like SW said, you will probably not have much choice but to PIF. However, you should at least be able to arrange some type of payment plan. Try to get creative--tell them you will be $20 per month for the first couple months, then up it to $50 or $100, it all depends on what you are comfortable with and how big the overall debt actually is. Was it an actual CA that called, or was it someone from Merrick's internal collections department? If it is a separate CA, do they own the account, or are they just hired by Merrick? If they own the debt, Merrick will have to report a $0 balance to the CRA's. The CA can also report the debt, so if they haven't already reported, try to work something into your payment plan that says they will not report the debt. If they are already reporting, try for a PFD (pay for delete). Good luck.
Message Edited by valley_man0505 on 01-14-2009 09:13 AM
