topic Re: Chase Settles for 10%! in Rebuilding Your Credit

Chase Settles for 10%!

crrredit — Sat, 02 Jul 2022 00:03:39 GMT

I have two Chase charge offs that are way more than I could pay. They are there on my credit reports haunting me, but there's no collection agency reporting. I don't answer calls from 800 numbers I don't recognize, but I figured at least one of the callers is trying to collect on these accounts. But they never leave messages so I just cross my fingers and ignore them.

Then one day I start getting texts directly from Chase. Oh, crap. They say log in and view your options. For awhile I was too nervous to log in because I figured that would trigger more aggressive collection efforts, lawsuits, etc. And I knew I couldn't pay what they wanted. But one day I just grew a pair and logged in to see the damage. They were offering to settle for 10%! A $8.9K balance for $890. A $6K balance for $600. Man I jumped on that so fast and I was kinda shaking as I accepted and set up payments. I paid the $600 instantly and divided the other into two payments. Received the agreements via secured messages online, received payment confirmations. They've cleared my bank. I couldn't believe it. I know there will be a big tax hit next April but that will have me at around 30% total.

This experience gave me the confidence to reach out to Capital one to try to settle a $4.2K balance CO. They offered $2600 out of the gate. I countered with $2K and they split the difference with $2300 and up to 12 months to pay. I know this restarts the SOL but it's worth it. I was only 3 years in and the SOL is 6 years in my state. Plus, I was getting settlement offers from their law firm. I tried to counter offer with them but they just ignored me (I mailed them since they were mailing me.) I figured I was on borrowed time and this one was probably headed to court and I didn't want a judgement on my record.

Next up are two large collections, but they are with CAs that make it their policy to remove their reporting 30 days after they get paid. The Chase 10% offers put me in a position to be able to move forward with these. I want to set up payments with them, but I'm going to hold off until I'm sure I have Capital One taken care of. I haven't heard from either of the CAs so far, but I'm sure all these changes to my report will probably wake the giants.

If I did manage to get them off my report, I would be left with a measly $200 paid collection that refused to PFD. I even called the original creditor to see if they'd pull it back from the CA so I could pay them directly. They just said I could pay them or the CA but they weren't pulling it back so I could get it off my reports. It's for a utility though and I might move, and it needs to be paid so I can get electricity at the new place.

I went ahead and paid the CA for this one and miracles of miracles it's gone from all three reports. I gained 14 points on my Experian FICO when this was removed. Don't know about the other two; I'm not currently monitoring them except with free VantageScores.

thanks for listening...

So for the three accounts it comes out to about 19.8%, plus my taxes.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

gdale6 — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 15:54:19 GMT

If you are insolvent at the time of settling and a 1099-C is issued then you very well may not even have to pay taxes on it, there is a schedule to figure all this out before you just pay tax on the forgiven debt. Insolvent means unable to pay the entire debt off.... You got a fantastic deal out of Chase.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

crrredit — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 18:07:27 GMT

@gdale6 wrote:
If you are insolvent at the time of settling and a 1099-C is issued then you very well may not even have to pay taxes on it, there is a schedule to figure all this out before you just pay tax on the forgiven debt. Insolvent means unable to pay the entire debt off.... You got a fantastic deal out of Chase.

That's great to know. I'll definitely be looking into that! Thanks, gdale6.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

Greenivy — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 20:57:38 GMT

This awesome! I could only hope for 10%....hell 30% is a good option for me in my case. I'm scared to reach out to Capital One though, as I heard they are known to sue.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

crrredit — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 21:15:19 GMT

@Greenivy wrote:
This awesome! I could only hope for 10%....hell 30% is a good option for me in my case. I'm scared to reach out to Capital One though, as I heard they are known to sue.

I reached out to them because they already had lawyers reaching out to me. They sent me options in a letter that had the name of my local civil court. No filing or anything, just a scare tactic at this point. I checked the court docket online and I wasn't listed yet so I contacted Capital One directly. They gave me a slightly better deal than the best deal from the lawyers back in February. I tried to counter but the lawyers ignored my letter, then in a month sent me new offers that were all higher than the first. So things weren't going in the right direction and I had a bad feeling Cap One was the one that was going to court. My interaction with them was pleasant. No threats or insults or pressure. They offered, I countered, she "checked upstairs" and came back with an offer that split the difference and I accepted. I definitely didn't want to continue to leave it unresolved. I have a year to pay. If I have a good year I'm thinking about paying it in full if I can. My settlement offer is at 55%. Might be good to pay in full and keep Cap One as a future option. I checked the preapproval site and I'm preapproved for their secured cards.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

JM761 — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 22:38:26 GMT

Congrats on the settlement!

