topic Re: Help with how to negotiate in Rebuilding Your Credit

Help with how to negotiate

Knight302 — Sun, 02 May 2021 11:45:47 GMT

First, thanks for viewing and helping me with my questions. A quick back story, I fell ill a few years ago (heart attack then about a year later found I had leukemia). Provide this so you know how I fell behind. I was doing really well with my credit until then and was out of work after this started.

What I am looking for is how you would proceed with the following accounts. I have a total of 13 collections but wanted to start with the below 10 for advice. I have disputed 3 others as inaccurate.

How would you negotiate these debts and what percentage do you think they would settle for from the remaining balances:

Midland Credit:

Synchrony - Original balance $2,202. Have paid down to $1415

R/Us - Original balance $1065. Have paid down to $685

Synchrony - Original balance $3036. Have paid down to $1952

Citi - Original balance $1485. Have paid to $1250. This was a settlement after being sued.

Portfolio Recovery:

Barklays - Original balance $1294. Have paid down to $1152

Cap1 - Original balance $3517. Have paid to $2669

Symchrony - Original balance $1950. Have paid to $1468

Comneity - C/O balance is $265. I paid this card off in October 2017 and called and asked them to close it along with 1 other. They closed the other account but not this one. They then charged a $19.95 annual shipping fee in Nov. 2017. I didn't know then they charged late fees until it equaled the $265 and charged it off . Reporting agencies do not believe my proof I guess and when I dispute they say it meets requirements on the CA part. I don't and will not pay this one.

My question is if I already have payment arrangements, will Midland and Portfolio negotiate for less than the current balance owed? I would like to start low and work up to a max of 50% lump sum. Would you negotiate one at a time or all at once? My fear with offering each CA a lump sum to settle all is that they would prefer to apply a large lump sum to one account and continue payments on the others. Also, better to call, mail, email, or online chat with them?

My scores have started to rebound since they fell below 500 and are now 565/585/570 as of this morning. Yes, still low but if I can start with 10 collection removals, it would be a great start.

Thanks in advance for your responses. If you have questions for me please be patient as my work schedule is somewhat sporadic.

Re: Help with how to negotiate

Michizane — Sun, 02 May 2021 13:52:38 GMT

Can't speak for Midland, but I have 2 settled collections with Portfolio Recovery. Since you are in a payment arrangement with all those accounts, you have technically "signed" an agreement to pay off the account at a certain amount for a certain amount of time. There is no harm in asking them since you can technically only apply payment to one account at a time, so you need to continue making your payment arrangements until you can make an offer to cover all accounts at once (you will need to make offers for each account).

Granted, you don't have as much leverage now that you agreed to a payment arrangement with them. So they will less likely give you that "less than 50%" discount now that they know you have been able to pay over time, and probably agreed to pay them close to if not the full balance. Negotiating for a lot less works better if you are not in a payment arrangement.

In short you will need to negotiate EACH account while maintaining payment arrangements for the others or until you can make an offer for ALL accounts with each collector separately on the same call. And yes, you should speak with them on the phone since negotiating with a debt collector is fluid...you will probably get a NO on your first offer, especially if you are already on a payment arrangement. Email and Mail are a waste of time, and they will probably remind you that you "signed" a contract for the payment arrangement...and chat will probably have very canned responses as well.

Re: Help with how to negotiate

Knight302 — Sun, 02 May 2021 14:31:52 GMT

@Michizane wrote:
Can't speak for Midland, but I have 2 settled collections with Portfolio Recovery. Since you are in a payment arrangement with all those accounts, you have technically "signed" an agreement to pay off the account at a certain amount for a certain amount of time. There is no harm in asking them since you can technically only apply payment to one account at a time, so you need to continue making your payment arrangements until you can make an offer to cover all accounts at once (you will need to make offers for each account).

Granted, you don't have as much leverage now that you agreed to a payment arrangement with them. So they will less likely give you that "less than 50%" discount now that they know you have been able to pay over time, and probably agreed to pay them close to if not the full balance. Negotiating for a lot less works better if you are not in a payment arrangement.

