We are offered $750 to Settle Unfair Debt Collections

[jwmc1]

This thing would never see the light of day in a court room...are you kidding me? Chase would settle this in a minute. Get the suit filed and get those recordings in the hands of the court.

[LostNFound]

Snickers:
You are correct, all of this happened very quickly. I'm glad you're asking about the specifics because maybe you will think of something that I haven't thought of myself.

I can tell you that I was receiving phone calls from a company (I wasn't answering the phone and I didn't recognize the number-nor did I care at the time) during the last week in September. At some point, I remember either HEARING a message, or being told directly that we needed to contact CHASE bank by the 30th of September or they would not be in a position to "Help" us any longer.

Oct 1-4 (we were out of town/not home)
Oct 5th (Football game out of town and dd got the phone call)
Oct 6th (rec'd 2 phone calls w/my # in my caller ID like DD mentioned on 5th)
Oct 7th (my SIL and FIL rec'd phonecalls from USB) It was at this point that I was able to confirm WHO the company actually was by calling the number they left w/my SIL.
Oct 8th (rec'd a letter asking me to dispute the debt within 30 days and that they had made efforts to contact me repeatedly!)

I have NEVER had anything to do with USB collections, nor had I heard of them prior to that same week that all of this happened. I have discovered (through the letter that they sent me), that they are a collections company for CHASE bank and they were attempting to collect a debt. The total (including fees is almost $25,000).

We stopped paying that card in Feb 09'. We made a couple "consideration" payments for less then the amount due for maybe 2 months after that, but they increased our interest rate on that card as well as 3 others that we carried with them and decided to stop all payments in any kind. It wouldn't have mattered anyway--the interest alone was killing us.

That's it. The WHOLE story. I've honestly asked the same question tonight...WHY??? Why offer us $750 to settle when they have tried to collect $25K?? How is that supposed to matter to me? And WHY would it make any sense at all for them to do that? Wouldn't you think they would just say, "we'll take it off what you owe?"

We had that card for years. I would guess that it's probably 7+ years that we carried that card? We always paid on time. We would make BIG charges and then pay it off. So much so that we opened 3 more cards w/the same bank! YUCK!

MSBKLAWYER: I talked to my daughter tonight and asked her what she thought. She was shocked. She said that she would do whatever we needed her to do, but she says she is scared that she won't remember the details of that conversation very well. I told her it didn't matter, just as long as she was being honest with us about the fact that they scared her. She said YES. She remembered the same stuff I told you, just not sure of the order it was said. She also said they told her to tell us we better get a LAWYER because we are in BIG trouble. She said that it was a woman and she yelled it at her. So, she told me she will cry if she has to talk in front of anyone, but she will do it if we think she should.

[nerves]

LNF - if you were to pursue this, the attorney would probably subpeneoa the call record. Your child most likely wouldn't need to stand trial. This is absolutely uncalled for. Most likely they would probably settle out of court to avoid the publicity. All legal action has to be disclosed in quarterly reports for publicly traded companies, which in turn has an effect on their stock and earning potential.

As for settling - you may want to rethink that due to the tax issue. They will send you a 1099 for the difference which creates a tax liability.

Do what you think is going to be in the best interest of your family. I wish the best for you.

[junker]

are you talking about two different things here? are they offering to settle for 750 on YOUR 24k debt you owe? OR are they offering to settle 750 on what ever the lawyer pointed as violations. which is HOW many? because i thought it was 1000 for EACH violation.....how many violations did the lawyer say they did....if there was 3 or 4 violations the lawyer could get them for and it would amount to 3 to 4k and if they offered 750 thats a lot different...which is it???

[LostNFound]

No, I believe that they are offering us only $750 TOTAL. It does feel like a slap in the face. Even MORE SO, because they jumped to settle so quickly. I never considered the fact that we would have to pay taxes on the forgiven amount. I know that's something we have to do, but I was prepared to do that because, at the point I'm at financially, I'm running out of options anyway.

Is there anything "legally" wrong with them using my number in my caller ID? That way, we had no idea they were calling? And I did take pictures of my phone/ID because I was so mad that they actually did that.

You know, I'm really thinking I will push this. I'm talking to the attorney this afternoon. I will let you know what we decide.

Thanks again for all the opinions on this. You've all helped me gain a little strength and feel like I actually DO have a "say" about this!

[MSbklawyer]

I never considered the fact that we would have to pay taxes on the forgiven amount. I know that's something we have to do, but I was prepared to do that because, at the point I'm at financially, I'm running out of options anyway.

Thanks again for all the opinions on this. You've all helped me gain a little strength and feel like I actually DO have a "say" about this!

You don't have to pay taxes on the forgiven amount if you are insolvent when it's forgiven. And you don't have to pay taxes on it if it is dicharged in bk.

Go git 'em!

[LostNFound]

So how do I know if I'm insolvent? I feel like this is a confusing area because of my self-employment. As I said, I make good money, but not "on paper". We are broke right now, but if we filed bankruptcy, we would have nothing but a house payment and a car payment!! That's heaven to me! I could pay off my house in about 7 years!

IF we would be paying on our credit cards, that would have been over $2K per month! Just in credit card debt!

So, I meet with a bankruptcy attorney next week. He is also a TRUSTEE. I hope that's not a bad thing. From what I've read, I feel like the trustee's can be jerks. I hope this lawyer is nice.

[MSbklawyer]

So how do I know if I'm insolvent?

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=174034,00.html

So, I meet with a bankruptcy attorney next week. He is also a TRUSTEE. I hope that's not a bad thing. From what I've read, I feel like the trustee's can be jerks. I hope this lawyer is nice.

No, that's usually a very good thing.

[LostNFound]

Actually, I talked to the attorney briefly this morning because I had a question on the paperwork. He was NOT nice. Very short and his tone was almost belittling towards me. I am going to flip to another attorney. I think I could be sensitive at this point in time because my nerves are shot and I've gained about 40 pounds in emotional eating habits, but otherwise in good spirits! ha! So...we will see how THAT goes. Thanks for your info, btw, I did some reading today and it's all very informative and to the point! Thanks!

[wickedlate]

Go after the scumbags! Don't let them get away with what they did to your daughter.

[LostNFound]

I'm not sure this is going to amount to very much. The original attorney (from Boston), said that this is something he would go after, but he needs to be in my state. So, he referred me to another attorney from my state and I talked to him a day ago. He said that he wouldn't probably pursue it. He says that we should counter with another offer and see what happens. But he wants to charge me for his services, regardless if he wins or loses the case. NADDA!

He said that we need to prove either
(a) that this has caused us economic hardship or;
(b) that this has caused us local embarrassment and people think less of us for it.