Settling for Less

[Anonymous]

My wife is a registered nurse. When she was a student, she signed a contract with a hospital and they gave her $2000 per semester until she graduated. We found out after she signed that the people that got into these contracts were forced to take the worst jobs in the hospital so we made up our minds that she wasn't going to work there when she graduated.

She graduated and hospital number one (the one that gave her the $2000) didn't utter a peep about their money. My wife went to work somewhere else and low and behold a collection account for $2500 popped up on her credit report.

I'd like to get this off and I have the money to pay it. Does anyone know of what to say to the collection agency in order to pay less than what they say is due? I will plead poverty or whatever else it takes to pay less. If anyone has the words to say, I would really appreciate it

Also, I want to make a stipulation when I pay that they take this off of her credit report. In other words a stipulation of our paying is that the negative comes off right away. Do collection agencies do this? If so, what should I say to them when I call?

[Tuscani]

PFD:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=generalcredit&message.id=2659

[illcrew3]

The first thing I would do is DV because you might not have to pay. If they validate the debt then PFD.

[Anonymous]

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illcrew3 wrote:

The first thing I would do is DV because you might not have to pay. If they validate the debt then PFD.

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Why DV a VALID account??? PFD approach is best here. Might be able to get the orginal $2k as the agreed upon amount...

Good Luck

Rob

[Anonymous]

First things first - stop calling them - communicate with them only in writing.  If you want to talk to them on the phone, and your state allows you to record phone conversations, record your phone conversations and let the CA know that you are recording the conversation.

Next two questions

- How old is the debt?  Is it recent (within 2 years) or is it older? 

- Who is the collection agency?

The time and the agency will give a relatively good indicator of whether the agency was hired by the hospital to collect the debt on the hospital's behalf or a portfolio buyer who purchases bad debts for pennies on the dollar.    Which action to take will depend on the CA's role in this debt.

Message Edited by JennLewis on 08-28-2007 09:30 AM

[illcrew3]

I would DV the account just incase they couldnt validate it and then save 2500 bucks.

[Anonymous]

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illcrew3 wrote:

I would DV the account just incase they couldnt validate it and then save 2500 bucks.

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That's not legal...

Rob

[Anonymous]

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FICO_Focused wrote:

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illcrew3 wrote:

I would DV the account just incase they couldnt validate it and then save 2500 bucks.

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That's not legal...

Rob

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Not only that, illcrew3, it doesn't make the debt go away.   If the CA can't validate it, they can't report it.  HOWEVER, they will sell the debt to another portfolio buyer, which is what they are allowed to do, and they'll have to do this all over again.  On top of that, unscrupulous JDBs who are notorious for tacking on outrageous (and sometimes illegal) fees are suing debtors who are doing DVs.  

The original poster mentioned that he wants to pay this debt and he wants to make a deal where it will be to his wife's advantage. 

I'm still interested in the age of the debt and who the collector is.  I'm guessing that it may be a portfolio buyer since the CA is showing up on the credit report, so a PFD for the original amount ($2000) is best, along with assurance that the CA will cease further collection activity on the remaining balance AND the CA will not sell the remaining balance to other JDBs.

[Anonymous]

How is it not legal? The original debt was $2000. Now there is a collection on her report for $2500. How does he know what the collection is really for? Just because he THINKS it might be for this money his wife was given doesn't mean that is what that CA is actually trying to collect for.

If he states in the letter that he will make arrangements to pay this debt as soon as the validity of the claim is proven, that is 100% legal. He's not trying to hide behind anything or get out of paying the debt.

If I was going to send somebody $2000 you're darn right I would make sure the CA was entitled to collect on behalf of somebody I actually owed money to. What happens if another CA pops up on his wife's CR after he just sends this CA $2000?

[illcrew3]

I had an unpaid collection deleted over a year ago and it has not come back to bite me. I also retained the letter the CA sent me saying they can not validate the debt and have no record that it belongs to me. We will see what happens.