$75k in CC Debt: BofA, Chase, Citi, Discover, Home Depot ...

Quote:

Quote:

Guest we don't allow solicitation here. You can register your company in the Ranking chart section and use the url in your signature that you will get from us once you register.

Jason

IOso much,
Good luck, if you read my posts I have done it, just finished the last settlement and did it by myself...it has always seemed odd to me that here you are in financial trouble and you have to pay someone to help you, like you have to get a lawyer to file bankruptcy I think...just seems funny but anyway keep us posted and you can do it!

Well, the creditors have started calling the MajicJack number I set up. When they call, I have been following the talking points script I wrote and have been taking notes regarding who called and when. Also, the creditors have been fairly nice so far, except for Discover who called my in laws even though Discover has my contact info and I always answer the phone when they call. No offers to settle yet but the ball is rolling and hopefully by this time next year I will have settled my $80k in cc debt and have avoided a bk :-)

Greetings "[URL="http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/forums/member.php?u=235000"]IOsoMuch[/URL]",

And welcome to the forums!
You got a good plan and seem prepared for the few months of "callers".

It's really not that difficult to do.
Especially with all of the help/support from your friends in here.

Don't be shy about asking for opinions.
And keep us posted.

Good Luck!
King "Kash" Jabba Labba
$87k settled for $27k

Citi Bank is now calling me EVERY day. I answer the phone and talk to them EVERY day and log their call and who I talked to. I am pretty sure that this has to be some kind of violation of the federal debt collections act ... anyone agree?

No, it's actually not. They can contact you once per day. Have you asked them to set up a weekly checkpoint? Some collectors will go for that and some won't but, it's worth a shot.

As a tip don't give them too much info re; employment. They tend to go after those with jobs more than the self employed. I'm all done. Citi was my last card to settle. Settled with a CA named CSI, my inflated bal was at or around 20,500 and I did a lump sum of $3K...I guess the best for last...Good luck, read, read and read some more. There should be lots of useful threads with past results. I started in July/Aug 2009 5 cards for me 3 for my better 2/3rds and I finished in August of 2010...One to go has been in lawsuit mode for over 1 year with not much happening...Best of Luck

And in my case, the total is at $260k settled at avg 30% on CC Debt and 20% on HELOC. The solicitor is not accurate, based on what I have heard. Typically, 30% and many have settled at 25%. A few got to 20% and I will probably hear it for saying that very, very few get less...but that is the way I see it. dtm

The company that I worked for had accounts with BOA, and some other companies, totally a lot of money, all unsecured. BofA is now going after the accounts payable people of some business companies, trying to pawn off unsecured debt as guaranteed.

Dont answer their stupid calls, and when they sell the account to 20 differnt junk debt buyers at the same time, (which no one will have rights to), just write them a letter to that effect, making them prove their claim. They wont and they cant, because they are just a bunch of scumbags that lie and make up fraudulent affidavits, etc, etc, etc,

Dont settle, dont do a damn thing. Tell BOA to F off.

i have no money. no job, but hub has halfway decent job. however, we do qualify for 7 bk. i am going to hold out for 15% . we know junk debt is selling for next to nothing, and they are having problems finding financing for junk debt. i can only give them what i have. if they don't want 15% i can file chapter 7 and they get nothing. i've been paying like a chump for 30 years, on time, while they jack my rates and minimums. i think 15% is fair.

I wish you well. If you are holding out for 15% you may well end up letting the judge decide for you. This approach does not work for me. I am mopping up my mess and starting a new plan with a future that does not include lawsuits, collections, garnishments, bank levies and junk mail from attornies. I am aware that they don't settle for 15% so your approach would have caused me to file bk...which I chose not to do. So, we each have our own approach and that is mine. dtm

Dont pay any of them, until they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this debt is yours. Unsecured debt, trust me, the interest rates are high because of their risky nature, (no collateral). They got their money, even if you defaulted. Thats why the record keeping is horrid on their end, and the debt collectors have to resort to LYING AND BULLYING AND BREAKING THE LAW!!!!

my advice, send your DV, research the law, in the event one of the junk debt buyers gives you a fraudulent affidavit, (its all fraud and nothing is authenticated)..

