How much would your lowball offer to negotiate a settlement be?

[peacecindia]

My fear of an astronomical interest rate stopped me from calling a debt collector.

I mean it has been 2672 days since I was sued in court by the debt collector's

lawyers, Cohen & Slamowitz for PRA. (Creeps who forced the sale of my Yahoo stock

and didn't list that in court papers.)

A few things have been very helpful in soothing my fear of the unknown.

I hope it will help others to know what they are.

#1 I went to our county clerk and got a copy of my default judgement.

#2 I found a judgement calculator online where you can type in the age of the judgement,

your state's interest rate and the debt amount to arrive at the total amount of debt

you owe.

Just Google 'judgement interest calculator'

#3 I found a percentage calculator online and typed in 9% NY State interest rate.

c a r i n s u r a n c e d a t a   dot  o r g

*You can find your state's interest/usury rate online.

I was able to calculate the interest on my debt amount using percentages from

10% to 95% arriving at a variety of possible settlement amounts.

For example:

I owe $11944.00

10% =1194.00

25%=2986.00

40%=4777.00 

Numbers ease my worries and give me some confidence that I'm

capable of negotiating with a debt collector for a settlement amount

and a satisfaction of judgement letter. I need that letter to show the court

proof of settlement/payment.

 What percentage do you think I should make as a lowball offer to start the process?

Orginal amount was $6682.

Lawyer's Fees was $517.50

Total $7200

Plus 9% interest $11,944.

[capricornchanges]

So it’s been 7 yrs since the judgement?

[Anonymous]

I would start at 3k , 50 % of original amount. See what they say  they will file with court so you don’t have to do anything 

If if you were not served properly it would be too late to argue that. Unfortunately in New York , money judgments are good for 20 years 

[Anonymous]

You are correct money judgments are good for 20 years, but incorrect regarding it being too late to argue improper service.
New York has OSC’s where you can argue that, even 7 years after the fact. Not saying you will have an easy time winning, but you will get your “day in court.”

[Anonymous]

Yes I agree that he still has recourse after 7 years. But he has an uphill battle and needs a real good reason in order to show cause like he was in a coma or out of the country for 7 years. I know others who have failed with real solid explanations. But it is possible. 

[Anonymous]

Forgot to add. I agree he he should try to vacate first if service or paperwork was improper. Then do low ball offer 

[Anonymous]

As an attorney, criminal prosecutor, not civil, I negotiate daily. So while “low-balling” is expected, back-and-Forth ad nauseum is counter-productive. Another factor to consider is whether you’ll off a one-time cash payment or a payment plan. If “one time,” you’ve got a much better chance at keeping it lower than if paying over time.

Having said that, my first offer would be $6K (roughly 50% including interest). If rejected, my next offer would be the original judgment amount plus attorney fees, $7200, essential asking for interest to be waived. If that too is rejected, I wouldn’t hold out much hope for a “negotiated settlement.”

This far down the road, whomever that amount was owed has surely written it off as a loss. I’m surprised the judgment has not been filed and a lien imposed and any state, federal tax refunds or wages garnished as offsets.

Good luck, hope to see an update posted with your results.

[Anonymous]

I had 3 judgements I settled for 50% of the judegment. I was prepared to pay the 50% in full if they agreed, no payment plans, which I think helped. 

[Anonymous]

I just went thru this process in NY to settle a 7 year old judgment. 

The reality is in these situation the debtor has no leverage. My original judgment was 4500 with interest totaled 

about 7k. I offered 2500 and we settled at the original 4500. The lawyer said with a 20 year time frame at some point people will need to resolve the issue and they were content to let it sit there. 

I think with a newer judgment , lump sum, a lower offer might work. 

[Anonymous]

Tt

mine was a default judgment I just had no defense. I never heard a word from anyone on this  so almost 8 years later when looking to refinance a property I needed to address this. 

I asked the attorney at the law firm why no attempt to garnish pay or levy or lien. He said all that stuff takes time. He also said with NY having the longest limit of 20 years in country probably ; they and their client were willing to let interest accrue at 9% . He also said most people in these situations have no leverage and are bad negotiators.