Stumped - How to proceed with final CA

[divine6771]

I've been stalking these boards religiously for months and the information here has been life changing.  But today I am at a loss for what to do next.  I disputed the final CA (Stellar Recovery) who is only on Equifax and received notice this morning that they were deleted.  However, I want to pay it so that it doesn't come back to bite me later.  But Stellar Recovery has somehow enlisted the services of Dynia & Associates who states my account has been "accruing interest" and I now owe $626.94 (from an HSBC Orchard Bank that was charged off at $260).  Even though Stellar Recovery stated on my credit report on July 19th that my current balance was $297.   Stellar Recovery states that they no longer own my account. 

I called Dynia & Associates prepared to pay the original $260 just to have them say it was paid in full and that they would not report it on my cr, especially since it was just deleted today.   I won't have to fight to have it deleted.  But they said the least they can take is $327.93 and then they will mail me out a letter that it was "settled in full with a $0 balance." 

I want this off so bad I can taste it, but something is not sitting right with me.  I just can't bring myself to allow these people to extort more money than I owe, nor can I trust that they wouldn't somehow screw me in the end and put it back on my credit report or sell the "remaining debt" to another CA.  I want to refinance my house so I'm anxious to get this settled so I can start sending weekly GW letters to HSBC stating the CA's are satisfied and please delete the charge-offs.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[Jasir]

First thing I want to know: when is the DOFD and is SOL passed? That's your bargaining power. If the DOFD is nearing the 7.5 year mark you have a better chance at calling the shots and negotiating a settlement price you are satisfied with. You are not trying to appease the CA, you are trying to clean up your history and take care of your debts within reason and ability.

If you decide to accept any offer from them DO NOT send the CA a payment until you receive a written agreement stating the terms of the settlement offer. This is for your records should an issue arise later. Assume if you pay before you get the letter they have no reason to stick to their word (just assume the worse of all CA because they assume the worse of us).

[DaBears]

---

@divine6771 wrote:

I've been stalking these boards religiously for months and the information here has been life changing.  But today I am at a loss for what to do next.  I disputed the final CA (Stellar Recovery) who is only on Equifax and received notice this morning that they were deleted.  However, I want to pay it so that it doesn't come back to bite me later.  But Stellar Recovery has somehow enlisted the services of Dynia & Associates who states my account has been "accruing interest" and I now owe $626.94 (from an HSBC Orchard Bank that was charged off at $260).  Even though Stellar Recovery stated on my credit report on July 19th that my current balance was $297.   Stellar Recovery states that they no longer own my account. 

I called Dynia & Associates prepared to pay the original $260 just to have them say it was paid in full and that they would not report it on my cr, especially since it was just deleted today.   I won't have to fight to have it deleted.  But they said the least they can take is $327.93 and then they will mail me out a letter that it was "settled in full with a $0 balance." 

I want this off so bad I can taste it, but something is not sitting right with me.  I just can't bring myself to allow these people to extort more money than I owe, nor can I trust that they wouldn't somehow screw me in the end and put it back on my credit report or sell the "remaining debt" to another CA.  I want to refinance my house so I'm anxious to get this settled so I can start sending weekly GW letters to HSBC stating the CA's are satisfied and please delete the charge-offs.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

---

Settled is settled. even for a less amount they would need to update their tradline to show a $0 bal. Have you called HSBC now known as Capital One to see if they can pull back the account?

[divine6771]

I'm in MD so the SOL is 3 years which has passed; but the DOFD is 6/2007.  So Transunion says the OC will be off in 6/2014.  Capitol One says it's been sold into collections and they won't take the information off.  Once I've paid the CA I plan to GW HSBC/Capitol One to get the charge offs deleted.

[Jasir]

Sounds like the statues of limitation (SOL) would have passed already if the tradeline has just 1 more year to fall off. Check on that for your state. Seems most SOL are between 4-5 years. That's the deadline for which you can be justifiably sued; after that you can be sued but claimant is pretty much without grounds (to my understanding). The DOFD defines when the negative comes off your reports.

[divine6771]

Yes, Sorry, I just figured that out and edited my response above.

[Jasir]

Well, if they settle the account partially or in full, they can't legally resale any portion of the debt. It is cleared, finished. That's why you will wait until you get written agreement before making the payment(s).

[divine6771]

Makes sense! Thank you so much for your help.

[divine6771]

I wanted to provide an update in case anyone else has an issue with Stellar Recovery recruiting Dynia and Associates to squeeze more money out of them.  I was so frustrated about this account because they attempted to double my original amount due and wouldn't accept the original amount for the debt.  However, after disputing it on both Experian and Equifax and constant calls to both creditors to pay the debt, I finally told a representative that I refused to pay the $320 they were requesting for this debt, since it was almost $100 more than my original debt. After he threatened to sue I told him it was impossible since the SOL in MD is 3 years and that I would wait for it to fall off my credit next year.  Last week I got a letter from Stellar Recovery offering me a settlement for $150 and they agreed to delete it off my credit report.  Not sure why they wouldn't work with me when I wanted them to, but it feels good to have this taken care of (and for $110 less than I was willing to pay). 

Credit Repair is definately a process and it helps to be patient.

Thanks everyone for all of your help.