offering a settlement

Hello, I have a quick question before i make some calls... I have been able to obtain an amount of money that could possibly cover my portion of loan with HRDC and one of my husbands loans. ( relative offered interest free... so i am jumping on it). My question is how easy is it to obtain a settlement from a collection agency, how do i go about doing this.. And if it is agreed to a settlement and it is paid in full will the fact that it is paid in full help my credit rating or will if i get a settlement will that hurt my credit.. The reason i ask is because in a few years we will be looking to purchase a home and want to do this to benefit our credit ratings......

 

 If your debt is a CSL (guaranteed), then you will likely not have any success in settling the debt. If it is a Provincial guaranteed, some will settle for 90%, and others won't compromise at all.

 If it is a bank risk portion, then you can settle for less but it dependson your financial predicament. The agency will do their best to capitalize ontheir commission earning so they will try to keep the proposal between 70-80%. If you would like some help, let me know.

 Johnny

I know a while ago I was offered a settlement on one of my portions and it was a good deal, unfortunately I couldn't do a darn thing about it.  So I know they'll settle.  It's just that I'm not a good haggler and I want to give the creditors the impression that its in their best interest to take it (they get their payment and their commission). Maybe if I make them chase down the account for a bit, then open discussion,  they might bite? Thing is, if I bring up the idea of a settlement, I'm sure they will smell money and drive for as much as they can. I'm not sure how to broach the subject (wording) to get them to bite. 

I know what to do once they bite, it's just getting them to the hook that I'm unsure of. That's why I'm looking for others' experience who have done this successfully. 

Johnny,

I would really like some help However i really cannot afford much as it is i took a loan from a relative to get this far.. Could u estimate how much it would cost to have u deal with 1 loan on my behalf and one on my husbands behalf?  THe part i am looking  to pay off is only the Hrdc guranteed portion which has been placed with TCR i have negotiated with RBC and they have accepted $50 payments on both of my loans that are still with them which was a relief. I know with my husbands  they have tried to negotiate with him in the past.. and they have offered him 80 cents on the dollar which is 2450 rather then 3100 should we take it.... please let me know as i would like to settle this today if i can

It's not actually the collectors here. They are way to stupid to make a deal or to negotiate a settlement. Their clients tell them exactly what they can settle for and that's exactly what they offer. You can't negotiate with those cretins, because they only know how to close accounts out. If they're allowed 90% they'll offer it. after 2 unsuccesful attempts to collect the full balance. Same with 80, 70 or 20% If you won't pay in full (and by that they mean the settlement amount they're allowed to offer), they'll take a payment arrangement according to their clients guidelines. The only difference to them is that one puts them into lump sum commission territory while the other pays an increment of their quota and gets them closer to the big commission territory. Either way you're paying for the coke they do in the restroom before they call you. They are vermin.

strapped4cash wrote: they have offered him 80 cents on the dollar which is 2450 rather then 3100 should we take it.... please let me know as i would like to settle this today if i can

You can problably get a better offer I'm thinking.  Also, how is your CR?  If yours is still good and you are gainfully employed your family could likely coast on your credit and after hubbie's gets better he can add to it. It is possible to get mortgages,etc. if you apply as an individual.

Java, yes they are vermin, but unfortunately, they have us by the financial balls, so to speak. I would'nt feel morally sullied if I could get rid of them quick & simple by settling. So let the babies have their candy.  It's a machiavellian world of business and if it's one less day I have to deal with it, good.

Strapped, if you are able to get out of your debt, it will remain the credit report for several years, but the good news is it's off your shoulders and you can start rebuilding.  Start with small-time credit (President's Choice financial is pretty flexible and even if it's for $500 it's a start. Same for ING). One good way is to buy groceries on credit (money you already budget for) and pay it off every month on time. You're not using extra money, just in a different way.  

Strapped, if they offer you, say, 2400, balk a bit (like you're having pains) and tell them you can probably get 2000.  If they bite, GET IT IN WRITING! Don't pay a cent until you get that paper.  Bug them for it if it takes long.    If they don't take it, you still haven't lost anything. You can keep haggling because you know they want the money. 

One thing bugs me about your defaulting - that should not have happened due to the circumstances.  You could most likely get that rectified back into good standing and I would leave that area to Johnny as I think he would be the expert there. The fact that you were on MatEI changes everything. Try hounding HRDC, and speak with velvet tones but punch with an iron fist.

And I agree - paying a relative (or anyone else that matter) for loaning you the money is more advantageous than continuing to pay those creep CAs. Faster, and nicer to talk to on the phone.

Oh, but I'll miss the sado-masochistic red-eye chats over a bottle of tequila, such witty repartee....

D&C: Don't get me wrong. I see no moral problem with getting vermin out of your life. If you can do it by stepping on them and then scraping them off your shoe, great. Drive a stake through their heart and set the remains on fire, better still. Settle the account...better than nothing. I'm just saying they CAN'T negotiate a settlement outside of the limits that they are given. And those limits are strict. (Would you give a chimpanzee much discretionary authority? Neither would their clients). Do whatever it takes to get your account back to the original bucket of slime that sent you to those brainless f**ks in the first place. They have more authority to deal. But ALWAYS get a letter offering the settlement before you pay towards it. They'll lie and f**k you over if they can. They'll deny it was a settlement. Besides, if it ends up in court it would help get the judgement down to the settlement offer, if you have it in writing.

 

 If this is non-guaranteed debt, then I can tell you that the offer can be reduced significantly.