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I was called and threatended to be taken to be served. Out of fear I agreed an outageous payment plan. They gave me a month to pay a settlement amount that was rediculous. I haven't made the first payment yet. Can I call and renegotiate?
cant hurt to try, the worst they can do is say no
It is not a violation per se of the FDCPA to threatten to sue, provided they actually intend to do so.
If you have not yet made a payment, you dont yet have an enforeable contract.
Yes, you are free to reconsider and attempt continued negotiations.
By now deciding not to take their offer, that is certainly a way to determine whether their threat to sue was in fact actually and action they intend to take.......
Total CL: $321.7k | UTL: 2% | AAoA: 7.0yrs | Baddies: 0 | Other: Lease, Loan, *No Mortgage, All Inq's from Jun '20 Car Shopping |
If you cannot meet the terms of paying the previously-agreed settlement, then yes, you need to call them back and renegotiate.
If you just leave them hanging, expecting payment, that just adds fuel to their fire if in fact they do intend to sue you over the debt.
Be prepared, though, that they may not be interested in renegotiation. Since they recorded you agreeing to the current deal (trust me, they recorded the entire conversation), even if you do not make a payment, you have effectively re-aged the debt by acknowledging it/agreeing to make a payment (you don't actually have to make that agreed-upon payment to re-age it). This means they have more time now, and are not technically bound by the original SOL on the debt in question, although many collectors will hesitate to push this issue with the courts, and will stick to the original SOL. This does not re-start the reporting time limit or the FICO scoring limit on the debt (that is still 7.5 years from DoFD), but it does technically give them more time to file suit if in fact they intend to do so.
That being said, most collectors will take money when offered, so your good faith effort to negotiate a settlement that you can actually pay in the time agreed for paying it means they should be open to discussing that. They know there are costs and time inherent to the lawsuit process, and the post-judgment collection process, so your offering them a payment, even if less than the originally agreed amount, might be more appealing to them than playing hardball.
@Anonymous wrote:If you cannot meet the terms of paying the previously-agreed settlement, then yes, you need to call them back and renegotiate.
If you just leave them hanging, expecting payment, that just adds fuel to their fire if in fact they do intend to sue you over the debt.
Be prepared, though, that they may not be interested in renegotiation. Since they recorded you agreeing to the current deal (trust me, they recorded the entire conversation), even if you do not make a payment, you have effectively re-aged the debt by acknowledging it/agreeing to make a payment (you don't actually have to make that agreed-upon payment to re-age it). This means they have more time now, and are not technically bound by the original SOL on the debt in question, although many collectors will hesitate to push this issue with the courts, and will stick to the original SOL. This does not re-start the reporting time limit or the FICO scoring limit on the debt (that is still 7.5 years from DoFD), but it does technically give them more time to file suit if in fact they intend to do so.
That being said, most collectors will take money when offered, so your good faith effort to negotiate a settlement that you can actually pay in the time agreed for paying it means they should be open to discussing that. They know there are costs and time inherent to the lawsuit process, and the post-judgment collection process, so your offering them a payment, even if less than the originally agreed amount, might be more appealing to them than playing hardball.
This is not universally true. In at least a dozen states (California is one I know, off the top of my head), a written and signed repayment agreement is required to reset the SOL. I would suggest the OP consult their state laws on the matter to be certain.