Debt Collector's Voice

Trying to re-negotiate settlement payments with Alliance One. They will only accept one payment which I can not afford. Tried talking to account manager asked to speak to supervisor. He used several excuses, finally let me speak to supervisor who refused to talk, then hung up on me. I want to pay off debt, but with something I can afford

Keep in mind that collection agencies are not required to settle any account in their office.

How old is the debt? That will help me with whatever advice I could offer next.

The account was opened in 2004 and was charged off by Capital One just this year

The most you are likely going to get currently is 70 cents on the dollar. Unless you have a medical condition, that you can prove or have only SSN or disability as means of income. Yes they can find out.

a 70% settlement normaly has to be paid in full within the same month of the offer/agreement.

I have made 2 payments to them already. They are the rudest people ever. Everything is pay our way or go to court.

The balance is around $2100 in credit card charges. I understand the cbr and I am not happy about that, but it is something I have to deal with. I had payments which were too high, wanted to make lower payments but the guy (supervisor) stated that I was refusing to pay by requesting lower payments and then hung up on me.

cool. I have the address and will send something this week....Alliance One Receivables is the company. I have complained to the FTC and BBB, so of their collection practices need to be investigated. One thing the told me was the only why to pay was through electronic debit, but I get a letter every month to were I can mail payment. Plus after speaking to the orginial company, I notice some other discrepanies with things they are telling me.

As long as an account is in collections it hurts your credit report unless it's already charged off. The only thing that can hurt it more then is if the collection agency does periodotic inquries.

A first settlment can take up to 150 points off of your credit score. Your credit report will show paid for less than full balance and usualy doesn't show the remaning portion. If you have already settled an account then you don't need to worry about the credit score penalty as much because it won't make but a 5 point difference or so. It could be slightly more.

The only reason I would settle an account is if you have a lot of bills to pay and can't afford to pay intrest and late fee's each month on any credit card that has not been charged off yet. Then an intrest rate could still apply depending on the credit card and your state laws.

You have a fairly high balance. They aren't going to want to settle with you via phone. My suggestion to you would be to send them a letter with a check stating that by agreeing to cash this check they are going to consider your account settled in full. I can tell you now that its HIGHLY unlikely they will settle for less than 60% with your account only being 1 year out delenquent. So if your balance is 2100 then you should be prepared to send in one check for 1260.

I would also explaine to them in the letter that if the check does not clear your bank within two weeks of the date you put on it then the check will be considered void.

Don't know if this would apply here, but my sister had a portion of her credit card debt forgiven - not sure the official term - but what FYI said, the 30% off. The card company contacted the IRS and they considered the "forgiven difference" income for my sister and she had to pay taxes on it.

So keep a look out for that.

Actually FYI the account was charged off and now Alliance One has the account.

Artie, they can still collect. They just can't garnish your wages for it if that is the only source of income you have. It's much easier to get a low ball settlement if that is the case.

Jason C, it is only reported to the IRS if you are saving 600+ dollars. It is considered income up to that point and you will have to pay taxes.

brown, to be quite honest it is harder to get a settlement below 60%. It vaires on how old the date is, how old you are, your income, credit score. A lot of things depend on if you are going to be accepted for a less than 60%. The best way is to hire a credit attorney to negotiate. But if they do get you a low baller than you have to be ready to give the funds that day.

bdouble, being that it is a charge off account you best hope to get a less than 70% SIF is to do what I said earlier. Write a check mail it with a letter stating that this is what you can pay and by cashing the check they will consider the account settled in full. Make sure to keep copies. Be prepared to be rejected though but if you are accepted then be prepared for the check to be cashed. Also include a time table give them 15 days to consider and accept your offer upon reciept of the letter. This is where certified mail with return reciept comes in handy.


A collector's favorite saying. If it isn't in writting it didn't happen.

Do you know anything about Citifinancial? I have a loan with them and the interest rate is outrageous. My car was used for collateral because I have a bankruptcy on my credit. If I'm 30 days late will they take my car?

Hello Citifinancial is an ok company. I dont think they will take your car for thirty days . Call them and see if they will work out something. I have found that if you try to work things out most will. It is even possible they will give you an extension move the payment to the back of the loan. Curious whats your rate? KYSIDE38

Sorry I thought I was signed in.

Quote:

Yes, Citifinancial will start repo proceedings if you are 30 days late. Our vehicle is financed through them and we faced a situation where we were close to the 30 day mark and I asked what were our options and they stated make the payment, defer it or have it repo'd. I asked if they actually would repo if I only went past the 30 day mark and they stated they sure will that they are not in business to have losers as customers. Hows that for customer service?

FYI,

I have learned a lot from your posts. They are very informative.

Tammy,

That totally sucks. I've never had any problems with them but my husband has. They always worked with me, including during my bankruptcy several years ago. My husband has a personal loan with them that he recently listed with debt consolidation. They would call him ten times a day. No joke!

If you are 1 day late with your payment, they will call every two hours til they get someone. One day they filled our answering machine. One thing I have found with Citifinancial is that very few speak clear english and you are trying to figure out what they are saying. One day I got so mad, that I told the lady to get me her supervior and she asked why. I told her that I wanted someone who could speak clear english, and her response to me was, me speak english.

Dont waste you time with the BBB...they can do nothing more than write letters. They have no legal powers and quite frankly, CA's dont care much about their ratings. It is the nature of the beast. Your complaint should be well documented and made with your state AG's office.

What state are you in? A lot of this could be past the SOL.