Ok I have a 2 year old debt of about 2500 that has been charged off. I finally can afford to start paying it off the only problem is I don't know who to send the money to. The original credit card company or the collection agency.
Also do I have to pay the exact amount or can I just pay it off in installments. Any help would be appreciated.
2007-09-18 14:38:57 · 2 answers · asked by cbustetter01 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
You should contact the original creditor. If the account is out for 3rd party collections you can still make offers to them, they may review them or they may forward them on to the agency handling the account for them. If it has been sold, they will refer you to the company that purchased it. You should try to settle on the debt before making payments on it if you are just now getting back on your feet. Most companies will forgive some or all of the interest since th debt was charged off. (remember charged off is simply an accounting status used by the creditor and in no way changes your responsibility to pay) The 3rd party collection agencies are apprised of what (generally) their clients are willing to accept in the form of a settlement. Debt purchasers pay pennies on the dollar and can negotiate quite a bit. Who ever you deal with, get the final offer in writing before sending cashiers check or money order or using prepaid credit card, not check or debit or credit card. If they (or you) don't want to settle you just want to pay, call them and tell them what you propose and ask them to send you a confirmation of the arrangement. If the account is with a 3rd party collection agency, depending on where you live, you may be sued and garnished. Even if you call and tell them and get your intent in writing and make those payments. The agreement has to state that if you do this, they won't do that. Simply sending in money (while it will always be applied to your account or returned to you) will not forestall this. You don't HAVE to pay the collection agency, you can forward you payment(s) to the card company. They will either apply it to your account or forward it to the agency, depending on their contract.
2007-09-18 15:09:52 · answer #1 · answered by Morgan M 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
The debt has probably been sold to the collection agency and that is who you will have to deal with. You can make a settlement offer for less than the full amount. However. a lump sum gets better deals than installments.
Don't to drag out repayment with small installments. Again, the sooner you can pay if off the better the deal.
Be sure to get the settlement agreement in writing and do not allow them access to your bank account.
2007-09-18 15:57:39 · answer #2 · answered by bdancer222 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