Barclays says I still have balance after settlement with collection agency??

[Anonymous]

Hi 👋

I need help understanding an issue I’m having with a charged off Barclays credit card, please.

I had a Barclays credit card that went into charge off status and was sent to a collection agency. My balance was $3,326 and I “settled for less than the full amount” with the collections agency for $2,500. Less than ideal for my credit, but it had settled the debt. Or, so I thought.

My credit reports show “settled less than the full balance” but Barclays says I still have a balance of $826!!! I called Barclays and they explained that I settled the debt so that I would stop receiving attempts to collect, and because I settled the balance for less than the full amount, the CC still had the leftover balance remaining.

This makes no sense to me!! Doesn’t settled for less than the full amount mean the account has been settled and should update to $0??

I made the settlement just over a month ago. I would like to submit my settlement letter to the credit reporting agencies so that my account can be updated to $0, as I’m hoping to get a mortgage ASAP but that balance is holding me back. The only issue with sending the settlement letter is that it states that I should allow 60+ Days to update on my accounts.

What the heck?? Do I still have a balance with Barclays??

Any insight is appreciated!

[kiea]

If Barclays sold the debt to the collections agency then they don't own it anymore therefore they cannot collect anything from you. It doesn't sound right.

The Barclays account should show a zero balance/ charge off status on your reports. Any balance you have should be with the collection agency.

[RobertEG]

If they clearly accepted the lower payment as full satisfaction of the debt, then the debt balance is now legally $0.

File a formal dispute contesting the continued showing of a balance, and if they verify the accuracy, you can then file a civil action and get it reviewed by the courts. 

You must first file a formal dispute via the CRA and get their verificaiton before you are permitted to bring civil action, so get a dispute in the mail and get their determination on the dispute.   See FCRA 623(c).

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your guidance in this!

I filed a formal dispute with all 3 CRAs and Barclays updated the balance to $0. The status stills says CO, but the notes say settled for less/paid.

Round one success! Next round is to get the entire TL deleted. 🤞