Handling my three credit cards

[sophali]

I have charge offs on three credit cards (all under $600 each - total is about $1500 - but I haven't had the money to pay that). They were all charged off approximately in December 2010 or January 2011.

Ideally, I would like to PFD at 50% (or less) for each of these and then move on with my life.

Orchard/HSBC - I was sent to Allied Interstate, requested a validation, received it in September and then got three settlement offers for about half of the balance. Each time they went down a little (Sept, Oct and Nov). I couldn't spare the $150 before the holidays and was planning on offering a PFD for $90 this month. Now this account has been transferred to First Asset who is calling me repeatedly - I made the mistake of getting on the phone with them and they claim I owe nearly $700 due to fees (the last statement I have from both Allied Interstate and Orchard show $450) and am in "pre-suit" status. I have not received any documentation from First Asset.

Capital One - This is under First Source Advantage who I began making payments with in May and then suspended in order to get the account validated (I know - dumb mistake). I received an offer from them on January 10th for a $350 settlement (with fees the balance for this is about $600).

First Premier Bank - This was charged off around the same time, has the smallest balance, but I have not been contacted by any collections agencies at all.

My thoughts were:

Orchard - Ask for validation from First Asset when I receive paperwork. If I receive validation, send a settlement/PFD offer directly to Orchard/HSBC.

Capital One - Respond to the settlement offer with a PFD on the $350.

First Premier Bank - Contact the credit reporting agencies to try to get them to validate the debt.

How does this sound?

[sophali]

Also - I thought it was worth mentioning since i just read this - the Orchard account has been in delinquent status since 2006 - is it out of the SOL? I'm not sure.

[Lian]

I am not sure exactly what your expectations are regarding verification of the debt in response to your DV. You are unlikely to get any substantive "paperwork." Due to the vague (some would say absence) of any definition of what is needed to "verify" a debt in FDCPA 809(b), most verifications do not include documentation. They are only required, under the bare language of the statute, to verify the amount of the debt and obtain verification from the creditor that the debt is legit. The most widely accepted interpretation of the statute is that obtaining assurance from the creditor of legitimacy of the debt is sufficient.

CRAs are not involved in the debt verification/validation process. That is a debt collection practices issue under the FDCPA to which the CRAs are not a party. They have no way to validate the accuracy of a debt.

If you offer a PFD to the creditor, your offer is that they delete their reporting. A creditor has no authority to delete a collection reported by a debt collector. All they can do is to contact the debt collector and request their deletion. Some have had success, but it is not the norm. Deletion of prior reporting in exchange for payment of a debt is expressly against the policy of the CRAs, so most will not go on record as soliciting another to report in a manner that is contrary to their credit reporting agreements. Give it a try.

As for offering settlement for less in a PFD, you of course always have that option. Most debt collectors, Cap1 being one of them, usually don't agree to PFDs even for the full amount. The lower your offer, the greater the concession you are asking. Your choice.