by Hope
It’s been a good month at work. Really good. With that being said, I would like to seeing about negotiating with debt collectors regarding my smaller debts.
While I am still focused on my credit card debt, I would like to revisit the debt I have in collections. I’m planning to make some calls later this week and see if there is any negotiating to be done.
Don’t Pay Debt that is Not Yours
Someone recently asked me who I blamed for my debt. And I joked around saying the universe, my ex-husband and so on. But in the end, my debt is the result of MY DECISIONS. I must own it, all of it.
But that doesn’t mean, I am going to be responsible for other’s debt. Last week I got a call from American Express. They were asking me to settle a debt with them.
I have never in my life had an American Express card. Thankfully, it seems to have been settled with that one phone call. I received a letter from them acknowledging the error or fraud and that I did not owe them any money.
It was surprisingly simple.
Tips for Dealing with Collection Agencies
I read up on some tips for negotiating these payments. On the debts that are actually mine that is.
Most of the tips were common sense to me, but I learned a few things.
First, I didn’t realize that you could get them to stop calling you. Did you know that?
And while I am still concerned about my credit score, I am much more focused on just being rid of my debt. I found the Credit Warriors site to be very thorough when it comes to collection accounts.
There are lots of legalities when it comes to collection agencies. What they can do? Where they can do it? When they can do it? And how they can do it?
The laws also govern if they can legally attempt to collect on a debt.
Hit me with your personal experience. Tell me any tips you have for getting these debts settled.
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
I would start by looking at the original debt before interest and penalties and see if you can settle for that amount, if you have it.
And—if I recall Ashley’s experiences, make sure you get in writing that you have settled it so that the debt can’t surprise you years down the road.
Finally: if you settle for less than you owe, or originally owed, I’d keep track of it and plan a “pay it forward” for when you are more stable. In other words, make a donation of the amount forgiven to a related cause (homeless shelter for forgiven rent, for example).
Hope, your last budget only shows one “collections” account that is actually your ex’s and the apartment that’s only $500. Do you have other balances you aren’t disclosing? I definitely wouldnt lower my credit for this minimal amount. You would also be responsible for taxes on any amount that was settled by the lender.
I have 2880 in debt for a medical account it’s almost 6 years old but I recently called them to negotiate and pay off the balance of 40 percent original debt they said no and asked if they would negotiate whatsoever but they said no so I blew them off and so did they claiming I was going to call them back sooner or later but how can I actually get rid of this debt without paying it all or any other solution ?