How do I proceed and protect myself?
I live in California and I got into some CC debt and 2.5 years ago I stopped making payments on my debts and I started the process for bankruptcy. It took me a year to pay off the attorney but then I got tied up taking care of a sick relative and dropped the ball. Currently I have an opportunity to settle with the CA's thanks to a friend and a relative helping me and I wanted to take care of the two largest debts, 2 Bank of America charge offs that were bought by Asset Acceptance. I called them and the amount of the two debts are correct I don't dispute that, and they gave me an offer that was approximately 45% of the original debt which was originally over $15K between the two cards. I wanted to accept their offer but I said please send me that offer with the terms in a written letter and I would move forward with settling at that amount. They would not put it in writing so I don't want to do it. How can I get thru this with them? I am afraid that they will accept the payment and then still say I owe the rest of the debt. If the check they cash says "cashing this check constitutes payment in full" will that protect me from them still trying to chase me? Can someone please advise me how to proceed in dealing with these sharks? I don't want to end up in bankruptcy since I have an opportunity to settle my debts and not have the bankruptcy on my record. Settling even means walking away from the fees I paid to the attorney (over $1000) but I figured settling would be better in the long run on my CR
Any guidance will be most appreciated!
Thank you
You're correct. It is not safe to make the payment without getti
You're correct. It is not safe to make the payment without getting a written settlement offer. You may think about working with a settlement company.
A written settlement offer is always the best idea but I believe
A written settlement offer is always the best idea but I believe that check with the "cashing this check constitutes payment in full" should work. You will need to keep a copy of the check. If they cash the check, they would have had to accept it by default. If the settlement offer is nothing more than a verbal con, they would return the check once they find such a statement attached to it.
Whatever I said above I am only 50 percent sure of. Its been more than a year and I need to brush up on NI laws. Stick around and see what the other forum experts have to say about this.
what about....
I was considering retaining an attorney to represent me in the negotiations and settling debt with Asset Acceptance, do you think that is overkill? Or given the nature of that company do you think it is advisable? All the other CA's seem to be easier to work with and willing to put offers in writing, I just worry about AA LLC. They just seem like they are so volatile and unpredictable