? about PFDs

[Anonymous]

I have 4 medical collections, that I am going to try and start getting deleted.

I see people recommend mail, phone, and e-mail.

If the CAs won't give you a verbal confirmation by letter, then whats the point of sending letters?

I plan to pay the cheapest first and move up.

Which way should I contact these CAs?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have 4 medical collections, that I am going to try and start getting deleted.

I see people recommend mail, phone, and e-mail.

If the CAs won't give you a verbal confirmation by letter, then whats the point of sending letters?

I plan to pay the cheapest first and move up.

Which way should I contact these CAs?

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It might be easier to list who the collections are with and I'm sure some people here could recommend the most appropriate path.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

To get it on someone's desk that doesn't work the phones, like the CEO.

[Anonymous]

The collections are from:

Sca Collections

Physicians Business Bureau

COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL

[Remedios]

Here is a great suggestion by gdale on handling medical debt, I'll paste it below 

For unpaid medical debt that is reporting on your CR:

1. Call the OC and see if insurance can be billed, if not then
2. see if you qualify for Charity Care, if not then
3.  ask that they recall the collection in exchange for full payment
4. Send the reporting CA a PFD offer
5. Google the HIPAA Process and contact its creator for help

Try that.

Going back to your original question, call the collection agency and ask if they will delete their reporting upon payment. 

Whatever arrangements you make with them, feel free to ask for mail or email confirmation. Some will do it, some wont. 

[RobertEG]

If obtaining a PFD is your goal, then while a written contract prior to paying is clearly desirable, oral commitments are also binding, yet a bit harder to enforce should they later reneg.

A strong oral contract can be created if you have good evidence showing their prior commitment.

If you live in a state that permits one-party consent to phone recordings, you can record the call as evidence of their oral contract.

[Anonymous]

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@RobertEG wrote:

If obtaining a PFD is your goal, then while a written contract prior to paying is clearly desirable, oral commitments are also binding, yet a bit harder to enforce should they later reneg.

A strong oral contract can be created if you have good evidence showing their prior commitment.

If you live in a state that permits one-party consent to phone recordings, you can record the call as evidence of their oral contract.

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Georgia's wiretapping law is a "one-party consent" law for purposes of making audio recordings of conversations. Georgia makes it a crime to secretly record a phone call or in-person conversation "originat[ing] in any private place" unless one party to the conversation consents. See Ga. Code §§ 16-11-62(1), 16-11-66 (link is to the entire code; you need to click through to Title 16, Chapter 11, Article 3, Part I, and then choose the specific provisions). Therefore, you may record a conversation or phone call if you are a party to the conversation or you get permission from one party to the conversation in advance. That said, if you intend to record conversations involving people located in more than one state, you should play it safe and get the consent of all parties.

I believe this means I can...

[Anonymous]

Would you recommend offering 100% payment or starting lower and going up?

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Would you recommend offering 100% payment or starting lower and going up?

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If you're talking about accounts that will get deleted after paid off, you can try settling for lower amounts. 

If account will not get deleted, it's up to you. Accounts paid in full look prettier and are better on manual review,  but no scoring benefit over settlement 

[Anonymous]

Thank you!