Should I accept the offer?

[hughjahs]

What is the name of your state? Denial

Real state:Arizona

So I have an outstanding debt in the amount of $3600 that the collection company is willing to accept a settlement of $3300. It breaks down like this:
about $1800 judgment, $900 non-judgment, and $900 collection fees tacked on.
Of course there is a yearly 10% simple interest accruing...

This is a debt which stems from a rental dispute last year. The legitimacy of the debt is questionable but I am willing to pay the judgment part. The rest I have a hard time justifying.

Like I said they are willing to take $3300. Is it worth taking?What is the name of your state?

 

[Chien]

Is it worth taking?

On the information posted, that really is for you to answer. Nobody knows your asset situation, but your state doesn’t afford as much protection as a number of others. You know the post-judgment interest rate, so one might assume that you also know that the judgment can be renewed every 5 years. You apparently didn’t contest the litigated claim (at least not successfully) and don’t argue about the legitimacy of the judgment. Whatever “collection costs” might constitute might stick in my craw, but the bottom line is that it doesn’t appear that you’ve done a lot except be unhappy, and that will probably get worse. It would also suggest that they now have you over a barrel, whether “collection costs” are a legitimate addition or not. If you can’t negotiate a substantial reduction and do it fast, it seems to me that the question answers itself and is probably one that you should have tried to answer before judgment was entered.

 

[hughjahs]

The thing is I'm moving to live in another country in about a year or so, so I really don't care about credit. Is there any reason for me to care that some CA says I owe them money when I live in a foreign country across the Atlantic?

 

[Chien]

Your credit rating and the cost of credit, when there is an unsatisfied judgment on your record, can be important considerations for some. But the fact is that I didn’t mention either in the response. It would seem to me that a more immediate concern would be what happens if there is no settlement.

They’re not going to continue to discuss this with you for “a year or so”. When/if they come to the realization that there is no deal to be made, do they pull out the big guns or sit around and think about it for 24 months? If they try a full court press, does it matter to you, because there’s nothing they can get? For the amount, I think it’s unlikely that they accept some payment arrangement that will go for 24+ months and allow you to do a vanishing act half-way through, but the rest are questions that you have to answer for yourself.

If the answers don’t pose a problem, and the fact that they can continue to renew doesn’t either, because you don’t plan on coming back, then I suppose there are no worries. I don’t understand why the question was asked in the first place. You seem to feel that you’ve got it worked out.

 

[boswd]

I would say if you have it I would just pay it. Creditor's can work with foreign countries and there CA's to have judgments sastified plus you just never know what the future is going to hold and having a judgment just lingering out there that normally resurfaces at the most inopprotune time, to me is just to much of risk.

Again if you have it just pay it and have be gone from your life.

 

[Fizzle1979]

IF you do deecide to pay this debt, I would request they remove the account from your credit report. Basically type up a contract saying upon payment for this debt, they will delete it. Get them to sign it first. Then send them a US Postal Money Order, NOT A PERSONAL CHECK OR CREDIT CARD.

 

[boswd]

I don't think getting a Pay For Delete on a judgment is that simple, you have courts to deal with now and they most likely won't go for that.

 

[Chien]

I don't think getting a Pay For Delete on a judgment is that simple, you have courts to deal with now and they most likely won't go for that.

You’re pretty accurate. It’s not that they won’t go for it, it’s that they can’t. A Satisfaction of Judgment is a public record as much as any other filing in the case. The CRAs pick up the public records. In other words, the system doesn’t work the way. There is a way to get it done, but the OP seems unconcerned.

Your other point is equally well-taken, but Fizzle’s suggestion just may draw a chuckle. The judgment creditor is legally obligated to file a Satisfaction and can be monetarily sanctioned for failing to do so. It also has no control over the system, but nobody would sign that contract anyway.

 

[Fizzle1979]

I don't think getting a Pay For Delete on a judgment is that simple, you have courts to deal with now and they most likely won't go for that.

You’re pretty accurate. It’s not that they won’t go for it, it’s that they can’t. A Satisfaction of Judgment is a public record as much as any other filing in the case. The CRAs pick up the public records. In other words, the system doesn’t work the way. There is a way to get it done, but the OP seems unconcerned.

