Advanta Bank is not willing for debt settlement - what to do?

JDBs aren't buying right now. They're waiting for better prices, and that's saying something because where prices used to be .25 on the dollar now they're below .10.

Meanwhile, the JDBs are having such trouble collecting that they're laying off collectors.

Now isn't the time to worry about that angle.

Once Advanta shutters, a receiver or trustee is going to fire-sale those accounts to whatever JDB can find a few dollars in its couch cushions. Then the fun begins.

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JDBs rely on affidavits of debt ... which do not meet the business records exception to the hearsay rule that excludes testimony not within the personal knowledge of the witness. Meaning that essentially JDBs can't prove their cases ... and when the proper defense is mounted their claims are toast.

99% of debtors default (fail to answer the lawsuits), however ... and many will pay a threatening JDB without even a lawsuit

All you guys are idiots. If you just paid on time and not go further and further in debt, Advanta would not be on the brink of bankruptcy. Shame on all of you!!!!

Go away AJizzy....................You must know someone or you yourself must work for ADVANTA.

i have not heard about this company "ADVANTA"

Advanta called again tonight.
Said that they are now charging off accts at 4 months I am about to go over 3 and am in danger.

1. What does that really mean for me? Double hit on my credit?
2. Is that just another threat they make?
3. Should I really care? Everyone seems to say here they are going under soon.
They offered me a settlement of $5400 on $7200. But I read here that they are collecting less then 2% on their outstanding deliquint debts, so they should be able to do better right?
THanks for any advice.

Ajizzy; YOU sadly are the idiot! We cannot wait for Advanta to go down, way down ,and take Dennis Alter with the company. Going from 7.99 to 32 or 40% is usury at its very worst. Ajizzy, you are dizzy!! Advanta suxxxx big time. Can't wait for the class suit to be filed.

I also have had an advanta corporate credit for several years under a company name that filed bankruptcy last year. It was not our branch that filed, so we had no choice. I had a large balance on the card and kept paying on time, never late until this past month when our business, under another name got very slow. I had gotten a letter from Advanta back in June or July saying they had lost their lender and stopped all credit cards, even the perfect paying ones. That was okay with me, but this month when I called them for "mercy" and told them I just wanted to send in a lesser payment for just a couple of months so we could catch up, I got three different people in India who wouldn't budge. all of them were reading from a script and could care less that we were in trouble along with me telling them my husband had stage 4 cancer and money was very tight. We did make a payment on time, but only $100 as that was all we could do this time. They have been calling my home and office 6 - 8 times daily beginning at 8:15 am every morning including Sundays. I told them not to call our home anymore because of my husband and they have never slowed down. that is harrasment.

The Debtors Revolt lady over on YouTube is hawking some guy's Debt book, anyway I heard on another board that it's got some stuff in it that is useful for Advanta situations.

Hello,
I'm in the process of starting to either settle or get on some sort of reduced rate plan....I owe $17k that was used to keep my business afloat (now closed). Regardless, I am just short of 90 day past due and recieved a "samlpe" letter from Advanta Legal stating this is what "might" happen....has anyone here recieved this as well and if so, has advanta legal taken any action in the 90 past due range?
Also, any feedback on settlement percentages recently would be appreciated....not sure where to start...thanks for reading.

I've been looking for info about the latest with Advanta as I stopped paying them about 6 months ago. If you look around the net, there are all the horror stories about them jacking rates from 7 to 34% just like they did to me and I bet, all of the people posting. They have called, sent the threatening letters, and now I have been referred to Phillip Cohen who is threatening a lawsuit. I am DV them, but don't expect much. I owed less than 3000 and so they were one of my lower cards.

People are trying to get together a class action lawsuit. They've already been sued for not paying on the rewards program and have had to pay that back- some people may have gotten a small check from them.

Hopefully they will go under soon. Either way, I am keeping close track of what the collection agency does so if they do try to sue, I have something to fight with.