I also settled with Chase - about 13%, I think. $1200 for an $8700 CO. I probably could have gone a little lower but I didn't want to play the cat and mouse game with them any longer. I was so anxious I would be sued (I was sued by synchrony and only got about 65% settlement on that one - again, did it to get it over with b/c I was scared of garnishment). It's amazing how I started to sleep better after I paid - less freaking out at each unknown number calling me, less waking up worried in the middle of the night. For me, the extra ended up being worth it just so I could feel a bit more sane!

Congrats again - keep us posted on the CapOne!

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

crrredit — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 22:54:00 GMT

@JM761 wrote:
Congrats on the settlement!
I also settled with Chase - about 13%, I think. $1200 for an $8700 CO. I probably could have gone a little lower but I didn't want to play the cat and mouse game with them any longer. I was so anxious I would be sued (I was sued by synchrony and only got about 65% settlement on that one - again, did it to get it over with b/c I was scared of garnishment). It's amazing how I started to sleep better after I paid - less freaking out at each unknown number calling me, less waking up worried in the middle of the night. For me, the extra ended up being worth it just so I could feel a bit more sane!
Congrats again - keep us posted on the CapOne!

Yeah, hearing from lawyers definitely adds to the stress levels.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

JM761 — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 23:07:38 GMT

Yeah, hearing from lawyers definitely adds to the stress levels.

Definitely a lesson learned!!

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

DBDPharmD — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 04:16:35 GMT

Was that directly on their site? We owe almost the same amounts for 2 cards that we stopped paying when COVID killed my job but when I login it says I have to call some agency to take care of it.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

Chickenman71 — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 19:42:00 GMT

Chase settled for 10% for me as well. I seen I had an offer online but I called and spoke to a representative and they told me if I could pay today that they would settle for 10%. Can't beat that!!

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

crrredit — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 23:46:19 GMT

@DBDPharmD wrote:
Was that directly on their site? We owe almost the same amounts for 2 cards that we stopped paying when COVID killed my job but when I login it says I have to call some agency to take care of it.

Yes it was on their site. I got a text from them first that said to sign in and check out my options. There was no agency involved.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

crrredit — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 23:49:08 GMT

@Chickenman71 wrote:
Chase settled for 10% for me as well. I seen I had an offer online but I called and spoke to a representative and they told me if I could pay today that they would settle for 10%. Can't beat that!!

I had to pay each card with up to two monthly payments. I paid the first card with one payment and split the second card into two payments.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

DBDPharmD — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 20:35:11 GMT

I called MRS today to try and get my 24k balance worked out. Was hoping they would just say "yeah $2,400 and it is done" but they were not down with that. They did say they could do 20% so $4800 which is insane but I just don't have that right now so I said I would work on it. Hopefully, I can call back and offer $3000 and have them accept.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

JM761 — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 21:58:19 GMT

20% is a great deal but I totally understand why $4800 isn't feasible right now. It may take a while but keep calling.

When I called, they had sent me an offer of about 20%, I called and offered 10$. They asked me for 18% or so. Since it was around tax season I told them that I just got my taxes back and I could only give them what I got back in taxes - which was 13% ($1200). I said there's no way I could pay any more. They probably could have said "well pay $1200 now and payment plan the rest" but, forwhatever reason, they were ok with the $1200 and agreed to it. When you call again, you might want to try that route: I just got a bonus/taxes back, refund, etc - so they know this is extra and you want to give it to them. My CS rep seemed to appreciate it!

Good luck and keep us posted!

