can i deal directly with a creditor instead of a collection agency?

Answer 1

While IC is a collection agent and does know his stuff....I have helped people deal with debt issues.

I've called collection agents with an offer, only to have them tell me they will check with the creditor to see if they will accept the offer. HUH?????

And I've called many, many creditors directly and taken care of issues.

While collect agents do have a signed agreement with the creditor, I am NOT legally bound to deal with them. I recommend not even talking to them until you can discuss it with the creditor.

That may upset the collectors, but oh well!

Answer 2

Per Bottleblond's statement that collection agencies will not accept less than 80%, that is completely dependent on both the credit agency and how long they've been holding the debt. As debt flows downstream from the original creditor to various credit agencies it is sold for a certain number of cents on the dollar. There are some creditors that purchase newly bad debt. If they can't close it within about 3 months, they sell it on to a new collection agency, and so on. At each stage, the cost of purchasing your bad debt goes down. By the time a debt is two or three years old, it was probably bought for 10 or 15 cents on the dollar. That doesn't mean the agency will necessarily settle for that little--after all, they have to make up for all the people who will never pay--but it does mean you can probably negotiate well below an 80% payment if you can deliver a lump sum.

I used to work for a mortgage company and regularly negotiated settlements with debtors to clear collections for my clients. I can't think of a single time I wasn't able to settle for 70% or less. Your best option is to bring in a friend to act as your agent in the negotiation. Many studies have shown that agents can negotiate better offers than people could ever get for themselves.

Answer 3

JD, You are full of CRAP. Let me tell you something.

Collections agencies rarely "PURCHASE" debt. They =work on a contingent basis which means that they only get a percentage of what is collected.

One the original creditor assigns and account to the 3rd party agency the original creditor as then transferred their rights to tat account to the collection agency and they have no ability to LEGALLY deal with the debtor.

Answer 4

Once the creditor has turned the account over to a collection agency, they have pretty much given up on you. You can call the creditor and ask if arrangements can be made, but it's completely up to them.

Answer 5

Not once they have turned it over to a collection agency. Most places either have contracts with the collection agency for a percentage, or some even sell of their notes and interest to a collection agency for a percentage of the debt outstanding.

Some collection agencies are willing to enter into a Settlement Agreement for a one time lump sum payment for no less than 80% of the total outstanding if you can get relatives to loan or give you the amount.

Answer 6

if your account has already gone to collections...then you must deal with the collection agency...although if the account hasnt been sent collections, most creditors are more than happy to work out some type of payment plan...by the way I actually work in legal for a collection agency

Answer 7

Yes some credit agency would prefer this. You just have to obtain a bill and call them. Tell them that you want to settle your account and ask to speak to a supervisor. Sometimes the person answering the phone like to take the lazy way and tell you that you need to speak to the collection agency. You will get a better result if you ask for a manager or a supervisor. I hope I was helpful.....

Answer 8

sure you can. You need to have all the information pertaining to that account and what you plan to do. A good book to read about this is Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace. http://www.daveramsey.com/

Answer 9

Yes, you can. Just call them and negotiate a deal with them.

Answer 10

no