@Anonymous wrote:
Hello! I am looking for some advice in regard to an old charged off Target Red Card. I have paid off thousands of dollars of debt stemming from a very contentious divorce. I have inched my credit back over the 700 mark. I received a letter the other day from a collection agency named ERC in regard to an old Target Red Card offering a settlement for 250 dollars. They have not reported a collection on my credit *knock on wood* and I don't want them to. Does anyone have any advice as to how to best deal with this? Thank you in advance.
I'd mail in something like this, certified mail return receipt:
Re: Target Red Card Collection Settlement for $250
To Whom It May Concern:
This letter is to inform you that the validity of this debt is disputed and it is written without prejudice. Nothing contained in this letter shall be used against me in any legal proceedings.
This letter is in regard to a Target Red Card settlement proposal received from your company for $250 to settle this account in full.
Looking to completely resolve this balance on this account I'm willing to accept this settlement and provide the proposed sum of $250 as full payment on the debt with the exclusive provision that this account is not reported to the credit reporting agencies. Alternatively, if it has been reported already, you agree to the immediate deletion of this account from all credit reporting agencies within 10 days of receipt of payment .
The acceptance of the payment will serve as a complete discharge of all monies due, and you agree to consider the debt paid in full and agree to not take further action to collect on the alleged debt. The payment shall be made in the form of a cashier's check or money order. You agree, in writing, to designate the account as “payment in full” once you are in receipt of the agreed upon payment amount.
This compromise is expressly conditioned upon the payments made in one single installment payment of $250 with the payment being received by or before October 1st, 2020.
If you agree to the above terms, please prepare a letter on your company letterhead explicitly agreeing to the same terms as the above settlement offer and have it signed by an authorized representative of your company. It will be implied that this letter shall constitute a legally binding contract, enforceable under the laws of my state.
I’m very thankful for your willingness to work together with me to come up to a solution to this. It’s very difficult with the current job situation for me to execute this payment so I hope you can appreciate this effort. The purpose of this settlement is merely to prevent this item from reporting on my credit files. It is not to be construed as an acknowledgment of liability for this debt in any form.
Please provide a written settlement offer with the aforementioned terms from an authorized representative on your company letterhead so we can finalize this agreement. I look forward to resolving this matter quickly.
Sincerely,