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

FISHintheTank — Mon, 04 Jul 2022 08:29:22 GMT

That's great to hear. I was in the same situations like you guys. BoA sued me and trying to place a judgment. It was $4k back in 2017. I was laying low and didn't answer the county judge calling for hearing. Ended up losing. I founded out that BoA can't place a judgment on my case in TX, but they kept reporting me over limits and that hurt my credit scores so badly. I finally settled for less at $2.1k. Did the same to Macy's(Citi) and Discover. I still owe Chase, not sure what to do. I still have my checking account with them and it shown the credit card account also. I was offered to pay $650 for 3k owed. The sent a secured letter saying that they won't sue me because the debt was so old, but they recommended me to pay. 2 more years until it removed. Should I wait until it drops off and pay them? I want to do business again with them in the future.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

crrredit — Mon, 04 Jul 2022 10:58:29 GMT

@FISHintheTank wrote:
That's great to hear. I was in the same situations like you guys. BoA sued me and trying to place a judgment. It was $4k back in 2017. I was laying low and didn't answer the county judge calling for hearing. Ended up losing. I founded out that BoA can't place a judgment on my case in TX, but they kept reporting me over limits and that hurt my credit scores so badly. I finally settled for less at $2.1k. Did the same to Macy's(Citi) and Discover. I still owe Chase, not sure what to do. I still have my checking account with them and it shown the credit card account also. I was offered to pay $650 for 3k owed. The sent a secured letter saying that they won't sue me because the debt was so old, but they recommended me to pay. 2 more years until it removed. Should I wait until it drops off and pay them? I want to do business again with them in the future.

I don't know how long Chase holds a grudge against someone who settled a charge off for less. I had a BOA charge off that I never settled back in 2008. It's been off my report for seven years. I've had my checking account with them for decades, since before they were BOA, even before they were NationsBank, and they've never let me get a card since. They even rejected me for a secure card. From a pure credit score standpoint, I don't see a reason to pay Chase unless the charge off is being updated with a balance every month and it's hurting you from the standpoint of having a maxed-out card. And lenders that look at your report will see unsettled debt which may get in the way of a mortgage or other loan. I've recently settled all my charge-offs, but none of them have reported the change yet. I'm interested in seeing what effect it has on my scores.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

DigitalNY — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 23:01:13 GMT

@crrredit wrote:
They even rejected me for a secure card.

There's no way to tell really how long any creditor or bank will hold a grudge, which really stinks! I had Navy Fed close a personal checking acct of mine due to having a $42 negative balance for 22 days. I got paid monthly at the time and was literally just waiting for my monthly deposit to hit, but they closed my acct before it could. Paid the negative balance back and they were fine with opening a new checking. That was in 2017. To this day I still get denied by Navy Fed for even secured cards because of "previous negative relationship" with the bank.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

crrredit — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 23:25:04 GMT

I understand I screwed up with BOA, but they haven't been perfect either. They once mailed me a new debit card for no reason. The one I had wasn't close to expiring. I happened to be out of town and someone stole the new card and started using it. They sent me an active card!. Getting my money back was a nightmare. I opened an investment account at Merrill and before I even had a chance to fund it their fraud department blocked the account. After a dozen calls, I finally gave up and opened an account somewhere else. That stupid Merrill account is still on my BOA homepage. It's been blocked and never funded for nine months! So, turnabout is fair play. I'm in the process of transitioning to a credit union. BOA won't give me a credit card, I won't give them my money to play with while they pay me a hundredth of a percent or whatever. Sorry, a bit off topic but I suddenly felt the need to vent, haha.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

FISHintheTank — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 06:00:09 GMT

I felt the same way when first opened a checking account with them and then the credit card. I wasn't blaming BoA. I'm blaming myself for being young and stupid at the time. I grew up in the house that doesn't use credit cards or know the values of credit. Lucky for me, I canceled the Amex Gold Card when I was 18. Applied, approved. Called in and they told me there's no limit, but must be paid in full. They even gave me an example. If you charge 10 thousands, you must PIF on or before the due date. My other credit card was Capital One platinum $200 limit with the Chinese letter design. I'm scared to be in debt with the Amex Gold, so I called and canceled. Anyway, I'm hoping this year flies fast. I can't wait for all the baddies to fall off the reports. And hopefully Chase or Citi opens up their arms again.

Re: Chase Settles for 10%!

wackajala — Sat, 08 Oct 2022 16:36:03 GMT

Greetings all - just did the same on my end. How much did settling with chase drop your credit score?