Pay For Delete Help.

[Anonymous]

I sent pay for delete letters for three collections on my report as well as three collections on my wife's report.

All letters were sent return receipt and all were delivered.

We received a response from one of my wife's collection agencies and they are removing that account from her reports without payment.

The remaining five have not responded.

The letters were received by 6/8/17

This is the letter sent to all CA's

Your Name

Your Address

Your City, State Zip

Collector’s Name

Collector’s Address

Collector’s City, State Zip

Date

Re: Account Number XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

Dear Collection Manager:

This letter is in response to your [letter / call / credit report entry] on [date] related to the debt referenced above. I wish to save us both some time and effort by settling this debt.

Please be aware that this is not an acknowledgment or acceptance of the debt, as I have not received any verification of the debt. Nor is this a promise to pay and is not a payment agreement unless you provide a response as detailed below.

I am aware that your company has the ability to report this debt to the credit bureaus as you deem necessary. Furthermore, you have the ability to change the listing since you are the information furnisher.

I am willing to pay [this debt in full / $XXX as settlement for this debt] in return for your agreement to remove all information regarding this debt from the credit reporting agencies within ten calendar days of payment.

If you agree to the terms, I will send certified payment in the amount of $XXX payable to [Collection Agency] in exchange to have all information related to this debt removed from all of my credit files.

If you accept this offer, you also agree not to discuss the offer with any third-party, excluding the original creditor. If you accept the offer, please prepare a letter on your company letterhead agreeing to the terms. This letter should be signed by an authorized agent of [Collection Agency]. The letter will be treated as a contract and subject to the laws of my state.

As granted by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I have the right to dispute this alleged debt. If I do not receive your postmarked response within 15 days, I will withdraw the offer and request full verification of this debt.

Please forward your agreement to the address listed above.

Sincerely,

Your Name

So based on this information what should my next step be?

Thank you.

[rmduhon]

They aren't required to respond. And if it has been more than 30 since receiving a dunning notice they don't have to respond to that either, unless you are in a state with enhanced DV requirements. Did you receive a dunning notice and if so, when did you receive it?

[RobertEG]

The most likely reason for the deletion of the one collection is that they no longer have collection authority and had failed to update their reporting.

CRA policy instructs debt collectors to delete if they lose collection authority and the debt remains unpaid.  The reason for that policy is to thereafter prevent two simultaneous collections reporting on the same debt if/when another debt collector obtains collection authority and reports.

As for your letter, I would not have imposed the requirments of the last two paragraphs.  They complicate without serving any substantive purpose on your end.

Technically, your offer expired after 15 days, and thus you self-destructed your own terms.

[wa3more]

too long. Take out stuff like reference to FDCPA and they have ability to report certain ways. they know the laws.

[rmduhon]

@wa3more the letter was already sent earlier this month

[wa3more]

ah... ok. My fault for reading fast and not paying attentiion to the dates.

[rmduhon]

It happens.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the replies.

Should I try again with a more gentle approach or am I dead in the water here?

[Anonymous]

Got another response from another PFD letter.

CA agreed to settle for 30% less than the amount owed.

The first page says the original credtior reviewed the account and is willing to accept a discounted amount.

There was also a second letter attached to this.

The letter states:

While it is against our policy to offer "pay for deletion" arrangements to consumers, we will consider accepting such offers from consumers if doing so may best serve to prevent the further escalation of an already disputed matter. We wish to remind you, however, that you should not pay a balance which you do not owe. Instead we ask that you work with our office and the original creditor to determine wether there has been an error made with respect to your account.

If you do not wish to dispute the balance and, instead, wish to proceed making your payment, please sign this letter below and return it to our office along with your check for the remaining balance.

Sincerely,

Credit Management,LP-Accounts Resolution Department

There is also a waiver and release at the bottom of the page that reads:

I, the undersigned, hereby waive any rights that I may have to dispute the above-referenced account.

Instead, I offer the enclosed check as payment of the account with the understanding that Credit Management, LP will, in turn, submit a deletion request to each of the credit bureaus where they reported my account. I release Credit Management. LP from any liabilty arising from or pertaining to their collection efforts and credit report.

Signature                                                                                                                        Date

From reading the waiver I'm taking it as they are going to delete the account for payment and it's their way of covering themselves.

What do you guys think about this?

Thank you.

[medicgrrl]

Sounds like they're accepting your PFD request.