how should i negotiate a lump sum settlement of a charged-off debt?
93115
I wouldn't bother, it's still going to ruin your credit for X number of years- a settled debt is still a bad debt. I settled a credit card debt, and it was on my credit report as a bad debt for 5 years.
693220
The only way to get this debt removed is fight it with the creditor.  That may require a court trip to sue your ex for the amount she charged, then paying off the debt.  Be sure to make the creditor remove the report before you pay them, otherwise they just may leave it on your record.\n\nCredit reporting agencies will not remove this listing.  The best they can do is include a statement of your dispute, but most lenders ignore this information.
34012
If you have a charge off, you have to pay the debt.  That's the only way to get rid of it.  You can wait 7 yrs til it falls off your credit report, but you still owe the money, collectors will continue to call you.  A charge-off is a term used to explain a debt that is over 180 days past due.  If you wait for it to fall of your credit report, you also run the risk of them filing a judgement against you (which is on your credit report for 10 years!), or suing you for the money before the 7 years.  LOL at all the people who think that your debt disappears after 7 years.  That's just the limit as to how long it can hurt your credit.  You will always owe the money.\n\nThe other people who have responded have responded in a way as if the debt wasn't a valid debt.  If this debt is rightfully yours, a letter of dispute or any of the suggested things are useless.
739430
There is nothing they are going to do that you can't do yourself.  Look up your specific issues on-line, learn, and apply the lessons to your issues.  When you get involved with these groups, there are hidden fees and costs, such as interest charged for longer length loans.  Read this:\n\nHere's another example, this one involving debt settlement. Let's say you have racked up $20,000 in unsecured credit card debts. You owe $10,000 to one credit card company, $7,000 to another one, and $3,000 to a third one. You agree to contract for a five year debt settlement plan where you pay $250 a month to the settlement company.\n\nSounds good, right?  After all, $250 a month for five years is only $15,000, so you're saving $5,000 and you'll be debt-free in just five years, right?\n\nLet's examine this arrangement a bit closer. The admin fee will cost you $750 up front. Your first three monthly payments go towards that admin fee and nothing gets put into your trust account until your fourth monthly payment has been paid. The settlement company takes the first $50 of your $250 payment every month as the service fee. That means that only $200 a month is actually being added to your trust account.\n\nMost debt settlement companies will claim to be able to settle your debt for about 1/2 of what you actually owe, so let's use the middle credit card debt as an example:\n\nIf you owe $7,000 on the account and the creditor agrees to accept $3,500 as payment in full, it will take you 8 months at $200 per month to have accrued enough cash in your trust account to pay off just that one credit card bill. But remember, your first three  payments to the debt settlement company only paid the $750 admin fee. That means your first credit card isn't really settled until 11 months after you started sending them money! So what is the problem? It's really very simple - Your creditor won't agree to accept half of your actual debt amount in settlement unless, or until, that amount can be paid in full. Otherwise, they'll expect you to make your normal monthly payments.
774251
CarCraze --- you are wrong, sorry to say\n\nWhat you have there, my dear, is a bona fide Court Order for you to appear in court to answer to a Motion to Collect a Debt. If it is on Court paper and has a case number, call the Court to confirm the Docket Number, and find out when the hearing date is.\n\n\nYES, they do have that power.\n\nYES, That is the equivalent of a Subpoena.\n\nIf you "just let it ride", as you say, don't be surprised when you open up your paycheck and you find a good chunk of it GONE !\n\nWhat you should do:\n\nSeek legal counsel (get a lawyer) and come up with a manageable payment plan that is both satisfactory to your creditor, and workable for you.\n\nDON'T HESITATE - you will regret it.
754916
Judgments can be renewed if they get old.  You'll want to see a lawyer if you think it is too old, but it is likely too late to dispute the actual debt. (Unless service was not perfected, etc. - (don't expect to win this))\n\nSee a lawyer if it's a chunck of change.  Otherwise, I'd expect to pay up until it's paid.
812093
Now that it is in collections, there are only a few things you can do. (1) pay the money so that it doesn't ruin your report and then take the company to small claims so that you get your money back (2) dispute it with the credit bureaus (3) write a letter and send it certified mail to the collection agency disputing the claim. They have to send you proof that you owe the bill and that the original creditor gave them permission to collect the debt. The last two options may get the debt resolved shortly, but be warned that you may have to go through it again if the collection agency sells the bill to another agency. There is a link below for sample dispute letters.