Lets see if this post actually gets posted!! Its very helpful and the key to dealign with these scumbags. Usually , the truth gets deleted.

can you elaborate a bit? what do you mean by a fraudulent affidavit? i assume you are writing not about the oc but after it is charged off. i'd much rather pay NOTHING, because, as you said, after 30 years of paying EVERY SINGLE THING on time, i know i have paid far, far more than i ever borrowed.

I think it's great you are doing this yourself! This forum will provide you with invaluable information, as you are aware already.

The only other thing I would advise is that, since you are willing to take their calls, KNOW THE LAW. There are only certain things they can do or say to you, threaten you with, etc. Know those things and throw it right back at them when they violate. You can also sue them and WIN--$1000.00 each time if you so choose.

Know your rights. You are well on the right track. We did it--you can too!

one year ago we had about the same amount of cc debt. bofa has been our nightmare, they have rang our phone off the wall, refused to put us on hardship plan and been just outright rude ! but as all 3 accounts are at charge off stage, and i have gotten in touch with the RIGHT person, the person i have been talking to has been very helpful.. so expect bofa to be the thorn in your side right down to charge off time.. bofa is the first ones we are settling on to get them out of our hair & 2 of the accounts are settling at 25% at the same time, the 3rd one we are settling once those are paid off at the end of february... good luck

Citibank has called me 6 times today ;-)

And.....?

And ... what a crappy way to start a new year ;-)

First Settlement Offer came today ...

Chase offered to settle $13k for $8k (60%). At least it is a start! I will wait until they get down around $3.5k (~25%).

:-)

Good for you getting your 1st offer. Keep at it. They will get better.

Chase just called and said if I didn't make a payment, they would be sending the account to litigation ...

Chase gave me the run around but I finally settled with them. If you have the money to settle, tell them you can only afford 25%. They'll most likely come back with a counter-offer. and see if you can get it in installments to make it easier on you. If they agree, make sure you get settlement letter.

Chase called today and again offered to settle for $8k (60%) ... I told them I could close out my 401k and give them $4k (30%). They said that was not enough. The wait continues ...

How many days late are you now?

~ 100

I would keep calling them each week or 10 days and offer the same amount. Call and say you are just checking in like you said you would. You have $xxx to offer for a settlement but have not been able to come up with any more. I wouldn't expect much movement from them on it until after 120 days at least.

Good luck!

Chase just called and offered to accept 40% of the $14k that I owe ... I am @ 90 days. A great offer, but unfortunately I can only afford to pay 25%. Do I accept it it and hope for the best or wait for a better offer?

I would tell them that you previously offered 30% and that's all you can scrape up. Let them know that you really want to settle this, but cannot afford 40%. I did that with Bank of America and settled at 25%.

Hi IOso,

Chase target settlement range pre charge off is typically going to be between 30 & 40%.
Split the difference and assume 35% is available if you hold out as long as you can to get a better deal closer to charge off. You will have 2 additional months of non payment where the balance will increase with interest and penalties, so the 35% (if available) will be calculated from a higher balance 2-3 months from now.

The difference at the current balance is 700. Will you save more now with 40%, or more later at 35%?
Its close enough to a wash to call it one.

Chase does structure pre charge off settlements over the course of 3 monthly payments. If this were available to you, would you be able confidently meet the terms?

Settling Chase accounts after charge off may yield a lower offer, but it will not be by much.
Though it is a small percentage comparatively, you do run the risk that your account is placed with attorney collectors licensed in your state directly after charge off if you decide to hold out for a better deal. I share this not to scare, but so that you are aware of the potential for it to happen.

Best of Success!

We settled three Chase cards, each at 50% and they were way past 100 days. I would take the offer. I agree with seeing if they will split the payment up.

FIRST ONE DONE - Just received a letter from Citi offering to settle the $22k I owe them for $6.5k (30%). I called them and accepted the offer and they agreed to let me make three payments. One down, several to go ;-)

Good for you! Good luck with the rest!

Logged into my Discover account today and there was an offer to settle $7k for $5k (70%). Will wait until the offer comes down ... however, I hear that Discover is the most difficult to deal with. Any thoughts?

From all of the research I have done on this site, I don't remember seeing very good settlements for discover. I have no first hand information, but I would think you should at least be able to get 50%. Maybe even 40%. I would start your offers around 30-35%, and slowly move up.

