Collection Agency offering discount
Date: Fri, 06/26/2009 - 21:02
Example.....owing a phone company 66.16
they send you a letter offering to settle the account for 16.54
If I do take that, how does it show up on the credit report and everything?
If you really do owe the debt, yes, take it unless you dont wann
If you really do owe the debt, yes, take it unless you dont wanna save money. A lot of creditors sell your debt to collection agencies for pennies on the dollar. If you feel skepital though, call the agency and voice any concerns you might have. To answer your second question, it depends. In my personal experience, i had a cell phone bill go to collections, and they settled for about half of what i owed and the debt was completley removed from my credit report like i never owed it. On the other hand, i settled a credit card once and it shows on my credit report as "settled for lesser amount", and a different credit card settled with me and it says "paid in full" so it depends. Again, contact the agency and ask how they report.
Before you take the offer make sure you get in writing that this
Before you take the offer make sure you get in writing that this FULLY SATISFIES the debt. Or they might sell the balance to another collector and then you will start all over again.
Have you DV them to make sure that they actually are entitled to collect and make such an offer?
I also second what cellular said--DV them FIRST to make sure the
I also second what cellular said--DV them FIRST to make sure they even have the right to collect that debt in the first place. There have been cases where someone posing as the right debt collector has looked over people's credit reports and pretended to be collecting debts, so they get money they arent entitled to get.
And again, get everything in writing BEFORE you send them one penny. A lot of debt collectors will promise you the moon and the stars just to get you to send them the money....then, once they have the cash they dont follow through on their promises. Protect yourself by getting it in writing!
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