How do I negotiate a settlement?
Date: Sat, 02/24/2007 - 13:37
I hope to find some wisdom here. I declared bankruptcy 7 years ago this year and kept one credit card off the bankruptcy as I thought I could handle it (yeh right) so did not include it in the bankruptcy. Needless to say, I got into trouble with this credit card and was unable to pay it off and now it has gone to a collection agency. Actually, it just went to it's 3rd collection agency. I have been contacted by a debt recovery agency telling me they are in a position to offer me a settlement on this debt I have. NOw, I was making regular, timely payments on the debt with the 2 prior collection agencies, but the debt kept rising due to the interest and then the company refused to take any more payments and said they could not negotiate the interest rate and threatened a lawsuit if I did not pay in Full and was abusive. I spoke to a community lawyer and they told me to stop making payments and wait for a judgement so I could negotiate some reasonable payment plan in court...but the company didn't take me to court, they just moved the debt to this new company, Protocol Recovery Services (who just contacted me)
I don't remember what the original debt was, but now it is $8,829.40 and Protocol is offering to settle for $4,414.70. I do not have access to this kind of money, I could make monthly payments of $50.00 until the debt is paid in full. I am wondering how I can negotiate a settlement like this. I am wanting to solve this and am very frustrated as all my attempts have ended in the debt getting larger despite my regular payments and the thing dragging on for years. I don't know if the collection agency 'owns' the debt, or even what that means. The original credit card was with Direct Merchants Bank.
I just got a copy of my credit report and The credit report says there are no accounts currently past due. There is only one Direct Merchant account on the credit report and it says it's a "Charge off". I don't know what that means.
I hope someone has some wisdom for me on this matter. I am in the state of Texas.
Best advice I can offer with a debt of that size is to take a ph
Best advice I can offer with a debt of that size is to take a phone call and work out a debt solution plan
Go ahead and take the phone call that is offered when you signed up here. The card is already listed as a charge off so you are already taking a ding on report.A charge off is when creditor gives up on collecting and writes off debt for tax loss. When you speak to the counselor,you can look at options of settlement or consolidation.
I already did the free phone call/consultation and they want to
I already did the free phone call/consultation and they want to charge me $2500 on top of the debt to do this and also to make payments of $300 a month which is financially impossible for me to do. My credit is toast already with the bankkruptcy so that's not really an issue here.
If consolidation not possible,bankruptcy may be only option unle
If consolidation not possible,bankruptcy may be only option unless you can deal with collectors on your own.
REPAYMENT OF OUTSTANDING LOAN
I would like to make contact with ambassador collections, concerning the repayment of my loan,mybank account is no longer alailable for you to make deductions
Please share with us how much you borrowed, how much you've paid
Please share with us how much you borrowed, how much you've paid, and perhaps, most importantly, what state you are in. We'd be much more able to help you if we had those pieces of info (many of these "lenders" operate outside of the law, and you may have some recourse).
Here is the contact info:
Ambassador AKA nationwide cash advance 866-808-0936
Ambassador Collections dba Nationwide Cash
314 North Riverside Dr.
Espanola, NM 87532
Phone #866-808-0936
Fax #866-808-7187
Send them a letter revoking their access to your checking account, and ask the bank to block their debits.
And please don't type in all caps. It makes posts difficult to read.
Lisa, What state and county or town are you from? There are alo
Lisa,
What state and county or town are you from? There are alot of agencies out there that do this type of work for little to nothing, there are non profits everywhere do this kind of work. Let me know what state and county or town you are from and I will see what I can find for you.
Lisa, hi... Have you tried contacting the company yourself pe
Lisa, hi...
Have you tried contacting the company yourself personally and working out a debt plan that you can afford? Have you tried other debt consolidation companies? THere are quite a few on this website that can help you. The Do-It-Yourself provides you with sample letters to show you how to do it yourself.
Bankruptcy is a last resort when you don't have any other options.
Just found a real good article under the article section of this
Just found a real good article under the article section of this webpage. Check it out, you may find some good information there.