Letter from a CA. Should I trust it?

[Anonymous]

I sent a letter to settle a debt for a lesser amount and also have it removed from my credit. In return, I received a signed (not stamped) letter on company letterhead stating this:

"Please be advised that we received your request for settlement in full on the above-mentioned account. We are not able to accept your offer. You may pay the account in full or make payments. When payment has been received in full, we will remove the account from your credit history. Please call me for payment arangements."

I am definately willing to pay this account in full and have it taken out of my credit history. It's for a small amount but I wanted first to see if she would settle for less. Should I take the letter at face value and believe she will follow through with the deleting of my account? I have an experience with something else not related to my credit, but in short a car dealership isn't following through with what they promised, even though I have the promise on paper. Maybe I'm over cautious .

[llecs]

Once bitten; twice shy?

I'd trust it, but never have been bitten.

[Anonymous]

If they are willing to negotiate, and debt you owe is small, why not PIF?? Just to get this off CR.

If so, I would write another letter telling them you will PIF with certified funds, If they agree to delete info from all major CRA's within 5 days of receipt of funds. If these terms for agreement for payment are acceptable with CA, tell them they must give you written letter agreeing to these terms,  prior to payment being sent.

Remember, as long as you haven't paid you retain the upper hand in negotiations.

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

They already stated they'd delete when the account was PIF'd. I am more than willing to send them a cashiers check for the full amount. What I meant to say is: Should I trust the letter that they will delete the account completely? (And not just update it to *paid* status)

She asked for a call, but I'd rather correspond through letters. It's the paper trail that I want to back me up if I need it.

[Anonymous]

IMO, I think the response they gave was not really stated as clearly as I would like. Have them write again stating they will delete from all majors CRA's upon receipt of certified funds. That way you have something to send to CRA's        PROTECT YOURSELF FIRST AND FOREMOST!! 

I never do anything with CA accept in writing, This way you always have a paper trail. SAVE EVERYTHING !, even after dispute is resolved. You never know if you may have to address it in the future.

[Anonymous]

Here is a copy of the letter I am writing in response. How does it look?

Dear xxxx,

Thank you for your correspondance in regards to my settlement offer. I am willing to pay this account in full if you agree to immediate deletion of this account from any and all credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). The purpose of this settlement is to have this item removed from my credit files. It is not to be construed as an acknowledgment of liability for this debt in any form.

If you agree to the terms and accept this agreement, certified funds for the full amount of $215.00 will be sent to Apex Asset Management in exchange for full deletion of ALL references regarding this account from my credit files and full satisfaction of the debt. As certified funds will be used for payment, there shall be no waiting period regarding the deletion of this account from the credit reporting agencies.

Apex Asset Management agrees to delete ALL information regarding this account completely and permanently from the credit reporting agencies WITHIN TEN CALENDAR (10) DAYS following receipt of payment as specified above and will not discuss the terms of this settlement with anyone, excluding your client on this account. If contacted by any third party, including credit-reporting agencies, Apex Asset Management will not acknowledge that any settlement offer was made, accepted or executed and will, in fact, deny knowledge of any such account.

If you agree to the above terms, please prepare a letter on your company letterhead explicity agreeing to and stating that FULL, COMPLETE, and PERMANENT DELETION of every reference of this account on my my credit reports will take effect. It should also agree to the same terms as the above settlement offer and be signed by an authorized representative of Apex Asset Management. It will be implied that this letter shall constitute a legally binding contract, enforceable under the laws of NJ.

Your response must be postmarked no later than 15 days from your receipt of this settlement offer or this offer will be withdrawn and I will request full validation of this alleged debt, as provided for by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

[Anonymous]

sounds good  but make them sign it!!!!   is the OC  still reporting?

[Anonymous]

The credit report shows the CA (Apex), with a subheading for the Allergist I owe to