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Charge off vs. settlement

Date: Fri, 09/10/2010 - 06:42

Submitted by steve burke
on Fri, 09/10/2010 - 06:42

Posts: 8 Credits: [Donate]

Total Replies: 8


I have 4 CCs that are about to go to charge-off:

- Citi AT&T card $7,000 (no offer yet)

- State Farm Bank $20,500 (have offer to settle for $10,250)

- Citibusiness card $1,800 (have offer to settle of $500)

- Citibusiness Home Depot $22,000 (no offer yet)

My question is if it is better for my credit down the road if I settle before charge-off or wait until after charge-off when I might get a better settlement offer? The CC companies are telling me that the charge-off will look far worse on my credit report than a settlement before charge-off. I smell BS.


Quote:

Originally Posted by steve burke
I have 4 CCs that are about to go to charge-off:

- Citi AT&T card $7,000 (no offer yet)

- State Farm Bank $20,500 (have offer to settle for $10,250)

- Citibusiness card $1,800 (have offer to settle of $500)

- Citibusiness Home Depot $22,000 (no offer yet)

My question is if it is better for my credit down the road if I settle before charge-off or wait until after charge-off when I might get a better settlement offer? The CC companies are telling me that the charge-off will look far worse on my credit report than a settlement before charge-off. I smell BS.


you smell the BS for sure.settling whether it's charged off or not will effect your credit the same as you settled.you didn't pay the full debt.the cc company wants to maximize their $$$$,and to get you to pay as much as they can get you to pay.in fact the settlements are better for the most part after charge off.


lrhall41

Submitted by paulmergel on Fri, 09/10/2010 - 06:55

( Posts: 15514 | Credits: )


Settling prior to charge off is best when:

The offers can be recognized as about as favorable as they will get lifetime - your citi bus account would qualify here.

You wish to avoid the risk of being sued.

You have the capacity to fund the offers.

It is not BS that charge off has a larger impact on your credit recovery than settling prior to that event.

Steve, what do you mean by no offers yet?
Are you laying low and waiting for them to make one in the mail or in a collection call?
Can you fund favorable offers if you had them?
If so, you should be more proactive in strategically soliciting them. There should be offer/counter offer on the table at this stage with the ATT & Depot accounts.


Mileage may vary


lrhall41

Submitted by on Sat, 09/11/2010 - 09:18

( Posts: | Credits: )


Update on the cards I mentioned at the start of the thread ...

I have agreed to settle the Citi AT&T ($7000 balance) for $1,500. I was amazed at this one. I called them this morning and they immediately offered a 40% settlement. I countered with $1,500 (approx. 20%). The operator said she would run it by mgmt and get back to me. An hour later, she called and said that they would accept that.

The Citibusiness card ($1,800) still has an outstanding offer of $500, which I suppose I'll take. However, I was wondering if Citi or anyone else would actually sue over such a small balance?

The State Farm Card ($20,500 balance) is still stuck on a 50% settlement, but is only 105 days late. I'm going to let this one go for another couple of months and see if I can get a lower % than.

The Citi Home Depot card, I have not yet heard from. I will call them tomorrow to see where everything stands.


lrhall41

Submitted by steve burke on Mon, 09/13/2010 - 21:20

( Posts: 8 | Credits: )


Greeting to all settlers,

Just a public statement here.
I settled all of mine pre charge off.

Once the accounts charge off, the scurvy dogs/mange/ticks/etc will add all sorts of baloney charges to your account along with the possibilty of being sued.

King Jabba Labba strongly suggests that you settle before charge off.
Drive hard for your best deal and then slay the plastic dragon.

Regards,
King "Kash" Jabba Labba


lrhall41

Submitted by King Jabba Labba on Sat, 09/18/2010 - 20:20

( Posts: 507 | Credits: )


With cards like citibank and cap one, even after charge off, the CA's add nothing....all accounting and fee additions are done by the credit card company. This is usually the case with all accounts being worked 3rd party. So really settling before or after charge off is a matter of semantics...it is still negative no matter when you pay, so you might as well pay as little as possible.


lrhall41

Submitted by SOAPLADY on Sat, 09/18/2010 - 20:32

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