need help negotiating with a CA

Kookie · 06-10-2008, 10:44 AM

How can I negotiate a settlement amount with a CA without the clock starting over, or will the clock start over if I to make an offer? I owe a bank $944 (partially there fault as well) and i want to settle it for $200, but I don't want the clock to start over, and how do I approach the CA? Do I just call up and say "i'll offer you $200 to settle this account today"? I would really appreciate any advice you can offer. Thank you

Enigma · 06-10-2008, 12:45 PM

First of all, on $944, I seriously doubt they will accept $200.

You would start off by saying you are not admitting liability, you want to make it go away.

Kookie · 06-10-2008, 02:51 PM

Thank you, $200 is a little more than 20% which is more than what they paid for it....i read somewhere. I really just want it to be removed and it is about 2 years old.

Hedwig · 06-10-2008, 03:20 PM

First of all, what they paid for it does not make the amount of the debt any less. It doesn't matter if they got it for free. I know that a lot of people think it's not right for them to collect a lot more than they paid, but that's the nature of business.

Just because you pay it is not going to make it go anywhere, either. If it's two years old, it can stay on your report for another five years. Paying it will make it a paid charge off, which is still a negative. If you want to negotiate for a pay for deletion (which they may not do anyway) you're going to have to pay way more than 20%.

If this is still in SOL, remember that they can sue you and possibly get a judgment for the amount of the debt plus attorney's fees.