ARS Collection for Chase....CONFUSED!

Anonymous · ‎05-09-2013

I received a letter from a collection agency, ARS National Svcs, offering a settlement of about 50% of the original debt.

The letter says, "After receipt of your final payment, Chase Bank will notifiy a national credit bureau that you have resolved your account. Chase Bank is required by the IRS to provide information about certain amounts that are discharged as a result of a cancellation of a debt on a form 1099C. If Chase is required to notify the IRS, you will receive a copy of the form 1099C that is filed with the IRS."

I received my first letter from ARS in April and just received the second letter in May (with the settlement offer). When looking at my CR, Chase is the showing my account as a charge off, but ARS has not reported to any of the 3 Credit Bureaus.

I planned on sending a letter requesting a PFD for a little over the settlement amount prior to receiving the 2nd letter. I'm so confused about what to do and who to contact (ARS or CHASE). I'm kind of concerned since they may report it to the IRS if I settle.

What's the best way to handle this so it will not hurt my credit score any more than it is. Is it better to just pay off the complete amount ($1555) opposed to the settlement amount? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!

**I just realized that I can't request a PFD to the Collection Agency if they haven't reported to the Bureaus yet. Should I just contact Chase. the last activity on the account was in 2010

Anonymous · ‎05-10-2013

You can send the CA a modified PFD asking not to report for payment.

A PIF is always better if you can. You won't run the risk of having their TL showing settled for less which is not good.

If you did settle, I would do it so that Chase cannot send a 1099-C. Anything $600 or over is required to be sent to the IRS and you would have to claim it as income and pay taxes on it.

If Chase is showing a balance they still own the debt. I would contact them and work something out.

Anonymous · ‎05-10-2013

Thank you for the reply. I contacted Chase this morning to verify the account is still with them and it is. I was told that I can still pay Chase but it will take about 30 to 45 days before the CA is notified that the account is PIF. I just wanted to make sure that the Collection account does not show up on my CR.

Anonymous · ‎05-10-2013

You always run that risk when the creditor reports it to the CA.

You could contact the CA and ask to pay them for not reporting. I would get it in writing before giving money though.

RobertEG · ‎05-10-2013

+1

I see benefit in making payment through the debt collector as opposed to directly to the OC.

Only the debt collector can address issues as to their own reporting. Try to get a pay for not reporting agreement with them.

Rain77 · ‎05-11-2013

@Anonymous wrote:

I received a letter from a collection agency, ARS National Svcs, offering a settlement of about 50% of the original debt.
The letter says, "After receipt of your final payment, Chase Bank will notifiy a national credit bureau that you have resolved your account. Chase Bank is required by the IRS to provide information about certain amounts that are discharged as a result of a cancellation of a debt on a form 1099C. If Chase is required to notify the IRS, you will receive a copy of the form 1099C that is filed with the IRS."
I received my first letter from ARS in April and just received the second letter in May (with the settlement offer). When looking at my CR, Chase is the showing my account as a charge off, but ARS has not reported to any of the 3 Credit Bureaus.
I planned on sending a letter requesting a PFD for a little over the settlement amount prior to receiving the 2nd letter. I'm so confused about what to do and who to contact (ARS or CHASE). I'm kind of concerned since they may report it to the IRS if I settle.
What's the best way to handle this so it will not hurt my credit score any more than it is. Is it better to just pay off the complete amount ($1555) opposed to the settlement amount? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!

**I just realized that I can't request a PFD to the Collection Agency if they haven't reported to the Bureaus yet. Should I just contact Chase. the last activity on the account was in 2010

My experience with a CO off with Chase they still owned - I received notice from 2 CA's, neither reported collection activity to my CR. The Chase EO office gave me the number to their Internal Recovery Unit. I set up a monthly payment plan for the full amount with Chase, and they recalled the debt from the CA. The CA's never reported. I don't know if even after a debt is recalled if a CA can still report to show that at some point they did have collection authority. May be Guiness or Robert has the answer. Of course YMMV, but I'll PM you the Recovery Unit #.

Last HP 8/29/14

Anonymous · ‎05-11-2013

I called the CA (ARS Collection---My Rep was VERY VERY NICE!!!) and they verified that Chase still owns the account & they are not a credit reporting agency. They are just hired to collect payment from the consumer and report it back to Chase. From there, Chase will update my credit report as CO PIF. This is why I didn't see the CA on my CR (whew!! relieved!) I sent an authorized email request to have a PIF letter emailed to me, along with a hard copy to be mailed. I was told by both parties that the update could take anywhere from 30 to 60 days for my CR to be updated. The CA Rep suggested that since it could take a little longer on Chase's end to report it to the 3 CBs that I could mail my PIF letters to the 3 CR agencys. I should receive my email within 48 hrs.

Thank you all for the helpful posts! I will keep you updated on the final results.

Jon85 · ‎05-11-2013

I feel like out of all the CAs, ARS is one of the nicer ones... they were pleasant to deal with....last month I had two accounts reporting from them since 2011-12, and I offered to PFD over the phone and they accepted, and all the TLs were deleted from all my CRs in a few days...

Anonymous · ‎05-11-2013

I agree! I was definitely surprised at how pleasant they were. He gave a lot of good advice & told me to be sure to call him next week to follow up on my email. I wish all bill collectors were that easy to deal with!