Pay for Delete letter: Any experience/advice?

[AZGuy23]

I have a medical collections account from August 2007 for $481. I was going to ignore it as chances they will sue are probably very small since it's such a small amount but I've seen people have success with a PFD letter, I am thinking of going that route.

Would offering 50% be a good way to go about it?

I've crafted this letter from a template online. Thinking to change the part where it says "This letter is in response to the letter on 03/31/2008 This letter is in response to your letter on 03/31/2008 related to the debt listed above. I wish to save us both some time and effort by settling this debt." as that seems odd since it's so old plus it's aknowledging the debt. . Maybe I could do "This letter is in resposne to your credit report entry. I wish to save us both some time and effort by settling this matter."



Dear Collection Manager:

This letter is in response to your letter on 03/31/2008 related to the debt listed above. I wish to save us both some time and effort by settling this debt.

Please be aware that this is not an acknowledgment or acceptance of the debt, as I have not received any verification of the debt. Nor is this a promise to pay and is not a payment agreement unless you provide a response as detailed below.

I am aware that your company has the ability to report this debt to the credit bureaus as you deem necessary. Furthermore, you have the ability to change the listing since you are the information furnisher.

I am willing to pay $240.93 as settlement for this debt in return for your agreement to remove all information regarding this debt from the credit reporting agencies within fifteen calendar days of payment. If you agree to the terms, I will send certified payment in the amount of $240.93 payable to Bureau of Medical Economics in exchange to have all information related to this debt removed from all of my credit files.

If you accept this offer, you also agree not to discuss the offer with any third-party, excluding the original creditor. If you accept the offer, please prepare a letter on your company letterhead agreeing to the terms. This letter should be signed by an authorized agent of Bureau of Medical Economics. The letter will be treated as a contract and subject to the laws of my state.

Please forward your agreement to the address listed above.

[frogger]

So they accept your payment, remove it from your credit report, and sell it to another collection agency and you get to start all over.............

Think about that and work on the letter a little more.

[HHM]

First, as your letter sort of alludes too...

The collector will require that you accept their offer, not the other way round. So, the offer ultimately needs to come from them?

A settlement agreement is only as good as your willingness to enforce it. Let's say you settle the debt and they don't delete the account, but instead leave the account and mark it as "settled". They aren't in violation of FCRA, sure, they have breached your contract, but since the credit report entry is actually accurate, it would be difficult to show any damages.

In that sense, you are probably wasting your time trying to bargain over the credit reporting issue.

[AZGuy23]

I gave it a try, figure it's worth the time spent and $5.25 for sending it certified mail w/ return receipt.

Over on the MyFico.com forums, a lot of people have had success with this. I don't see how they would sell it to another CA as the debt would be considered settled, no?

[frogger]

I don't see how they would sell it to another CA as the debt would be considered settled, no?

It happens all the time.

[TBA]

Here is a thought for you... Why bother???

You have two years (probably more like one, as experian pulls bad data off at 6 months prior to expiring - i think tu does the same...) left before it falls off your report - it is small enough that i would imagine they are not going to go after a judgement... (just make sure you keep your original paperwork to prove dates should they sell it to another company).

Are you applying for something that this is impacting? Or do you think it will impact something? I dont think mortgage lenders even look at medical collections.

Good new replaces old bad. So keep paying on new credit and let that old thing fall off. Paying a collection will often "bring it forward" making it appear as a new collection that was satisfied - if you are looking to improve your score, i dont think this is the way to do it.

Just my two cents.