 10yrs before they lose their right to sue, etc.) - So a "charge off", even though the creditor will make it appear that it's you who is under the gun, is really putting the pressure on the creditor. If you have the funds available, waiting just before charge off and working out a reasonable settlement offer with the creditor is the ideal option. If they don't accept the reasonable offer, then you will start the process over with the debt buyer or the collection company.

don't ask, just play dumb, don't answer any calls until after 120 days. Then give them your sad story ( don't we all have one ). Tell them I can't make any kind of payments. They will ask YOU about settlement. It started out at 45% and I said I'll call back , let me call family and friends. Ignore more calls, don't panic..... I am finding they won't do a thing until 180 days. I even got some info from one them that some of the bigger accounts they may even keep and not sell off.

I then let them tell me they would 20%. Now we're talking. I got a 20% deal with 4 payments on 80K of debt. Personally I would have considered a CH13 but I have another situation that is unusual.

The other thing, learn to live on cash. Then life will get better.

Hi all,

BOA's collection / account recovery department has recently changed their hours. It's really hard to contact them. I haven't been able to reach anybody since they've change it. I currently use this number 888-903-6262. Does anybody have any other info?

888-903-6262 is the correct phone number. I just made a settlement with them today, $24000 for a settlement of $5980 which I feel is a good settlement. The payment schedule is due over 93 days. I had to pay $668 today; $668 3/31/10; $726 4/30/10 and a final of $3927. They then sent me to the debt settlement department that issues the debt settlement letter. She stated that I would have to pay $668. on 3/31/10 $2326.50 on 4/30/10. I questioned her and she sent me back to the gentleman and he assured me that I had 93 days and that if I paid the $726 on 4/30/10 and pay the difference of $3927 my account would be settled in full. My concern is now that I have read these messages that if I don't pay the $2326 on 4/30/10, does this void the settlement? Has anyone faced this discrepancy?

Can't answer your question....but thanks for sharing. Looks like about 25% and that is what I am shooting for.

Quote:

Yes. I believe keeping an open line of communication is very important. It will show that you are not trying to avoid them and if done correctly will show that you are not worth pursuing, you are worth settling with. Explain that times are hard, you had a cut in hours, can't make any payments, etc. Maybe in another 30 days the situation would improve. Maybe a relative is going to help you out, etc. Do this until you have money saved up to make a settlement offer. They may offer you different payment plans or settlement %'s but if you don't have the money, then you don't have the money and it doesn't matter - tell them that you are greatly appreciative and that you wish you could do it and maybe things will change next month but don't agree to something that you can not do or if you feel that you can do better. (if you have funds available or can start working within their parameters, then you can start to negotiate)

How are you guys ensuring that the settlement is legit? After speaking with the rep on the phone, are you asking for a settlement letter that spells out all the terms and conditions before making any payment? Thanks

Also, if I???d like to pursue a settlement with BOA, does having a savings and checking account with them affect this process? I make enough money just to get by making the minimum credit card payments and paying the monthly mortgage, but as interest rates increase I just keep getting deeper in the hole. If I stop making payments, can they just take my money from my BOA accounts? Thanks again

[QUOTE=tygger;660918]How are you guys ensuring that the settlement is legit? After speaking with the rep on the phone, are you asking for a settlement letter that spells out all the terms and conditions before making any payment? Thanks[/QUOTE]
If it is still with the original lender - it should be ok (just get it in writing) - if it is with an outside agency (a collections company collecting on behalf of the creditor) - you can always call the creditor to confirm. YOU could call the original creditor (acting confused) saying that you were returning their call about a settlement offer - you scraped the funds together and would like to proceed if they can send you confirmation. They may elect to pull from collections or generate letter.

If it was sold to a debt buyer (I am sure the original creditor would tell you) - first I am assuming that this is a recent debt and is not past the statute for collections, etc. - then you owe the debt buyer the money and would settle with them. Just make sure it is all spelled out in an agreement.

[QUOTE=tygger;660921]Also, if I???d like to pursue a settlement with BOA, does having a savings and checking account with them affect this process? I make enough money just to get by making the minimum credit card payments and paying the monthly mortgage, but as interest rates increase I just keep getting deeper in the hole. If I stop making payments, can they just take my money from my BOA accounts? Thanks again[/QUOTE]
It can definitely effect the settlement. Yes, they can do what is called an "off set". Basically, take the money out of those accounts. Open up a new bank account with a bank - local bank or credit union (no more money to big banks!). Keep your money there until you are ready to settle. Make sure that you have no other relationship established with that bank.

[QUOTE=tygger;660921]Also, if I???d like to pursue a settlement with BOA, does having a savings and checking account with them affect this process? I make enough money just to get by making the minimum credit card payments and paying the monthly mortgage, but as interest rates increase I just keep getting deeper in the hole. If I stop making payments, can they just take my money from my BOA accounts? Thanks again[/QUOTE]

yes, they absolutely can clean out your account for your default. the first step is to change your account away from them. I used a small regional bank.

Thanks for the advice. If I have 2 accounts with them, would I have to settle both of them separately or would they combine them so I could negotiate 1 lump sum settlement?

boa will combine them under something called fia card services at about 90 days. The will talk to you about the entire balance when they call...not just one card.

