Help me with Creditor Speak.

Hey, wolfwoman.

My suggestion is to pay off the late fees, etc. Then make the minimum payment monthly.

Do NOT charge anything on that card until it's paid off.

Hope this helps, honey.

the card is closed down.
This account has gone to collections.

So I am dealing with it through someone else.

THey only pay 30 dollars to acquire this account and anything they make above that 30 bucks is profit not loss for them. So i know I can work out a great deal. But I want my great deal to at least pay back exactly what is owed from the original loan.

Does that make sense?

Oh, I see. I didn't realize that it had gone to a collection agency and was no longer active.

Wolflady, my suggestion is to make a deal with them. Negotiate with the money that you have, but make certain that you get everything in writing first. I wish that I could be of more help, honey.

Since you are now dealing with a collection agency you can try and make a deal. I assume they do not know you have $400 for settlement. Are you speaking to a particular individual? It's best if you are. You need to tell him that you want to settle, but that you are a poor mother with a young child (more to establish your negotiating position than for outright sympathy). Tell him that you can get $100 to him immediately and would that be enough to settle? See what the collection agent offers back. For every cent above $100 make it sound as if he is taking food from your child's mouth. Say something like "well if I go to the food pantry this week for milk and peanut butter I could probably give you another $50". He is not going to start crying for you, but he will get the idea that are making an effort to close this file. Often it is an individual who has bought your debt and they just want to make money on their deal. To endlessly chase you is not in his interest. Don't feel guilty. The bank already made money when your husband used the card (store fees), paid the basic loan plus some interest and fees. More important the bank should have stopped the card at $500 instead of letting him pile up another $175. Many married people have been forced to pay off the debts of a dead beat spouse because banks extended the bum's credit over and over (not saying here Mr. Wolf is a dead beat, just giving an example of bad banking policy). The money left on this card is just "bank gravy", and it has been sold to some guy who makes a living off of people's naive ideas about credit and the loan shark policies of banks. Go negotiate - good luck.

I did not know that the banks got fees and and other payments from the stores that use thier cards.

very interesting..


Great stragedy- the food bank remarks.
honestly, i use them.. so I could easily throw that into the conversation.

Well, I wont be the one making the call, because this was a debt that Mr Wolf had before I met him.
He just stopped paying on it about the time Jillian was born.
What ever his reason.. >sigh<


There is not a direct person we speak to yet.
And no, I am not going to tell them the amount of money I have set aside. I might as well hand it to them if I do that.

Is there any way that I could get a written account detail from them?
One that could show every payment/charge etc.. ?
Is he allowed that?
Would it make a diffrence if I knew what the base amount of the loan was?
Or is it more effective to just do the --

" Hi. I need to pay off blah blah account. Can I send in X amount of money and that will settle it"

?

I assume you are entitled to a detailed report of past payment and a breakdown of fees, but I don't think it will make much of a difference. I think a direct approach is a good way to go. Make an offer and see what kind of counter offer they make. Ask them to send you a letter showing how much has been agreed upon to settle the debt and another letter afterwards showing the debt has been settled. Pay them with a check and write on the check "paid in full". I ain't no lawyer, but my understanding is if they accept the check and cash it with that clause written on it then the debt is paid.
Also get the name of everyone you speak with. Try get the same person every time you call.

And yes, vendors/stores have to pay a fee to offer credit card payment. A percentage of every sale goes back to the bank just for offering the service.

Are you paying this off to try and clear up Mr. Wolf's credit? It will still appear in his credit report for at least 7 years, even if you settle with them. Has your husband seen what his credit report looks like? Your bank can get you a free or low cost copy. If this is his only black mark I would not worry too much, just keep it clean from now on.

Shewolf--

One of my Stepsons is both mentally ill and mentally retarded. He signed up for a correspondence course for $1200 and never completed the work and never started to make the payments.

I didn't want him to walk away with Zero Financial Inconvenience, but I didn't think the Correspondence School deserved $1200 for accepting an application from a guy who could barely fill in the application for computer training (at home and make lots of money).

