New CO - Can payment still be made on account?

[sadsam]

What is the name of your state? VA

Spouse has a new Charge Off dated 6/06 for a credit card acct. First I became (his acct, not mine) aware was when Collection Agent sent letter requesting payment for full amount. The Orginal Creditor refused to speak with spouse when he called to ask for information about the account & referred him to the collection agent.

The last payment on the acct was at the end of 5/06, it was a small partial payment and when spouse realized the delinquency he talked with them about going on a hardship program but they said they did not offer that.

I understand the legal definition of charge off but not the logistics. I have the money to pay the past due amount to get the account up to date but since the original creditor has already done a charge off on the account does it really matter to them? If I were to pay original creditor the past due amount can the collection agency come back and say that spouse still owes entire amount to the collection agency?

Do I try to make a settlement offer on the account to original creditor or wait to deal with collection agency? Please note that there are a few discrepancies on the part of the original creditor. The account was being paid thru a online bill payment company, the paper statements were still coming in the mail but at an incorrect address. The first time spouse realized there was a problem was when original creditor stopped sending the online statements. No other attempt of contact was attempted, no phone calls or past due notices, just paper statements to incorrect address and now a collection agency dunn letter to the correct address gotton from the credit bureau file.

I would like to attempt to correct this past due status and continue paying the original creditor and avoid the collection agent (sorry to all the debt collectors on the board, but the horror stories Ive read) and I don't want to make a really bad situation worse. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[GaAtty]

It is impossible to repond to this post with all of the abbreviations that you are using. Try writing out your abbreviations and do this again.

 

[sadsam]

I apologise for the error. I have gone in and corrected the posting. Thank you for your input and your time.

 

[Ladynred]

A lot depends on whether or not the original creditor still OWNS the account. Many will keep a charged-off account for a while before selling it to a junk debt buyer (JDB) or collection agency (CA), so it would still be possible to pay the original creditor (OC). However, most of the time they don't want to deal with it once it's charged-off, hence the re-direction to the collection agency, even if they still OWN the account. If they've sold it, it's too late, you have to deal with the CA. Pull his credit reports and see how it's listed. If it says 'sold or transferred', it's in the hands of the CA, and the OC won't deal with you.

You can certainly try to settle with the OC, make your offer in writing. It's impossible, now, to 'cure' the delinquency, it's pay it off in full or try a settlement. A CA will ALWAYS demand the full amount, which is their legal right, but it's pretty stupid, IMO. If people are having trouble making regular payments of 2% of the balance, they obviously can NOT come up with the money to pay the account in full (in most cases).

Whatever approach you decide to take, do it in WRITING. You'll never get anywhere on the phone and no 'agreement' on the phone will ever hold water.