In my opinion, oral negotiations are preferable, as they can act to resolve issues that back and forth written communications might not.
However, having said that, I would offer caution in your case.
When speaking with a debt collector, you can harm yourself by saying the wrong thing.
Your intent to acknowledge the debt, for example, is the wrong thing to say, which gives me some concern about calling them.
In some states, acknowledgement of debt can reset your statute of limitations. You never know if or when legal action might arise, and you dont want to shoot a possible SOL defense in the head.