I talked them down to $275. I might have gone further, but I did feel that my stepson deserved some financial inconvenience.

I'd start dickering at $100 and if you don't close by $250-$300, tell them you'll call back.

$1200 --> $275! Wow.

No advice to offer, but good luck.

WOW noddy!
that is great.
Well,, not great that you had to do it, but you got him out of that with very little damage.
I agree.. they should not have charged you anything. And if they wanted to be jerks about it, they could have just sent a bill for the postage it cost to send your son the advertisement. He did nothing else. HA!
but, things are never that fair.


I have a copy of his and my credit report.
Our realtor gave me a copy of both so I could have the contact info for the companies we needed to work with.
And it will stay on his credit report, but one of the things that allows us to qualify for some of the down payment assistance is for a creditor/lender is to see what the call Credit Willingness.

Basically, he and I both pick one old account on our credit, and pay for it, set up payments, or what have you.

We just learned that this one issue has been what has stopped him from opening a checking account because it counts as an old check. And until it is paid, he cant get an account.
And we need that extra account.
So, it just so happens that this also helps in the willingness dept too.


We have not had any marks on our credit for almost 2 years so everything is in pretty good standing. We had one late payment on the car, but it was only 31 days, and a letter to toyota motor credit took care of that.
Basically.. our credit is acceptable, with a little elbow grease , it will be great.

I am the one at home during the day and I have more time for phone calls and negotiations then Ian does..


does anyone know if I can legally be the one to work on the debt instead of him? Be the one to negotiate? pay the bill? talk with the collector??

we were not married at the time he got the debt
i am not a co signer.
I have no investment in the loan
but would that stop me from being able to make arrangements on the debt?

Just call them and offer half of what they're asking for right now this minute if they give you a statement that that takes care of your obligations.... IN WRITING. That should do it. neat and easy.

Don't let them bluff you. If it's already on your credit record it's not coming off until the proper amount of time has passed and you have nothing to lose. Oh yeah, and when you're finished conducting your business, be sure to tell them to f*ck themselves. :wink:

they are a royal pain in the ass. i agree.

what really gets under my skin is when they start to offer " problem solving issues".....

like - " can you borrow they money from your parents?"

" can you take out a small loan to pay this off?"

" can you make small payments for 20 thousand years?"

" can we call you back in 5 years so you can save the money?"

"can my husband bend your wife over and hit her in the shitter?"

That should pretty much get him off the line... then communicate by mail

Shewolf, Don't be bullied. You have more leverage than you think.

A hint on creditor speak. The credit card companies don't care about your child or your problems, they care about getting money from you.

Now the good news. They are not going to get any money from you unless you give it to them. They almost never take legal action in these cases, with these amounts it simply isn't worth it . Legal action t means they are investing more money in you with still no guarantee they will get any money.

So, with the exception of your credit rating (which isn't as important as you think) there is nothing they can do.

But there is room for negotiation since they have something you want (a credit rating) and you have something they want (some money).

1. My advice is to not pay one cent until you have a settlement. Every cent you pay makes your negotiating position weaker.

2. Decide on an amount that you think is fair (and is worth the credit rating). Do not accept any offer less than this amount.

3. Tell them to make a lump-sum settlement offer. If they make the first offer, you are in a stronger negotiating position. This also let's them know that you can't be bullied into paying more than is fair.

4. Understand that often collection agencies are happy to accept offers of 30-40% of the principal amount. For them some money is better than no money. Make it clear they will get no money unless there is an agreement that you think is fair.

5. Make sure you have an agreement in writing before you pay the agreed settlement that documents the arangement and absolves the debt. This is normal (although sometimes they don't send it) and they will have a form letter. Don't pay a cent until you have this letter.

6. Keep in mind this is business for them. They are looking at you as an account. You should look at it the same way. Collection agents will use guilt or shame as a bullying tool, but they are moral people and this is just a technique to get what they want.

7, Have no doubts or moral reservations. The game is that they are hurting your credit to get your money. They have already canceled your cards and tried to blackmail you. Add to this the fact that excuse credit cards charge insane interest rates is that sometimes people can't pay. So if you have paid the interest rates, you have already paid into the system of people sometimes not paying.