Your other point is equally well-taken, but Fizzle’s suggestion just may draw a chuckle. The judgment creditor is legally obligated to file a Satisfaction and can be monetarily sanctioned for failing to do so. It also has no control over the system, but nobody would sign that contract anyway.

My advice only comes from having over $20K in debt removed from my credit report without waiting the full seven years or filing bankruptcy. It may not be useful to some.

 

[hughjahs]

I'm not too worried about them coming after me after I move to Israel. There the notion of buying and selling accounts receivables or uncollected debts does not exist. They do not have a credit rating system like here. To be quite honest this system of collections and credit scores you have here in this country is terrible, unreliable, and inefficient.

 

[Fizzle1979]

I'm not too worried about them coming after me after I move to Israel. There the notion of buying and selling accounts receivables or uncollected debts does not exist. They do not have a credit rating system like here. To be quite honest this system of collections and credit scores you have here in this country is terrible, unreliable, and inefficient.

I agree with this.

 

[Chien]

I'm not too worried about them coming after me after I move to Israel.

So you're skipping on a legitimate debt? High moral standards that will undoubtedly be appreciated in your new homeland. Mazel tov.

 

[Chien]

My advice only comes from having over $20K in debt removed from my credit report without waiting the full seven years or filing bankruptcy. It may not be useful to some.

Congratulations to you for cleaning up your problem. Sincerely.

All disputed CRA records that can’t be verified must be deleted and the vast majority of reported and then paid debts don’t stay for the full 7 years (Shhh. Don’t tell.)

What interests me is the “pay for delete” and the “send them a contract”. That ever happen to you? Get any signed contracts back? You see, I have a different kind of practice and don’t use CRs or report to CRAs, but I consult for people who do. We’ve all heard of Pay for Delete, but I’ve never known somebody who got one (sort of like seeing Bigfoot). I’m also trying to decide whether I would fire a consulting client who was stupid enough to sign a contract guaranteeing the performance of a third-party (the CRA) or whether I would double my fees to defend them, if you sued them because they told one of the Big Three to delete a record and it ended up staying. Any input would be appreciated. I’m evaluating Urban Myths.

You see, the contract between the CA and the CRA prohibits it. No CA would ever admit they do it and any CRA would tell you that it’s prohibited. So the only way for it to work is if somebody lies. If you play by the rules, the only way for a Pay for Delete to work is for the CA to tell the CRA either “We made a reporting error” or “We’re unable to verify”, when neither is true. I’m not saying you didn’t accomplish it, I just wondered how often? (If you want to respond sotto voce, I can open up PM.)

The function of CRAs and the purpose of the FCRA are to ensure that credit grantors can have accurate and current information when making credit extension decisions and that consumers get a fair shake in the process. If somebody can pay to wipe the slate clean, while somebody else, who is dealing with the vast majority of straight-up CAs, can only pay to get a record of a paid debt, it seems to me to be analogous to paying to get your kid a military deferment instead of going to Iraq (actually, with no draft and in deference to GWB, Nam would be a better analogy), don’t you think?

If I pay debt and my FICO improves marginally and yours improves exponentially, because you happened to deal with greed-heads who ignored the rules, who am I entitled to be PO’d about? It’s so confusing, but I'm getting an idea of where your allegances lie.

 

[hughjahs]

So you're skipping on a legitimate debt? High moral standards that will undoubtedly be appreciated in your new homeland. Mazel tov.

The legitimacy is questionable. I've already sent a check for the judgment portion, though I disagree with the ruling. The balance is non-judgment and CA fees, which I regard as completely illegitimate until a judge says otherwise.

 

[Chien]

This is getting to be a lot of BS that should have been sorted out from the start. Forget Frizzle (no offense Frizz; I’m sure your heart’s in the right place, but until the training wheels come off . . . .).

Was the judgment $1,800, $2,700 or $3,600 and, if $1,800, what does “non-judgment” mean to you. Costs, interest, both or what? What the judgment order said – plus any post-judgment costs and interest - is the judgment. Are we batting around a whiffle ball that isn’t there? Did the CA try to tack on the fees that its client paid?