I have 4 credit card companies that i owe money to, its been over a year i havnt paid anything to none of them and i have been charged off by all 4. If i call the collection agency and if they agree on changing charge off to "paid in full as agreed" and i get it all in writing should i pay them off ? or should i just try to rebuild with secured credit cards even when they agree to put paid in full as agreed in my report.
2007-12-20 05:20:47 · 6 answers · asked by UnKnoWn 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
You should pay off your old debts first. Until this is done, even if you get another card(secured or not) it will not improve your credit rating much(if at all). This is because the collection accounts are doing much more damage to your report, than the good accounts would help your report.
Since these are fairly new, you are still in the Statute of Limitations. So legally they still can file a suit against you and get a judgment to force you to pay. This will hurt your credit even more if this happens. Below is a link to the Statute of Limitations for each state.
What you need to do is send the collection agencies a letter by certified mail. You NEVER talk to them by phone. In the letter state the amount you will pay, and if you need payments the amount of each payment and the date. Also, put in that once you pay it off they will delete the collection account from your report. Note that they only have control over their account and not the original creditor so that listing will remain as a "Charge-Off".
They may approve that agreement, or give you a counter offer. Only when you have an agreement from them in writing do you send them any money.
2007-12-20 06:35:02 · answer #1 · answered by OC1999 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since its not VERY old I would say pay.
Bad debts stay on your credit for 7 years. That's a long time still. Better to have it say "paid" than not paid if people are doing credit checks on you.
Charge offs really don't mean anything in the credit world. If its on there as delinquent then its delinquent. People who are running credit checks on you don't care if you will able to use that card again, they just want to see if you're current.
Also, try for a settlement. A lot of times when you offer a lesser amount to have the account considered PIF they will accept.
A lot of times if you go back to look at your statements the principle balance is WAY less than you owe now, and they will be willing to make arrangements using that figure instead.
Good Luck !
2007-12-20 05:40:08 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I dont know how helpful you find this, but I have worked as debt collector for BOA directly. First of all, you have some rights, search up "debt collector rights." Now, even though they are harrasing you, remember that these agencies are on a commision and want to meet their numbers, so maybe the best time to negotiate would be towards the end of the month. First of all do NOT make any promises to the debt collector, because it may impact your statue of limitation. Secondly, the debt collector also has a manager on top, try getting another person to deal with. Good Luck.
2016-05-25 04:34:20 · answer #3 · answered by margaretta 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh...you need to pay. Charge offs don't mean anything, The debt will be sold to another collection company and they have the right to collect on the debt. And there is no time limit, so basically they can come after you, even after 20 years.
And it remains on your credit report as a charge off.
2007-12-20 05:28:49 · answer #4 · answered by Big Bear 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You should try debt settlement
call 1-866-863-0730
or go to the website
http://www.gogetoutofdebt.net
2007-12-20 05:54:58 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
You should try debt settlement which can settle your debt and save you up to 60%.
Call 888-5-DEBT-PRO
2007-12-20 05:33:28 · answer #6 · answered by cssinclair 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