In short you will need to negotiate EACH account while maintaining payment arrangements for the others or until you can make an offer for ALL accounts with each collector separately on the same call. And yes, you should speak with them on the phone since negotiating with a debt collector is fluid...you will probably get a NO on your first offer, especially if you are already on a payment arrangement. Email and Mail are a waste of time, and they will probably remind you that you "signed" a contract for the payment arrangement...and chat will probably have very canned responses as well.

Thank you for your quick and detailed response. I thought I may have some issues since I have entered arrangements with them. My thought process was that they can have a lump sum from me now or wait another 5 years or so to be paid in full. I am not sure how they may view this. For example, with the amounts I paid already and now offer (for example), 25% of the current balances due, PRA would have received a total of about 50% of the original balances. If I go to 40% of balances due closer to 60%, and if I can get 50%, then they would be in the mid 60% of the original balance.

My payment arrangements are somewhat low right now ($150/mo to Midland and about $70/mo to PRA). I am wanting to negotiate these if they will because of some medical issues I have that will limit my income for a period of time. I know they don't want to hear my story, just hopeful I can get the right people to speak with me. I do have 1 other with Midland that I did go to court on and was able to negotiate down and a $20/mo payment. When I contacted that law firm, they offered a 26% discount. I may counter that offer to see what happens.

Re: Help with how to negotiate

Michizane — Sun, 02 May 2021 16:37:11 GMT

@Knight302 wrote:
@Michizane wrote:
Can't speak for Midland, but I have 2 settled collections with Portfolio Recovery. Since you are in a payment arrangement with all those accounts, you have technically "signed" an agreement to pay off the account at a certain amount for a certain amount of time. There is no harm in asking them since you can technically only apply payment to one account at a time, so you need to continue making your payment arrangements until you can make an offer to cover all accounts at once (you will need to make offers for each account).

Granted, you don't have as much leverage now that you agreed to a payment arrangement with them. So they will less likely give you that "less than 50%" discount now that they know you have been able to pay over time, and probably agreed to pay them close to if not the full balance. Negotiating for a lot less works better if you are not in a payment arrangement.

In short you will need to negotiate EACH account while maintaining payment arrangements for the others or until you can make an offer for ALL accounts with each collector separately on the same call. And yes, you should speak with them on the phone since negotiating with a debt collector is fluid...you will probably get a NO on your first offer, especially if you are already on a payment arrangement. Email and Mail are a waste of time, and they will probably remind you that you "signed" a contract for the payment arrangement...and chat will probably have very canned responses as well.

Thank you for your quick and detailed response. I thought I may have some issues since I have entered arrangements with them. My thought process was that they can have a lump sum from me now or wait another 5 years or so to be paid in full. I am not sure how they may view this. For example, with the amounts I paid already and now offer (for example), 25% of the current balances due, PRA would have received a total of about 50% of the original balances. If I go to 40% of balances due closer to 60%, and if I can get 50%, then they would be in the mid 60% of the original balance.

My payment arrangements are somewhat low right now ($150/mo to Midland and about $70/mo to PRA). I am wanting to negotiate these if they will because of some medical issues I have that will limit my income for a period of time. I know they don't want to hear my story, just hopeful I can get the right people to speak with me. I do have 1 other with Midland that I did go to court on and was able to negotiate down and a $20/mo payment. When I contacted that law firm, they offered a 26% discount. I may counter that offer to see what happens.

Depends on the CA, but Portfolio Recovery will have no issue getting you into a payment plan for months to years if they get close to full balance from you. If they haven't received any money from you, then they might look at it as them getting something instead of nothing...which is why it is easier to negotiate for lesser older the debt, and if you havent made any arrangements. But If you tell them that your ability to pay this over time my be compromised, then depending on the person they might be willing to hear you out. I'll rephrase, they will always hear you out, they just might not agree to a deeply discounted offer.

