settlement too high? Please need advice!

[deesown]

Unifund sent me a letter for a debt that is owed which they say the amount is now 5835.92. The settlement agreement they are offering is, If I pay 4669.00 by Novemeber 30th, my account will be marked as settled in full with a zero balance and reported as such to the CA'S.

The orginal amount owed on this account was 3,868. What I am wondering is where do they get close to 2 thousand dollars in interest since 2005?

I still think the settlement they offering is too high being that Unifund is considered Junk Debt buyers and probably payed close to nothing for this account.

What do you guys think is a good counter offer on the original amount, 50% to 60% of the amount?

It is within the SOL and I do want to get this paid because im trying to clean up my credit in the hopes i will try and buy a home next year.

most CA i ask for a deletion won't budge at all.

It is a double edge sword because if you don't pay you probably will get sued and I've heard that Unifund has no hesitation in sending you to Litigation.


Do you think offering them something like 2,600 or 2,700 is too low? I am willing to pay today ( Friday) by western speedpay if they are willing to take that offer.

Should I tell them i am on the verge of filing chapter 7 if they don't? It's not really a lie, I don't want to but if they wont take it I might have too.

[BassBoy]

It couldn't hurt to come in with a ridiculously low number because if you settle at their numbers wihtout too much negotiating, you'll always wonder if you could have done better. Besides, what are they going to do if you insult them with a low settlement offer?

[HHM]

You can offer what ever you want. No one here can really predict what unifund will actually settle for.

I have found that most CA's have a set, narrow, range in which they will settle (but there are exceptions). Otherwise, they just either sue or sell the debt to a secondary debt buyer. You might be able to get an additional 10% for a lump sum payment $4000-$4200 (but realistically, if they are offering around $4,600, they probably won't accept too much lower.) You can usually get an additional 10-15% below their initial offer. But there are so many factors that go into settlement, it is really difficult to predict.

But there is no harm in trying. If it were me, I'd offer 25%, ($1460) and be prepared to laugh along with the collection agent on the phone who will be laughing at you,

[ssdsco]

Unifund sent me a letter for a debt that is owed which they say the amount is now 5835.92. The settlement agreement they are offering is, If I pay 4669.00 by Novemeber 30th, my account will be marked as settled in full with a zero balance and reported as such to the CA'S.

The orginal amount owed on this account was 3,868. What I am wondering is where do they get close to 2 thousand dollars in interest since 2005?

I still think the settlement they offering is too high being that Unifund is considered Junk Debt buyers and probably payed close to nothing for this account.

What do you guys think is a good counter offer on the original amount, 50% to 60% of the amount?

It is within the SOL and I do want to get this paid because im trying to clean up my credit in the hopes i will try and buy a home next year.

most CA i ask for a deletion won't budge at all.

It is a double edge sword because if you don't pay you probably will get sued and I've heard that Unifund has no hesitation in sending you to Litigation.


Do you think offering them something like 2,600 or 2,700 is too low? I am willing to pay today ( Friday) by western speedpay if they are willing to take that offer.

Should I tell them i am on the verge of filing chapter 7 if they don't? It's not really a lie, I don't want to but if they wont take it I might have too.

There's some very knowlegable folks at this site who may also have advise. These are very common questions in that forum.

http://debt-consolidation-credit-repair-service.com/forums/

[Westlane]

...i had 17,000 in cc bills with advanta (last check it was at 27,000 with all thier interest and late fees) and they offered to settle for 6,000. of course i just put it in the round file with all the others!

[jp2861]

I'm with HHM. Lowball them and hold out as long as you can. You seem way too anxious to want to put money in their pockets. Whatever you do, don't act desperate to take care of it. DON'T tell them you want to clean up your credit to buy a house. They'll play on your emotions and use everything you tell them against you. Act like it doesn't matter what they do. The longer you hold out the better your chances of getting a lower offer.

If they decide to sue you, give them one last chance to settle up with you. Use the BK card at that time as negotiating power. If they're smart they'll cooperate and work with you. If they're bluffing they won't cooperate and you'll either pay up or file. Either way, I'd hold out til the last minute.

[junker]

unifund

unifund has filed a small claims suit against me for less than one half of what my original cc bill was for, the account is over 5 years old of no activity, so i am hoping to use the sol defense, am waiting for papers to be served so i can hopefully file for dismissal at pretrial.