Home Depot offered to settle $5k for $3k (55%). Since I just worked out a settlement deal on my Citi Card (30%), I only have $1200 left over for another settlement. Hopefully, Home Depot will eventually accept 30% as well ...

We settled Discover at 50%. Their offer online never came down blow 70% but we started calling the number on the webpage where the deal was offered and we asked to speak to the virtual team. They were tough and we knew to expect that so we planned that we would settle if they ever got to 50%.

Discover card just called again ... they are starting to get RUDE. 125 days late with them and they keep telling me that they don't settle. However, when I sign on to my account there is a 70% settlement offer on the table. So far, they have been the worst to deal with. I have searched the forum for discover threads and people don't seem to have very good luck getting them to settle. What is the best settlement offer that any of you have received from Discover Card?

SECOND ONE DONE - Chase just called and accepted my offer to settle $14k for $4k (29%) ... 2 cards settled, 3 to go ;-)

Greetings "IOsoMuch",

That's an outstanding settlement with chase-me down!

Discover and carp-one are in a dead tie for the worst to deal with.
Both make a sewer rat look and smell good!:evil:

If you can get 50% from discover.....go for it.

And by the way, you might have to change your screen name to "IOLess"!:D

Good luck and keep us posted.
King "Kash" Jabba Labba

THREE DOWN, TWO TO GO - BofA just called and offered to settle $30k for $9k (30%) ... of course I accepted. That is a running total of $66k settled for $20k so far this month!!! Only Home Depot and Discover left ... however, the Discover people scare me ;-)

PS - thanks for the encouragement King Jabba Labba :-)

Woo hoo! Feels amazing to be knocking them out. Right? Discover is tough but it can be done. Tell them you need to speak to the virtual team about a settlement offer they presented to you online. They are totally a company where the left and right hands do not know what the other one is doing.

Just looked at my notes you may want to try this:

Try calling Pam at 623-643-2544 x40238. She will tell you that Discover does not settle but tell her you had an offer on their site online. We worked with her in The end and settled for 50%.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the number ... I will try them in the morning! Discover sure is the hardest to deal with. My only other open account now is Home Depot ... the best offer from them so far is 55%, but I think that they will come down to 30% as well since they are owned by citibank. At least, I hope they will. However, if I can get discover down to 50%, I'll take it!!!
Thanks again for the help ;-)

FOUR DOWN, ONE TO GO - I just called Discover and offered to settle $7k for $3k ... they said no way because the balance was less than one year old and because I have a much lower interest rate than the norm. They said that the absolute best that they are going to do at any time will be $4.5k (60%) and I believed her. Based on what everyone has posted on this site about dealing with Discover, I took the deal and scheduled a single lump sum payment. It is the worst settlement deal that I have made so far, but I am @ 150 days and don't think that I will get a better offer from them.

That leaves one to go ... the smallest one that I have - Home Depot who I owe $5.5k. Running total so far:

I owed $80k when I began 5 months ago;
In the last 30 days, I have settled $74.5k of my cc debt for $25k;
I have saved $49.5k by settling;
I have one card left that I owe $5.5k on and will try to get them to settle for 30%.

;-)

I just settled with home depot and got 25% offer in mail -- on 4980 -- settle for 1212 --

you should be able to settle for 25 - 30 percent -- they had said 30 was lowest but it wasnt ==

just fyi --

great job with all the other cards --- I'll be behind you shortly and would like to keep in touch -- mine are staggared --but citibank will be in next 2 months --
thanks for your post -- It was very helpful
:p:p:p:p

That is good to hear about Home Depot (Citi) ... I called the today and offered them 30%. They said no and upped their offer from 55% to 70% ... THAT IS GOING THE WRONG WAY!!! I guess I'll just wait for the letter. I should not have called, but with one left I was anxious to get the last one settled. Patience is the key ;-)

Well, I opened a new bank account just for my settlements and my cc creditors have begun to take their payments. Discover, however, would accept only one lump sum so that card is now completely DONE :-) Interestingly, the only creditor who has not agreed to a settlement so far is Home Depot (owned by Citibank). Still working on them ...

I found Citibank very, very difficult. Hang in there.