summons received

I am in a debt settlement program also, and have received a total of three summons in just over a year. One of the summons came with an alternative settlement offer which I took. On the other two, I called the attorneys named as representing the plaintiff on the summons, and in both cases was able to negotiate a settlement before the court date; in each case, the cases were dismissed. You can see what kind of settlement you can get, and pay it yourself if you have the funds. In that case, your settlement company should remove those accounts and their fee for them, from the program, which will make your monthly cost less. You might be able to settle both of these for your $5000. It doesn't hurt to try to negotiate with them, and to tell them, "This is the amount I have, right now, to settle the account with." They may take it. But I am amazed at the number of people who DON'T call and try to negotiate when they get a summons. It's the best thing to do. You may still have to go to court, but only as a formality and to acknowledge a settlement was already made. But there won't be any judgement against you if you settle in advance, and the case will be dismissed and closed.

Hi SusieQ
Thank you so much for the details. What settlement amount would you suggest for my $16000 of debts? My settlement company ask me not to call the attorneys (I know that they want to do it so that they can continue to take money).

Most importantly, what should I say to convince them for a settlement with me? I really want to get some details if you can private message me something? Thank you so much!

Hi SusieQ
Thank you so much for the details. What settlement amount would you suggest for my $16000 of debts? My settlement company ask me not to call the attorneys (I know that they want to do it so that they can continue to take money).

Most importantly, what should I say to convince them for a settlement with me? I really want to get some details if you can private message me something? Thank you so much!

Has anyone had experience with Hunt & Henriques law firm? CITI hire them to go after me.

Are they both Citi accounts, with the same attorneys? If so, you may be able to lump them together into one settlement.

My settlement company doesn't discourage me from speaking to creditors, so I'm not sure what kind of parameters you can work within. But if both accounts are together, you can tell them you have $5000 saved and would like that to cover both accounts in a settlement, and work from there. They may surprise you and take it, or else they will make a counter-offer and you can continue to negotiate. Perhaps your $5000 plus what you have saved in your settlement account will be enough, if they want more than the $5000. All you can do is see what they say. Or, if you prefer to go through your company, have them do the same thing. You can always deposit that $5000 into your settlement account. It sounds like you have a total of $6700 to work with, and if that isn't enough, they may agree to that up front and another few monthly payments or something. Every creditor is different, and each case is different even with the same creditor. But don't ignore the opportunity to try to settle before the court date. Try to keep judgements off your record.

Dear SusieQ
Thank you so much for your detail explanation. Should I call them up or write a detail settlement request to them. I lost a lot of money in investment due to this financial crisis. I bet everyone has lost money even the lawyer who sent me the summons. My older brother got lung cancer last year and I have to send him a lot of money as well. Moreover, I got laid off before Christmas last year. Its like all the bad things happened all at same time. I think I need to tell them all these. agree?

And yes, both of accounts are together with the same law firm. Thank you so much!

If it were me, I'd just call. You really can't waste any time. You can see what they say, and get a feel for whether or not they will work with you. In my cases, I started the ball rolling with the attorneys by letting them know I wanted to settle before the court date, why I hadn't paid the bill, what kind of situation I was in now, etc. After I had done that, I turned it over to my settlement company and they negotiated the settlements for me.

In your case, I absolutely would tell them your story and why you are where you are regarding your debt. I believe it can't hurt to let them know you have solid legitimate reasons for being in debt. You aren't someone who just went out and charged up all your cards on electronics and jewelry and trips and other fancy stuff on a whim, then decided you weren't going to pay. It might make a difference; I know it has on a couple of my settled accounts, when I spoke to the creditors in person.

Dear everyone
I'm planning to talk to the law firm tomorrow morning and try to settle with them. if they do accept my proposal of about 7k to 8k to settle 2 account total of $16210, what do I need to be careful of?

I will need something in writing right? What do I need to see on the acceptance letter?

I think of the followings:
1. the debt will be gone forever upon receiving payment.
2. 2 complains will be canceled forever.
3. No more collection of these 2 accounts.

I can only think of something like that above. Could you guys let me know what other things I need to be careful of? Thank you so much!

Those things are great to ask for, and they should agree to that with no problem. The amount you are offering as a settlement is a good one - they should go for that. Start on the lower end and leave yourself some negotiating room. They may counter with $10,000, for example. If you offer them the MOST you would pay to begin with, you'll have nothing to counter THEM with. And don't necessarily expect to settle it tomorrow. Sometimes it takes a bit of going back and forth for awhile to get to a good end result.

Don't forget that come next January, you will receive 1099's from those creditors, for the amount of the forgiven debt, which you may have to pay taxes on as if it were income. With any investments, you may not be insolvent, so will have to pay those taxes. You may want to check with an accountant and get a ball-park figure as to how much you will be expected to come up with next tax season, so there aren't any nasty surprises at the last minute.

With the accounts I have settled, I have received letters acknowledging the payment, the agreement, and that no further collections will be undertaken. Once they send the 1099's, they cannot legally try to collect any further, either.

You may request that they mark your credit report PAID IN FULL, and see what they say. Most likely they are in the habit of reporting it as PAID AS AGREED, FOR LESS THAN FULL AMOUNT. That seems to be the standard. But it doesn't hurt to ask if they will mark it otherwise. Some will, some won't.

Good luck!

Dear SusieQ
Thank you so much! I hope you'll get all your debt resolved asap with a good rate.

Dear SusieQ
I just got off the phone with the law firm. They were actually very nice and understandable. I told her the situation and offered her a $6500 settlement. She said she will tell citibank and see if they accept this offer and get back to me within a few days. Believe it or not, they are very understandable. I was very polite on the phone and explained the whole situation to her. I apologize for causing trouble to her and for Citibank as well.

do you have any updat ?