offer to settle debt from Assest Acceptance LLC

[jasonpaul]

What is the name of your state? Indiana

I just received in the mail an offer to settle my debt from assest acceptance llc. The debt is from 2000 for an electric bill. The current balance is less than $150 and they are offering to settle it for 65% of the balance.

Will making this payment make the debt go away, or will assest acceptance still bother me later about it? I did notice this on my credit report last I checked and am unsure if paying this will have a positive or negative effect on my credit history?

Thanks
Jason

 

[cmorris]

The debt is still within the statute of limitations, though I would doubt you would be sued for such a small amount.

Paying it will not help your credit score, though.

Here is my recommendation:
Send a debt validation letter, certified mail return receipt. When you get the green card back, send a "not mine" dispute to the credit bureaus (you will need to pull your reports from the bureaus), again certified mail return receipt. This will put Asset on a 30 day timeline.

Should they provide validation and the tradeline is not deleted from your credit reports, offer a pay for delete (again, certified mail return receipt). It is worth a shot to get the tradeline deleted from the credit bureaus!

If they won't accept that (after several offers from you to do so), and you want to pay, do a settlement agreement and save it forever. It should state how much you are paying on the debt and that they cannot collect or sell the unpaid portion.

Go to creditboards.com and learn more about your rights. There are sample letters there. Also do a search on Asset--not the nicest collection agency...

 

[Ladynred]

If you pay ASSet a reduced amount, make darn sure you get the agreement IN WRITING that your payment will settle the debt permanently. Otherwise ASSet will just sell off the remainder and you'll be hounded by the next collector in line.

If you can afford to pay the bill in full, since its a small amount, you might try contacting the utility itself and see if they'll accept full payment.

 

[jasonpaul]

They have offered in the letter I got:

"-A 35% reduction in your present balance, if paid in full by May 31st, 2005.
-Provide a paid account letter and close out this account.
-Report appropriately to the credit bureaus."

I dont have a problem with paying the debt. I just want it done and gone once I do.

 

[cmorris]

Make sure to get the settlement letter that states they cannot resell or collect on the unpaid portion. Do everything CMRRR. Keep it for a looooong time, just in case.

 

[ablessin]

ASSett is sneaky - - - I recently delt with them too and let me tell you, what an ordeal!!! They were trying to collect on an account I had paid for 18 months prior! I wanted to reach thru the phone and slap the person I talked to over and over again - - I felt like a broken record.

I would get in writing the settlement offer - I would be leary of paying the utility directly because they have sold the account to the collections agency, so legally they may not be allowed to accept your payment - when the collections agency bought your account, it was just that - - the utility has been paid for the account (so to speak)........
I don't know..... you might be best to stick with paying ASSett, but make damn sure you get clearance of the debt IN WRITING and do hang onto it for a minimum of several years, JUST IN CASE!!!! you don't want to risk someone trying to collect the debt later on and you can't prove it's been paid for