I just found out yesterday I have a balance of $456.45 on QVC purchase from July 2015. Honestly I had totally forgotten about it. Fortunately, the collections is NOT reporting on my CR and neither QVC or the collections agency (JH Portfolio Debt Mgt) is reporting it. JH sent me a settlement offer for 30% off for paying $319.42 to close it. I asked for the offer in writing and the rep told me she could not provide me a written statement so I lost my temper (I hate being lied to!). Nonetheless, I immediately called QVC to see if I could pay them directly and the rep had to contact headquarters to request permission to take my payment. I mentioned the settlement offer but I was told to wait 5 days. The issue here is I don't want to resurrect this on my CR and cause damage to my score but I also want to pay off the debt so I can move forward. The last date of activity for this account was 8/10/15. My question is, any advice on the best path forward?
I see a few options:
- pay QVC in full $456.45 or ask if they can accept the same settlement offer as their collector for $319.42 - request in writing that they continue NOT report it to the beaureau and ask for it in writing
- pay JH collector the settlement offer of $319.42 and ask them not to report it and request a manager put it in writing
Is there a benefit to pay the actual servicer (QVC) instead of the collector? If I do that, can the collector still try to collect later?
Any insights would be most appreciated!