979085
What other information do you need?\n\n1) Negotiate an offer to pay the debt. \n\n2) Demand that they agree IN WRITING to delete any negative information from your credit reports.\n\n3) Demand that if you are only paying a portion of the debt, they agree to consider this debt "paid in full" and give you a letter saying that!  Otherwise they could sell the remaining portion of this debt to another collection agency.\n\n4) DO NOT pay them a dime until you get these agreements.  Get the entire agreement IN WRITING explaining how much you will be paying each month.\n\nA sample letter is below.
554082
PAY YOUR BILL!!! I work as a bill colelctor and the best thing to do is work out an arrangement that you are able to commit to. Stop running and being immature about it by hanging up (If that's what you do). Although it's people like you that keep us having a job. I know there are some nasty bill collectors but not all are bad. Other wise you can write a cease and desist letter that will eliminate calls for 5 years.  But please make out an arrange to pay off debt or do a settlement. By this, I mean agree to work with the creditor by paying 50% of bll and writting off the rest- it much better than have your acct charge off.
1121641
Paying something off your credit card.......is either a normal monthly payment or an additional payment you decide to make in addition to the monthly payment.\n\nGetting a settlement is......asking the credit card provider to supply you with the full amount (including interest and charges) you have to pay to pay off the complete balance on the credit card (ie. if you want to stop using it and cut it up)
1176383
Anything that is past the statute of limitations for your state of residence is uncollectible.  It will fall off your credit record at 7 years from the date of the last activity; contrary to what another poster said it does NOT stay there until paid + 7 years!\n\nIf you get feeling guilty and contact the creditor trying to "make things right" they will re-age your debt (this IS legal!) and start collection efforts all over again.  It will show up as a chargeoff with recent activity.\n\nIt's a dirty little secret that creditors sell of old chargeoffs to collection firms for as little as less than a penny on the dollar.  This is great for the collection firms, as if they get a 10% response on any of their efforts, they make a TON of money!  Imagine that you buy a $1 million in chargeoffs for $5,000.00.  If you get 10% of the debtors feeling guilt enough to pay off their debt you just made a cool $95,000.00 profit.  These firms buy these accounts in blocks of tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars.  Do the math, it's an EXTREMELY lucrative venture!\n\nYeah, you can have both the original debt AND the collection agency's data on your record at the same time.  Once the statute has expired, it's best to leave sleeping dogs lie.  If they contact you by mail, just trash it.  If they call you, just hang up.  If you say anything at all, say, "Don't contact me again." and then hang up.\n\nIf your "moral compass" is giving you fits, make an equivalent charitable donation to a worthy cause and don't deduct it on your taxes.
47000
contact the creditor. If it is a large firm ask for the collections department. Attempt to negotiate a settlement that includes elimination of the negatively reported information. Start by saying "can you help me with this". Explain the original problem and staate that you want to make it good. Sometimes they will be sympathetic. At a minimum, if you pay they have to report it as originally charged off but paid.
325234
The creditor will come after the co-signer because both parties are equally liable for all of the debt.  If you co-signed, you can (1) pay it, (2) file BK yourself, or (3) live with it on your credit report as an open collection item, or as a write off.\n\nYou can also try to negotiate a settlement for less than the amount owed, but that's still doing the first option.
69207
If you already went this far, you have exhaust all adm procedure within the Service, the next step will be going to court\nYou may also want to post a bond to freeze the interest on potential tax you owe
700299
You can call the company to see if they would give you an extension.    If they say yes, ask if they will remove any late fees on the account.\n\nIf they say there is no extension possible than you will still be delinquent but you show an effort of good faith and willingness to pay down your debt. \n\nRequest the customer service representative you speak with put a note on the account regarding your conversation.  Be sure to document your conversation by keeping their name, operator # and date.  \n\nIf there are notes on your account from your telephone discussion they will be advantagous if you need to have discussions with the Senior management at a later date\n\nHope this helps
877661
if you have a house or any joint property the creditor can place a lien, the best thing to do is what you said contact the collection agency and offer them a cash settlement some take as little as 15% as a cash settlement MAKE SURE YOU KEEP PROOF OF PAYMENT collection agency don't like reporting to credit bureaus so a lot of times that debt will still show up years after you have already paid it
89369
I would consult an attorney about it.  \n\nIf you can't do that because of money issues - talk to the firm who is "helping" you to get out ot debt.  They of all should be able to have exactly what you should do all planned out for you.  \n\nIf they can't help you on it... I would SERIOUSLY be looking into a different company to help me in this.  There are non-profit agencies out there who know everything about this sort of thing.  Good luck