Credit bureu Settlement offer- California

[the_gts]

I received an fax from a collection agency in regards to a debt That I owe American Express. Others have contacted me in the past 2 years and I told them that I would only deal with the actual creditor and not the agencies. The reason being AMEX reversed alot of charges that I had disputed in the past and that they had sent me final credit letters for stating that their investigations showed that I was not at fault.
anyway to make it short I have a 7000.00 AMEX debt and the collection agency called me and said they will settle it for 4000. I told them 3,000 and they agreed.
they sent me a letter showing the balance to date being 7000 and the settlement offer being 3000.00 stating that they will notify AMEX that the account has been SETTLED if I pay them the settlement amount by the end of march.

Questions can they go back and change their mind and go after me for the full amount after I pay the settlement amount?

they did state in their letter that "american express has agreed to offer to you a settlement of 3000 that is due by MArch 20th. upon receipt and clearance of the said funds, American Express will be notified that the account is settled"

What should I do?
Thanks

[JETX]

Originally Posted by the_gts

Questions can they go back and change their mind and go after me for the full amount after I pay the settlement amount?

Unless they (the debt collector) are the OWNER of the debt, their 'settlement agreement' has nothing to do with it... and is NOT binding on the debt.

Make sure that ANY settlement agreement you get is in WRITING and signed by the debt OWNER or their authorized agent.... and not a 3rd party collector.

they did state in their letter that "american express has agreed to offer to you a settlement of 3000 that is due by MArch 20th. upon receipt and clearance of the said funds, American Express will be notified that the account is settled"

That doesn't 'cut it'... simply saying that they will NOTIFY American Express of the settlement. Get a statement included that they are acting as the debt OWNER or as their agent, authorized to settle the obligation in full.

[the_gts]

Ok i called the collection agency up. The person who talked to me was the manager (or he said he was). anyway he stated that they cant send out such a letter because they only send out specific letter and not general. he stated that only he as a manager can do a settlement and that is what he did. by sending me this letter he is putting his company on the line. he is saying that if I pay and they dont settle I can use their letter against them and file a law suite or complaint?
anyway I am not sure if I should agree or just reffer to the fair debt law and ask them to leave me alone.

Please help

[JETX]

Originally Posted by the_gts

Ok i called the collection agency up. The person who talked to me was the manager (or he said he was). anyway he stated that they cant send out such a letter because they only send out specific letter and not general. he stated that only he as a manager can do a settlement and that is what he did. by sending me this letter he is putting his company on the line. he is saying that if I pay and they dont settle I can use their letter against them and file a law suite or complaint?
anyway I am not sure if I should agree or just reffer to the fair debt law and ask them to leave me alone.

Please help

I don't know what other 'help' you are asking for. Simply, the manager of a 3rd party debt collection agency does not NORMALLY have the authority to waive an obligation that is owned by someone else. As I see it, your options are:
1) To accept his 'promise' and pay the agreed amount. Of course, if you do that, the OWNER of the debt could simply argue that the agent didn't have the authority to waive... and your remaining debt is still owed to them, or
2) To contact the debt OWNER and get a statement from them in WRITING that the agent has the authority to waive the debt upon a negotiated payment, or
3) To decline their 'offer' and insist on a valid AUTHORIZED waiver of the obligation on a negotiated payment.

[the_gts]

Thanks JETX