Given the somewhat threatening manner of the calls I've received as well as the threatening letters, I have a feeling that, once referred to the collection agency, they will violate more than one law. In any case, they are last on my list in getting any money.

You'll find hardly anybody, anywhere saying "Advanta just sued me"--and that's saying something because tons of people are defaulting. Advanta doesn't have enough cash flow to come up with the filing fees...

The non-setlement percentage is zero ... and will probably stay that way for a long time. Then at some point some junk debt buyer will buy the debt and start trying to intimidate ... but the problem for them is they didn't get the bad paper (whatever paper they have) in the ordinary course of business and even a paper-thin defense will successfully rebuff them.

Yes, there may be a few jurisdictions where they will have a fine time (maybe Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia), but in most places they can be easily beaten.

Advanta allowed my office manager to steal my idenity and rack up $250k in charges by cooking the books. I am in a law suit with them now because they were negligent. On the internet application it required 13 items, 8 of the 13 are not even remotely related to my name or business yet they still issued a card to her in my name. If anyone has a similar experience please email me directly at [EMAIL="jlamont@cox.net"]jlamont@cox.net[/EMAIL].
Advanta's internal department said it was identity theft yet they have not paid pr refunded the money as required bylaw for over 18 months and have thrashed my credit.

If you think that's bad John, you should read their "Credit card agreement". You could have been given a card in the name of a company you worked for, used the card only for business purchases for that company, and if the company didn't pay the bill Advanta would come after YOU personally. Despite the fact that you never applied for the card, never agreed to any of the terms of use, never authorized the trade line to be reported as part of your PERSONAL credit file, and have no control of the finances of the company.
Cute huh?
Then they want to hide behind the claim of being a "business card" to avoid having to follow laws designed to protect personal credit.
Just a tidbit - most states through a part of state law called "statute of frauds" require contracts where an individual could be held responsible for the debts of another (such as being personally responsible for a business debt - hint, hint), to be in WRITING and SIGNED by both parties.
Makes you think doesn't it?

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I am over 100 days past due on my business account. 80% of the representatives are total pigs over there, yelling, demeaning. I was told that I "obviously had no idea how to run a business" and that "if I was you I would go out and get a REAL job". Nice. What, a "real" job like an account collector for a bankrupt company like Advanta? I imagine making demoralizing and harassing phonecalls all day must be really fulfilling. They even called other businesses in my building "looking for me" as means to intimidate me. I think I"ll stick with trying to pick my business back up out of this recession.
Anyway, I have spoken to a couple of VERY nice guys over there, who were respectful and upfront. I owe around $10,000, and was offered a 50% settlement, paid over 5 months - and I didn't have to ask. I'm not sure how long they will drag this out before "litigation", but I AM willing to work with them, so I'm hoping they hold on to it for a bit longer. I can't even afford the 50% they are offering, at least not at the moment.
And in case you have a particularly horrible rep who is calling you, I have advised them (politely) that I am also recording the phonecall on my end. They will hang up on you right away. I have found if YOU call THEM (between the hrs of 6-9pm), they tend to be infinitely easier to work with.
Good luck to y'all!

The only reason they can keep running is that cash keeps drizzling in.

Advanta is nasty since they operate under the laws of UTAH, they are able to legally get away with more than most.

Here is my thing. Even in during good times, Advanta's reps were unprofessional and acted stupid. Now, when you call a bank, 99% of the times the person on the other end of the phone is not going to know what they hell they are talking about, and they say whatever just to say whatever.

My accounts are current for now, but I do not plan on paying anymore, due to all the shananigans the banks have put me through, I 've reach my breaking point.

Before a payment is even due, they are calling. If a payment is a few days late, a letter is already in the mail. Bank of America sent me a letter after I tried to use a check on one of their accounts. They would not honor the check, and they then sent me some letter about how I have enough credit and referred me to this number to call, (their number) to negotiate some settlement. Keep in mind, I am not even late. That is how desperate they are!

