Have a chance to pay off all of my debt...advice?
Date: Tue, 01/05/2010 - 06:59
Hello,
I have two credit card accounts that have not had payments made on them in over 2 years. One is in the amount of $10,500, the other is for about $1500. Both have been charged off and sent to different collection agencies. The original institutions are Chase and Bank of America (with BofA holding the larger debt).
I recently came across 20K+ and have a chance to pay these off in full. I want to accomplish two things: take care of the debt, and remove, if possible, negative references off my credit report.
So my question is, if the accounts have been sold to collection agencies, can I goto the original lender (chase or BofA) and try and settle directly with them? Or do I have to go through the collection agency?
Also, what are my chances of setting for less than the full amount if I want all negative information deleted from my credit report? Meaning, do I have a chance of settling at 50% on the dollar and still have them put "paid in full" on my credit report?
I know I can't instantly fix my credit but I'm trying to do the best I can...
thanks for the advice
I have two credit card accounts that have not had payments made on them in over 2 years. One is in the amount of $10,500, the other is for about $1500. Both have been charged off and sent to different collection agencies. The original institutions are Chase and Bank of America (with BofA holding the larger debt).
I recently came across 20K+ and have a chance to pay these off in full. I want to accomplish two things: take care of the debt, and remove, if possible, negative references off my credit report.
So my question is, if the accounts have been sold to collection agencies, can I goto the original lender (chase or BofA) and try and settle directly with them? Or do I have to go through the collection agency?
Also, what are my chances of setting for less than the full amount if I want all negative information deleted from my credit report? Meaning, do I have a chance of settling at 50% on the dollar and still have them put "paid in full" on my credit report?
I know I can't instantly fix my credit but I'm trying to do the best I can...
thanks for the advice
If the accounts have been sold to the collection agencies then y
If the accounts have been sold to the collection agencies then you may need to deal with them. The original creditors no longer hold the rights on the accounts. However, make sure that you're paying the right collectors. Also, obtain any deal in writing to avoid future issues.
Depending on how well you can negotiate you may have them delete the information from the report, i.e. you can negotiate for 'pay for delete' even when paying less than the amount owed.
Check with the 'do it yourself' for guidance.
