New to this Game!

[Anonymous]

HI all! Let me just start off by saying I did as much research on this forum as I could but couldnt find a straight forward answer. 

OK so I pulled out my three credit reports and my credit scores suck completely. I average about 500 score across the board.

I have alot of things on my credit reports. So this is what I want to know...

Medical bills in collections... Do I pay them off immediately or try to talk them down? Should I have them send me a letter first promising deletion from credit report??

School loans... I know call them and make payments, nothing I can do bout this.

MOst credit cards in my reports show as charge offs and balance of $0. So I'm going to be calling the collection agencys that have those accounts.

What should I say to negociate the prices down? Should I pay them right then and there on the phone? Should I have them send me a letter first promising that they 

will delete this stuff from my credit report?

What should I do about judgements they have been paid? I had my wages garnished two years ago and now its done but its still on my credit report as a judgement. And its showing as a negative from the collection agency.

How do you delete credit cards that show as Chargeoff and a balance of $0? Do they automatically go away after you deal with the Agency that bought the balance?

Again I'm sorry for asking the questions that have been asked time and time again. Like I said I couldnt find any answers that could help me have a clear understanding of all this stuff. Thank you so much for your help and all the info here thanks!

[RobertEG]

The very, very first thing to do when you have an unpaid debt, before taking any action, is determine the status of your state statute of limitations on the debt.

You need to be aware of what their options are.  If the debt is not time-barred, they have recourse to legal recovery.

What is the DOFD on the OC account tht proceeded their collection?  What is the period of SOL in your state?

Any offer to pay less than the full amount or to request CR deletion in exchange for payment is a negotiation offer on your part.  They have no obligation to accept, or to even respond.  Best to know what other options they have.

When negotiating a settlement, is reduced payment your only concern, or do you additionally seek deletion from your CR?  Asking for both is a request for two concessions on their part.  Its hard to advise one on what to offer.  As with most things in credit repair, it depends.

[Anonymous]

Well most everything on here is suppose to stay on my CR from 2015 and on. 

I dont want to do a DV cause I know I owe this stuff. Should I just write PFD's to all the CA. Should I use the address's that are on the CR?

My main goal is deletion. So would an 50% offer and PFD be too much to ask from the CA? Or should I just try to offer a PIF with PFD?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Well most everything on here is suppose to stay on my CR from 2015 and on. 

I dont want to do a DV cause I know I owe this stuff. Should I just write PFD's to all the CA. Should I use the address's that are on the CR?

My main goal is deletion. So would an 50% offer and PFD be too much to ask from the CA? Or should I just try to offer a PIF with PFD?

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How much to offer really is up to you.  If you are less worried about the money and more worried about getting it off, your best chance is to offer to pay in full.  However, I recently made an offer of $75 to PFD on a $120 debt and it was accepted.  They are more likely to take settlement PFDs for larger amounts than smaller, but every CA is different.

Personally, I will almost always offer less than 100%.  If they don't accept it, they may counter with a higher offer, or you can send a higher offer.  From what I have read/seen, most CAs that don't accept PFDs, usually say they never do them, not that the amount isn't good enough.