Anyway, I call the number for kicks, and what do I get? "you've reach a number a card services that is no longer in service."

Lesson learned.. I never talked to people over the phone. If they have something to say, they can send a certified letter.

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Does anyone have a number to reach them that's not in India? I agree with EVERYTHING everyone says about them. They are an example of exactly what went wrong with our country, and how no one cares about small businesses, even now under the "new" administration. Credit scores will become meaningless because of tactics like this. Its all just scare tactics. And, sadly we are all slaves.

So Survivor
you owe money, but you do not want to pay because a rep is nasty to you ????
Wow new excuse.
We do not skip out on debts, we try to pay them.
I have seen some other of your posts, and it just seems that you do not want to pay anything that you owe.

If Advanta is not willing to work with you, its THEIR loss, literally. If you account goes to some collection agency and you know your rights, chances are, your debt will be dismissed on some technicality.

And even better, if you document your attempts to settle with them, if this matter ever does actually go to court, the judge will be more sympathetic toward you.

Hey Guest 5645, I am survivor.. Maybe you are reading my posts in error, not sure, but I am current on ALL my debts!!!

I am only interested in what is FAIR and what the law states, but I am not sure if you are directing your posts to Survivor, or if this is an error.

Case in point, the banks, including Advanta, did a lot of fraudulent things.. Especially Advanta.. This is no longer an issue regarding paying debts.

Atlanta raised their interest rates to usury level for no reason, and they are hiding behind the laws of Utah. If you did not miss a payment, and have never missed a payment on anything, there is no justification for an interest rate hike of 2% - 50% because OTHER people did not pay.

Advanta has no right to collect debt that is NOT true debt.

Also, I guess the federal courts agree because Advanta was put out of business due to their practices.

Ajizzy, you see, your comments are the exact reason the banks are in shambles. They have customer reps that talk just like this, and then nothing gets done properly. Lucky for us, lawyers are just as flawed and loans get dismissed on technicalities.

Advanta Corp (the parent company) has filed for chapter 11.
While Advanta Bank (the credit card issuer) was not part of the bankruptcy filing, the parent company has decided not to raise its capital to required levels, and will be allowing it to be taken over shortly by the FDIC.

There's a video over on YouTube called "[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcwq0B7JrwA"]Advanta's Fate and Why It Matters to You[/URL]"

No, Advanta will not work with you. I called ever before I sent a lower payment and asked to be able to send the lower payment for 2 or 3 months because of business difficulties and I got 3 different people in India who read the same script..."I'm sorry Ms ____ We know how you feel, but there are no options for this." I finally asked the 3rd one if they were all reading from a script. They would not budge. So we sent in a lower payment for 2 times and they have called 6 - 8 times a day at my home and another of the same at the office. I told them NOT to call my home anymore since my husband has stage four cancer and they still call. The corporate card I have filed bankruptcy (not our office) but I kept paying as long as I could. I am now with another company. Now Advanta is saying they will ruin my credit personally which will mean that they will also call in all my credit cards that I have no balances and will not be able to get my husband's medicines or pay on his health insurance. They do not care. why are they giving all these people in India the jobs that American people need so badly?
Hell must be full of people like these!

I was offered a 50% settlement over 6 months today. They are supposed to be faxing and mailing me the agreement.

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I just settled my balance ($9700 in June and $10,800 with fees today) for $3,500. I had offered them $3,000 and they countered with $3,500, which I thought was reasonable. They faxed me the settlement offer, but it had no signature. I called back and asked them for something with someone's signature. The supervisor and rep were both extremely nice and both claimed they had never had anyone ask them for that.
Should I have been more firm?
I received a fax for a settlement offer from Chase and that also did not have any kind of signature on it. Should I be worried?

Here is a strategy that may work with Advanta, it worked with Wells Fargo.