Have 2 at fia services at 60 days, one is wifes with me on as authorized user. No combining as of yet and no settlement offers. Currently reps that call are able to offer percentage rate lowering (10%) after 4 payments of basically twice the normal monthly min.
Debating whether I'm going to just stop paying all cards and go for settlements since the credit will be trashed from the 60+ day lates or should I stick it out. Fear is that if I pay on a few that I have at 0% paydown arrangments for awhile but then deafult anyway on those that I am essentially extending a poor credit future that much longer.
Question to others would be 'does your offers going lower as you go take into account and far outwegh the ever increasing late charges/fees they tack on? Like how much can account grow over 6 months of no payment?. Is it $40 late charge x 6 mon= $240 or is it way worse? Must be way worse since they want like $450 from me 2 months into this..used to be a $80 min payment.

Yes. Settling at 30% at 60 days can be better than 20% at 180 days because default interest rate, overlimit charge, late charge.....all adds up big time. I take this into consideration and am looking for an amount, rather than % so that they don't get over on me due to the fees.

I thought I read somewhere that when you settle, you try to deal with the original credit amount before alll the late fees and penalties are tacked on? Is this not true?

In order to settle with original creditor you have to be late 150+ days. Fees and interest will already have been tacked on.

Quote:

I have found it interesting that different cc calculate # of days late differently. I quit paying all my cards in Dec 2009. Capital One says that I am 144 days late and 118 days late, B of A has it correct at like 81 or something and Chase is between the two.

What I did was make arrangements last summer for lower payments, % and/or a combination but wasn't able to keep up and decided to just quit paying and then see if I could settle or declare bankruptcy. So I was shocked when I called Capital One this week and got this two cards that are so close to charge off. Fortunately they are the lower balances and I can settle those for 20% now if they agree to do it. When I made the offer they said they would not settle - it wasn't an option. I told them I was sending in letters certified just because I had to at least try. She told me I was not allowed to send them a letter requesting a settlement. Not allowed? lol

B of A based on their calculation of past due shouldn't be ready for talks until May on one and June on the other. very strange. The only thing I can think of is that B of A wants more time to try and either get people on payment plans or settle. The other thing they may be waiting for is for people's situations to get better.

Quote:

Quote:

[QUOTE=tygger;660921]Also, if I???d like to pursue a settlement with BOA, does having a savings and checking account with them affect this process? I make enough money just to get by making the minimum credit card payments and paying the monthly mortgage, but as interest rates increase I just keep getting deeper in the hole. If I stop making payments, can they just take my money from my BOA accounts? Thanks again[/QUOTE]



You should close your savings and checking accounts there and open accounts elsewhere. This way you are sure that they will not just deduct money from your BOFA accounts.

I got a letter yesterday from BOA to settle a personal credit card account of $13400. The letter says "...resolve your debt now and save $8650. This is a 65% savings." Actually, I tried to pay the full balance two weeks ago but for some reason Wells Fargo wouldn't give them the money despite having the money in my checking account. Saving $8650.00 sounds great, and I know some of that will go back in taxes. But I have two concerns. One, if they declare the account settled, can they try to recover more money later and two, how big a hit does this do to the credit rating vs. payment in full thanks. Thanks.

I can only address the question about later recovery of the balance. The answer is that they cannot try to recover the balance if the account is settled for less and the terms are in writine.

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

How much did your credit drop so I know what 2 expect? My wife is the primary just added me later.
Thx.

OK. Right off the bat - you never talk about settlement. You stick to I'm struggling financially, I don't have the ability to pay anything right now, etc. I would tell them that you appreciate the offer to waive all late fees but even if you could make a payment, you will be right back in the same situation next month and you just don't have the ability. You wish you could and really appreciate them trying to help but you just can't do that. It wouldn't be fair to them or you since you can't keep up the regular payments at all. The next phase would most likely be that they would offer you a chance to pay a regular monthly payment that will go towards the principal spread over a 5 year (max) period. Tell them that again, it is appreciated but you just can't do that.
BofA will usually settle for .20 to .30 to .40 ctd. Did you make any cash advances? When was the last time you charged anything on the card? Did you do a balance transfer, etc. These all effect the negotiations and what they would or would not be willing to do. You can tell them that you have spoken to some family members that are willing to help you out but they have limited funds and won't agree to making the monthly payments for you, etc. This may start to open the door for settlement.

Just settled with BOA last week at or near chargeoff, bal 24K, settled for 25% or 6K spread out over 4 payments. Just couldn't seem to inch'em lower. At those numbers every 1% makes a difference...

I have a 18k small business credit card. I think i am anywhere from 60-100 days late. I get an error when ever i try to look at my statements online.

Anyways today they offered me the 5 year plan. I told them to call me back soon after i can look over my budget. What is the best way for me to get them to settle from this point?

thank you guys!

Are you BoA people dealing with Card Services?8666906279 ? they have offered me a 25% settlement of 50K debt - told me they cannot and do not go lower - and would not give it to me in writing until after I agreed to let them direct debit me for the 3 payments. I don't want to debit it - i want to send a cashier's check, and i want to see it in writing....FIRST. Now I'm wondering if I'm even dealing with the right people ...?

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

Has anyone had success getting BofA to remove all credit agency listings? (paid for deletion)

[SIZE=3]What???s so bad if they charge off your account? It just sounds like you would work with a different collector vs the original lending institution. Please explain.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Also, what sensible justification do you provide when they offer 30% and you want to get 25% or lower so that you don???t come off as just haggling? [/SIZE]