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Hey all,
So I have a collection with PR. It's the only one so I anticipate a pretty decent score bump once it is removed. They previously had an offer on their website for 50% as a settlement.
So I emailed, then had to chat, and tried to offer 30%. They basically said to call, they can't negotiate over email or chat.
That was like 2 weeks ago and today I log on, and the settlement is only 60% now. They actually raised it! Anyone ever hear of them doing this? I guess they're annoyed with my previous offers?
I chatted again today and got them down to 55%. I suppose I'll just have to call them. The full amount is $2750 for Capital One. It's just over 4 years since DOFD and past the SoL here now. I'm helping that will help me. From reading threads here, some settle with them for 30% but most can only get 40-50%. We'll see.
It all depends on the account. One thing sure is PRA will delete the collection once it is settled and paid. It is up to you to decide what amount is worth the peace of mind. Over the years I had about 7 accounts with PRA and I settled and paid and they are gone from my reports. You decide what you think it is worth.
As @Red1Blue stated... it depends on what you feel getting rid of the debt is worth to you.
Several people who settled for 30-40% had significant late fees and interest added to the original debt. If that is the case with you, you could try negotiating for the actual debt without added lates/fees/interest.
In my personal opinion, if the debt is truly yours and you have the money to pay it (not make payments)... it's worth whatever they ask to have it removed.
I also understand most collection agency's have extra fees included in what they are trying to collect that could make it difficult to pay in full.
Don't forget that if you settle you may get 1099s from PRA for the original debt less the settlement amount. I know I did.
If it was months away from the SOL. Thats when some get the lowest payoff % as a last ditch effort. The newer, the higher the offer % is. PRA will sue if your under the SOL. Get it in the past and life moves on.
With PRA in my experience the discount level is all about the age of the debt.
Once you are past SOL they are banking on the time left till 7 past DOFD and that you will seek credit in that time period.
The closer you get to date it will fall the more likely they may reduce it further.
I will chime in that 50 or there about is not a bad offer considering ... the way I look at it is the amount you legally owe is twice that.
The offer on their website can and will fluctuate but typically not less than 50 percent and their willingness to accept anything less than 50 will likely not come until it is near the date it will fall off:
I just passed the SOL so that must be why they lowered the discount. I always assumed it would work the opposite way. They can't even sue now so I figured they'd take what they can get, within reason. Weird.
I'll give them a call and see how it goes.
No, it's passed the SOL. I thought I'd have a better settlement AFTER it passed which is why I didn't take the 50% offer. I see a lot of people have got down to at least 40% after SoL so I'm going to start at 30 and try to negotiate to that.
I can't see myself going higher than that. I have one last charge off that needs paid which I could get taken care of for that same amount. So if they won't budge, I'll move on to them I suppose.
I'll update the thread after I call. Thanks for the reply!
Yeah that's the only reason I've prioritized this one, because they'll delete and it's my last collection. I still have 1 more charge off that needs paid though so if they won't play ball, I'll take care of the charge off and wait a bit I suppose.
Update:
I called today. I asked the guy if they could go any lower than the offer on the website. He said they could do like $1385. I said I can't and he asked what I could do. I said I have $900 set aside to work with. He then "checked with his boss" and came back with $1320 which is 48%. I again, declined. He was saying, "well this is less than half" (yeah including all the ridiculous nonsense fees lol).
I again told him I literally don't have that much but I appreciated him trying. I was very polite the whole time and so was he. He offered payments over 24 months which is laughable bc it'll almost be ready to fall off by then. So we ended the call there.
I kinda screwed up by not giving a counter offer. I would've done $1000. Guess I should've tried that so maybe I'll call again tomorrow and see how that goes. Or maybe I should've started my initial offer lower. I dunno, I'm terrible at haggling and negotiating! I rely on just being nice and I kinda play dumb, that's worked for me before. So if anyone has advice, let me know haha.