Re: Help with how to negotiate

gdale6 — Sun, 02 May 2021 16:37:13 GMT

@Knight302 wrote:
@Michizane wrote:
Can't speak for Midland, but I have 2 settled collections with Portfolio Recovery. Since you are in a payment arrangement with all those accounts, you have technically "signed" an agreement to pay off the account at a certain amount for a certain amount of time. There is no harm in asking them since you can technically only apply payment to one account at a time, so you need to continue making your payment arrangements until you can make an offer to cover all accounts at once (you will need to make offers for each account).

Granted, you don't have as much leverage now that you agreed to a payment arrangement with them. So they will less likely give you that "less than 50%" discount now that they know you have been able to pay over time, and probably agreed to pay them close to if not the full balance. Negotiating for a lot less works better if you are not in a payment arrangement.

In short you will need to negotiate EACH account while maintaining payment arrangements for the others or until you can make an offer for ALL accounts with each collector separately on the same call. And yes, you should speak with them on the phone since negotiating with a debt collector is fluid...you will probably get a NO on your first offer, especially if you are already on a payment arrangement. Email and Mail are a waste of time, and they will probably remind you that you "signed" a contract for the payment arrangement...and chat will probably have very canned responses as well.

Thank you for your quick and detailed response. I thought I may have some issues since I have entered arrangements with them. My thought process was that they can have a lump sum from me now or wait another 5 years or so to be paid in full. I am not sure how they may view this. For example, with the amounts I paid already and now offer (for example), 25% of the current balances due, PRA would have received a total of about 50% of the original balances. If I go to 40% of balances due closer to 60%, and if I can get 50%, then they would be in the mid 60% of the original balance.

My payment arrangements are somewhat low right now ($150/mo to Midland and about $70/mo to PRA). I am wanting to negotiate these if they will because of some medical issues I have that will limit my income for a period of time. I know they don't want to hear my story, just hopeful I can get the right people to speak with me. I do have 1 other with Midland that I did go to court on and was able to negotiate down and a $20/mo payment. When I contacted that law firm, they offered a 26% discount. I may counter that offer to see what happens.

Be careful that you dont over extend yourself as once you agree to new payments the SOL resets. Make sure you can live up to the agreement or take it out in a lump sum.

Re: Help with how to negotiate

Knight302 — Sun, 02 May 2021 17:05:14 GMT

Agreed. My intention is not to have any more payment arrangements. The intention is to make a lump sum offer as a settlement at once to get them as paid in full for less than the full balance and deleted.

Re: Help with how to negotiate

Knight302 — Sat, 08 May 2021 08:13:59 GMT

So an update to what I have been able to do so far. Michael was right! Midland is a pain in the hinder most physique to deal with once you have already entered a payment plan with them (I had been paying them $150 per month spread across 3 accounts).

Anyway, here is what I have been able to do:

Portfolio Recovery

- Settled the $1152 balance for 58% ($668)

- Settled the $2,669 balance for 53% ($1414)

Cavalry Portfolio

- Settled and $892 balance for 50% ($446)

Midland

- Settled the $684.78 balance for 64% ($438)

Midland is unwilling to budge on the other 2 accounts of $1415 and $1952. They said the best they can do is a discount of 10% to consider it PIF. They said I entered into a payment plan with them and I must honor it. I told them I would take my $3,000 and pay another collection or two and just stay on my $150 per month plan. When I said that, they did offer another 5% off to pay the lump sum if I paid it immediately. I told them no thank you. I mean, I can just make my payments and better use the larger amount elsewhere.

Here is what I have remaining and will be working with over the next week (excluding Midland):

Portfolio

- Still owe $1,468 from an original balance of $1,953.50. May call and negotiate that one

- Have one for $265 that I swear I do not owe (see my original post for details on that one). What would you suggest here?

- have one for $4290 that I have my attorney on right now (Weber and Olcese filed this one). Trying to get it dismissed with prejudice for numerous inaccuracies.

- Have one I have been paying $75/month on. Still owe roughly $2,000 but I negotiated that one down about $1,600 when I went to court. May pay it, not sure.

Wakefield and Associate:

- $1,390. I have never dealt with them, has anyone here? This one is from an ambulance ride in 2019. The ambulance service originally took my insurance information but never filed it. I had assumed they did but I guess not as this now shows up. Not sure what to do here.