Because Advanta is a business account, they have more lee way with regards to really screwing people over, since the federal laws do not protect business owners.

But State laws do.

Look up the Supreme Court of your state, and their state statutes. Sure enough, Advanta has violated some law.

If you are in contact with them, tell them you have hired an attorney to review the account, since you do not beleive that the current contract on file, (the ones with the rate hikes,e tc.) are valid, and until the attorney has clearance of these issues, you will not pay until the discrepancy against state laws have been verified. Quote the law.

This worked with Wells Fargo. July of last year, they added an "adhesion" to the "contract" where they changed the due date, and financial calculations of my payments, and made the financial calculations, "floating" Basically what that means, is that no matter when I paid and how much, they were going to manipulate it to my disadvantage each month.

I stopped paying them, after repeated attempts to get this resolved. Of course the customer service rep told me to get bent.

But when I stopped paying them, I told them why. I told them the account was being reviewed by an attorney, and under the state statues that they violated. The "adhesions" in a lot of cases are invalid, and not enforceable. In this case, this "adhesion" was not.

After hearing that, they immediately changed my account to its original billing cycle and due dates, etc.. Of course, it does not erase all of the exhortion of the past year, and money they made off me, but it illustrates that if you have knowledge, you have leeway.

Even though Advanta operates under the laws of UTAH, they have to adhere to the laws of YOUR state to make any contract stick.

Try it... I have found that the more knowledgeable you are, the more the banks are willing to negotiate with you in general.

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They are driving me crazy! Our account is not in collections and payments are up to date right now, but that won't be for long. I called them and messaged them and submitted a settlement offer of over 80% and they absolutely refuse to budge. (India) So dumb. I can let it go to collections but I really wanted to preserve our credit. I guess it is the price you pay for a discounted balance settlement. But if I am going to ,let my credit go to hell, I am SURELY not going to let it go for 80%.
Has there ever been clarification about how long the business card appears on your personal creditr report? The card is in the business name with the owner and one associate as an authorized user.

that was supposed ot say how long "before". The card doesn not appear on either personal credit report at all rigth now

I posted a resolution, and it got deleted.. this board is biased, and it does not want people know the truth about truly what they can do. I will bother to post this resolution again. Just know your states laws regarding credit cards.

With regards to the poster that said they are current, because you are current, their are other options available to you, but settling with them yourself while your current will work, because you've demonstrated the ability to make payments.

Check out this website for some insight.. solicitation removed [URL="http://www.debtjurisprudence.org"][/URL]. You may be able to proactively "get them" based on violation of state laws. As a business account, we are not protected by federal law, but there is some protection under state laws.

October 34.99% default rate ... was 24% in Sept.

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/breaking/20091120_Loan_defaults_mount_at_Advanta.html

FDIC soon to visit ... debts will go to the "JDC Program" ... Judgements, Deficiencies and Chargeoffs .... buyer pays 1% for the debt, absorbs any costs of collection, and splits whatever they recover with the FDIC 50/50.

Anonymous, what does this mean for those of us looking to settle with Advanta?

It means more than I have room to write here. There's a good e-book out there "Debt Hope: Down and Dirty Survival Strategies" ... something of a manual for dealing with Junk Debt Buyers.

I called Advanta today and cancelled my settlement offer. I never received the offer by mail only thru a sort of fuzzy fax machine at work. I have asked no less then 3 times for the offer to be sent by mail and they said everytime it was on its way. I have also requested a copy of the my card agreement 4 times for almost 3 months, they won't send me that either.
I received an email from them last night saying the first payment was coming out. I checked the fax ageement they sent and it said the first payment must be made by Dec 9th(offer was made Nov 9th) but no set date was ever told to me, which I found weird they could just leave it open ended for a month. The guy on the phone got kind of pissed when I told him I wanted to cancel the offer due to the fact that they refuse to send me anything in the mail that I have asked of them. He said it was due to be sent out today, which I said I have been asking for a month,why today. He said do to all the layoffs there were very few people around to take care of those things.