They want you to pay as much as they can get from you.
You want to pay a little as possible.

That's the game they are playing and they have no morals. If you play the same game you just might get "fair"

Good luck.

I would also tell the collectors to stop calling.

You don't have to talk to the people who call you. It is never in your interest to talk to them as they don't have negotiating power. All they can do is harass you and make you feel guilty. The people who can negotiate with you are the higher-ups. The best way to talk to them is by writing... or you should iniate the call.

By law, if you tell them to stop calling they are obligated to stop. Many agencies will say they need a letter and then make it difficult to get the adress.

Easier is to just hang up on them.

You have no obligation to talk to them. There is nothing good that can come out of talking to them.

that is very true.

to my understanding, the way collection agencies work-

The agency buys an account from lets use visa as an example.

They buy an account that has been closed by visa for 20.00

This account ( person ) was in debt to visa for 100.00

The agency tacks on the 20.00 and tells the account they now owe 120.00 for the account due to transfer fees or what ever they call them

The account is handled by 'little people'. People who are paid 6-10 an hour to collect.
These little people get a percentage of what is recovered and the company gets the rest.

The little people drill the 120.00 down the accounts throat saying they owe it all with no idea of the original amounts, payments etc.

The account doesnt know that this company is only in the deal for 20 bucks.

the company, IF theycollect the full amount, profits 400% . not visa. Visa is already paid and done.

So why SHOULD anyone offer these companies 100% of the loan?
They are not the ones who made the loan and visa has already gotten thier money back and then some.

At least, that is the mindset I use when talking to them...

The first thing you should do is figure out what the period is in your state when the debt is no longer collectable. In some states it's 6 months. in others it's 10 years. (Most are 6 years from what I understand). That number can give you a lot of leverage to work with.

Then call the collection agency and ask them what they'll accept as a settlement. They may start out wanting 100% but they WILL haggle on it.Offer them 20%. Most of these sorts of tings can be settled for somewhere between 40% and 60% of the current debt amount.

One word of caution - in some states your acknowledgement that the debt is valid is enough to restart the clock on whether or not the debt is collectable. Check with your state's Consumer Affairs people or a reputable non-profit consumer debt management agencya nd know the rules for your state before anyone contacts the collection agency.

Good news.

it worked.
We ( i say we.. but it was MR Wolf 's talking )
were able to pay off a 675.00 bill for 300.00

the phone call and negotiation was a combination of both GW and EB's suggestions.
Quite simply.. Mr called and said he needed to pay for his account -

Mr- (information given) I need to pay my account today.

Collector- Payment plan? Or in full?

Settlement please.

No settlement, we can set up payment plan or you can call us when you have the money.

Mr- I have 200 I can send right now to close the account.

The lowest we can go is 80%

I dont have that. If I did, this wouldnt be a charge off. I have 200. Lets settle with that and I will send it right away.

Ok, how about 500?

No can do. I am a single father ( cough cough ) and I am using my tax return to pay bills. I dont have monthly money to allow to abill and I have cash in hand. Can we settle this today?

Can you borrow from someone?

I live with mymom because I cant afford to pay my bills. I will not borrow money also. Is there some where I can send my money to pay this off?

What about 450? Can you do that? I can break it up into 2 months payments? You can send 200 now -----

Mister interrupts -
All I have is 200 in my hand. I have to pay my bills. I cant tell you how little money I have. If I could pay a monthly bill, this wouldnt be a charge off. How can I pay my bill today??

Ok. I can meet you at 300, but I can not go lower then that. Sorry. Can you do that?

Lemme call you back. I need to make sure I can afford it.

( we wait 25 minutes to see if THEY will call to accept 200.... they dont)

Ok 300 it is. Can I take this some where to pay it?
( this company is local )

They accept the offer, he goes and pays it, AND.. they restore his ability to use the credit union..
even though they are not supposed to unless you repay 100%.

woohoo. :-)

This wins the sleazy line of the day prize.

Good job!