Will collection agencies allow multiple payments?
Date: Mon, 02/16/2009 - 13:00
I am in the process of trying to settle many of my credit card accounts. I settled directly with American Express, and next will be Bank of America and also Chase. My question is this: for the accounts that I cannot settle directly with (because I will not have enough money saved to do so and need more time) will I be able to make multiple payments to the collection agency that the account is sent to, or do most ca's want one lump payment?
Also as a side note/question, does anyone know who Citibank usually uses for outside collections? I would like to research as much as I can on the collection agencies before they actually get there. Thanks in advance!
Most CA's will allow payment plans - they see the futility of tr
Most CA's will allow payment plans - they see the futility of trying to get a large lump sum from someone who has already fallen so far behind that the debt has gone to collections - if they had that lump sum, the debt wouldn't be in the CA's hands in the first place.
Occasionally, you'll get a hard-nosed CA that will try to convince you that they can't accept payments and have to have the whole sum immediately - but most of them accept payments and quite a few are genuinely nice to work with. They realize things are hard for everyone right now, with the economy the way it is, and are usually willing to work with you, provided you can maintain the payment schedule you set up.
The biggest and most important thing about a payment plan with a CA is: DON'T default on it. If you make a payment arrangement, make sure it's one you can afford - don't set up something unrealistic that you can only make one payment on and then can't afford after that. Make something that's workable for your budget. If you default on a payment arrangement, they'll be much less willing to work with you on another one.
I'm not sure who Citi uses for collection, sorry.
Thanks for the post suebeehoney70! This may sound like a dumb
Thanks for the post suebeehoney70!
This may sound like a dumb question, but when you mentioned that most ca's will allow multiple payments, would that be multiple payments on a reduced settled amount?
Sorry if I seem redundant I just want to make sure I have a clear picture of what to expect.
Thanks so much!
