Credit Negotiations

There’s not ever an easy way to get out of debt, what you have to decide however, is how far are you willing to go to make it as painless as possible. Are you willing to negotiate for an end result that is desirable for you? Are you willing to pay cash right now, perhaps at 50 - 80% of the debt you owe, to get rid of the rotating bad debt? The most important question is yet to come…

Do you take NO for an answer?

If you’re willing to ask for a manager, a supervisor or someone higher up and can keep yourself composed while you talk to them, you could have a great chance of crossing another debt off your list. What most people fail to realize in dealings with credit card companies, debtors, etc., the people you’re talking to are usually the messenger, thus they have no power. You need to speak to someone who has some say in how your file is reported.

Your first step is to gather information about the debt you owe. How long has it been delinquent? How much do you owe?

Depending on the amount and the time that it’s been delinquent, it may not be worth settling. In addition, the higher the debt, the longer it drags your credit score down. Keep in mind that a bad debt remains a bad debt until it charges off, and only then does the 7 year statute of limitations begin, once your debt is charged off the timeclock starts. That is the point at which it is not lucrative to try to save the debt with settlement, once the debt is a charge-off it doesn’t affect your credit AS negatively, but it IS still negative.

Revolving recent collection accounts are what puts you on the radar as a risk to companies that offer credit. There are always going to be companies that will gouge you with a ridiculous interest rate in order for you to get what you want, but in the process, is it worth all that interest? Something as simple as saving change for a period of a few months could get you that item you so badly desire, but without the added cost of interest.

Now for the real juicy details.

I trust you’ve gathered the debt amount, how much you have available right now to pay on the debt if they’re willing to accept a settlement and you definitely have your wits about you. This should be as serious as a buying a house to you, because it affects whether or not you can.

You call the company you owe and get Jane who asks how she can help you; you let her know you’re calling to settle on a delinquent account, or collection account, whatever they call it. They’ll usually send you to the collections department, or even an outside company, either way get the number in case you are disconnected. Write down the name of everyone you speak to.

When you arrive at the proper departments’ representative, let that person know you are calling to attempt to settle a debt. At this point the representative may take a message, refer you to someone else, or flat out tell you that they can’t do it.

If you’re told they don’t settle, ask for a supervisor, what you’ll probably get is this, “They’ll tell you the same thing I am.” Here’s what you say, “Thank you, I understand that may be the case but since you have no decision making ability, will you please let me talk to that person?” They don’t expect you to put them in their place. Having worked in a call center before, that’s the quickest way to get through to a manager.

Now for the fun stuff. When you get the manager on the phone, let them pull up your account and all that stuff, don’t say anything until they ask how they can help you. Don’t forget to write down the name of this person.

Now sometimes companies will already have guidelines on what they’ll accept as a settlement, if that’s the case, let them tell you what those requirements are and mention to them you can give them a credit card over the phone or a check number right now to pay the debt if they’re willing to come to your price.

If they agree to settle with you, before you approve payment get a confirmation number, and if you have a fax available get them to fax you a written agreement which is a legally binding document. When you’ve completed the transaction, you’ll also ask for them to update all three credit bureaus’ with the information that the debt is paid and get confirmation by fax of that letter that they will send out to the credit bureaus, also a legally binding document. Once you have all of that taken care of, pat yourself on the back.

Another one bites the dust.