LNVV Funding -

- Before I started negotiating, I may be stuck paying this one. Original amount was $2741. I entered an arrangement for $50/mo. Do you think they will now negotiate for a lesser amount?

JHPDE

- I have not received anything from this company. I now see it on my credit report for $3,389. Has anyone dealt with this company before? I can't find a website for them.

Thanks in advance for your response. These boards have been helpful to me.

Re: Help with how to negotiate

Anonymous — Sat, 08 May 2021 13:57:37 GMT

Nice work so far!

For Wakefield and Associates I would recommend contacting the OC and see if insurance can be rebilled.

@gdale6 always recommends these steps for medical collections.

1. Call the OC and see if insurance can be billed, (or-rebilled), collections ultimately paid by insurance get removed per new rules that came from CRAs settlement with 22 state AGs. If not then
2. see if you qualify for Charity Care, if not then
3. ask that they recall the collection in exchange for full payment
4. Send the reporting CA a PFD offer
5. Google the HIPAA Process and contact its creator for help, this process cannot be discussed in any forum of myFico.

As for JHPDE this is what I found out - "JHPDE Finance I, llc is a buyer of defaulted debts, such as old credit card debts originally owed to Citibank and other creditors. It appears that JHPDE Finance 1, LLC is a relatively young entity, registered in Delaware in Novemeber 2017. However, it may be associated with well-known debt buyer, JH Portfolio Debt Equities, LLC, as it appears that there are accounts that are transferred between those companies." Couldn't locate a website or much else.

Now for Comenity - C/O balance is $265. I believe you in regards to what happen but you are still responsible for that account. Lots of members on here are adamant about making sure people check on their accounts that have fees when they close them and continue to check them 1, 2, 3 months after closure to make sure they are closed and no hidden/sneaky fees are posted to the account.

Re: Help with how to negotiate

Knight302 — Sat, 27 Nov 2021 11:09:31 GMT

Just a quick update. I had to change my original strategy and update what I have been able to do.

Midland's payment did not go through. I made a mistake with my bank routing number so that is my fault. I just settled with them about 2 weeks ago. For 3 accounts I owed around $3,200. I agreed to settle for a lump sum of $2,600. Now just waiting for them to update. I have 1 account still showing with them that is with Cooling and Winter. I owe $900 on that and they have offered to settle for $600 which I may take.

JHPDE sued. I filed my response. The day after I filed my response, I received a letter from the courts that was dated a week earlier than when I responded. The attorney they had it with had it dismissed with prejudice. I know what that means but about two weeks later I get an email from Cawley or something like that. This email stated that I could pay 50% to settle it. The email did not contain any wording that I could dispute it so I have sent this to my attorney and have heard nothing else from them.

I was able to settle the $4,290 Cap1 account with Portfolio for $1,000. That was awesome!

I disputed and won the dispute for the $265 with Portfolio. I provided all documents and payment receipts as well as proof that I closed the account while in good standing and had a $0 balance.

So I have been able to satisfy 5 of 10 collections. I am now waiting on them to be removed from my reports (I have settled these within the last month).

For now I am paying LNVV $50/mo. 1 still have the one with Portfolio that I am paying $20/mo on ($1,400 balance) but they have offered a settlement of $979 that I am considering. I am trying to get that to $750 and they said they will get back with me.

I hope to soon see just 1-3 on my report and will work on those.

Thanks for all your advice. Hope what I have posted helps someone with their negotiations as well.

-Frank

Re: Help with how to negotiate

FireMedic1 — Sat, 27 Nov 2021 11:43:38 GMT

Best part. PRC, Midland, and LVNV will be gone off your reports once its all said and done. So its something to look forward to. Good luck!

Re: Help with how to negotiate

Knight302 — Sat, 27 Nov 2021 12:54:11 GMT

I have also been able to increase my scores slightly to 592/613/602. I am hopeful I will see more increases after these come off

Re: Help with how to negotiate

OmarGB9 — Sat, 27 Nov 2021 17:38:17 GMT

Congrats on your successes!