Anyways the more attitude he sent my way, the more I sent his way. He said a few things and I think I said no wonder you have a 34%default rate. He asked me what I was going to do. I said I didn't know, I said since you can't send me a couple of simple things in the mail, I would take my chances when the FDIC takes you over in a couple of months. He finished by saying he would mark me down as refuseing to pay and turn it over to legal, for them to take action on.

I don't like playing games and don't feel good about this really. But I really don't like Advanta and their practices.

Phillips and Cohen are clueless. This week they threatened to recommend a lawsuit against my nearly dead company of 20 years. I explained if so, it would force me to do the same thing as Dennis Alter and file bankruptcy. "That's no use" the mutt said on the other end, "if you do we can go after your personal assets"..."and who's Dennis Alter"

I calmly replied, "That's the guy who hired you-The PRESIDENT of Advanta. You see he's a dead beat of $130m while I only owe a few thousand dollars. Everything I own was leveraged out the wazoo, but I hear his house is worth $80m so if what you are saying is true, then he has more to worry about than me.

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Unfortunately, those sales only happen in bulk and only if you're the Junk Debt Buyer who wins the "beauty contest" ... I'm not kidding. It's called a Beauty Contest.

Huh

After canceling my settlement offer on Monday. I just received a phone call from a real prick who said he was a private consultant who works between Advanta and their lawyers to determin weather to send my account to their lawyers for leagal action.
He was trying to be very intimidateing to me. He didn't want to hear anything bad about Advanta. All I told him was they refused to send me things in the mail that I have asked for
1. copy of my signed agreement
2 mailed copy of the settlement offer.
He wanted to know why I want a copy of my card signed agreement so bad. I told him my boss wanted to look at it for me. He is under the impression that under the FCRA that they cannot report me personally for a business card debt. Now I have read that that is not the way Advanta is set up but they refuse to let me see it.
He went onto say that since everyone signs up for cards online now. That they are not required to have one and the courts do not require one, in any case.

I went on to say how I asked for a Mailed Copy of the settlement agreement 4 seperate times in a month(due to the fax they sent it to is kind of fuzzy). I said that only after I called and cancelled my settlement did I receive a copy of it 2 days later. I said that I did not like the fact that the first settlement payment had a before Dec 9th payment and no set date and I was never given a set date for the payment. I asked if he thought it was fair that they give themselves an open window of 30 days to first take money from me when they decided they want it. Finnally I said that the first 2 days after I cancelled the settlement I received a call from a girl wanting to know why they haven't received a copy of my signed Settlement offer. I told him how could I do that when they wouldn't send it to me.
Well thats when he said he hoped my boss(the person helping me with advice, right or wrong advice that is) is a lawyer in the state of Utah. As he was recommending that they take legal action against me, and I anyone helping me would have to fly to Utah to go to court or they would win by default. He said I would be have to pay all of their court costs as well. This is all BS right?

Funny thing is, I am 99% positive he is the same collections guy who was prick to me a few weeks back, yet he claimed today, he didn't work directly for Advanta.

jaybone, did you get the guy's name?

They can sue you in the State of Utah and get a default judgment but it's meaningless unless you live in Utah. Yes, it's possible to get a judgment in Utah and enforce it in your home state but that's a complicated and expensive process and almost never works for default judgments. As a practical matter, if they are going to sue you they will sue you in your home state. He's just bluffing.

I'm not saying they won't sue (and they have been known to sue in Utah, the case involved one Charles Watlington and Mustang Oil Change in Texas
http://www.11thcoa.courts.state.tx.us/opinions/htmlopinion.asp?OpinionId=8914).

But given Advanta's prostrate condition and the looming FDIC takeover of the bank, I don't think much is going to happen to Advanta debtors anytime soon....

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