No creditors seem to want to negotiate settlement....need advice.

[jameseiv]

Three accounts coming close to charge off and the following won't budge at all:

Citi - 45% - March 22nd CO - 17K balance
Chase - 50% - March 29th CO - 30K balance
Capital One - 50% - March 29th - 10K balance

I will have the funds mid march to settle all of them at about 30% each, but none of them will budge from the above.
Citi has sent a letter about and said the term pre-litiagtion so many times my head hurts.
Chase and Capital One are extremely nice about it, but won't do anything.
I have countered at just below 30% for each, but no dice.

Any words of wisdom or does it seem that the banks have changed their stance? Should I just let them go to charge off to see if I can settle at a lower cost?
Thanks.

[AngelinaCatHub]

Three accounts coming close to charge off and the following won't budge at all:

Citi - 45% - March 22nd CO - 17K balance
Chase - 50% - March 29th CO - 30K balance
Capital One - 50% - March 29th - 10K balance

I will have the funds mid march to settle all of them at about 30% each, but none of them will budge from the above.
Citi has sent a letter about and said the term pre-litiagtion so many times my head hurts.
Chase and Capital One are extremely nice about it, but won't do anything.
I have countered at just below 30% for each, but no dice.

Any words of wisdom or does it seem that the banks have changed their stance? Should I just let them go to charge off to see if I can settle at a lower cost?
Thanks.

Since their bailout, they have become hard nosed. The bail out was to aid the customers yet they don't see it that way. You visited us for a reason. Welcome BTW. Keep your money, if you can't pay them don't give them a thing. You are on the Bankruptcy Forum and the best "Family" in the World. We never considered bk but when we had no choice, we had to. We through our good money after bad. (401K, etc.) So if you do not wish them or their CAs to sue you, keep what you have and give them nothing in a 13 that they will get what the Court orders, or in a 7 and liquidate and get them off your back. I hope this helps but more info would help all of us to help you. Bet to you. 'Hub

[keepsmiling]

I assume that you are only a few months into non payment. The really good offers come later. I've gotten them for as low as 13%. Do be aware that if you settle, you may have tax implications.

Start looking at your options for bk. Although you may be a bit asset-rich if you'll have that much cash on hand. Have you spoken to any attorneys?

I think PA is an anti garnishment state. I wouldn't rush into any settlements.

[catleg]

Yes exactly PA is no garnishment state.
You should be in BK pre-planning stage.
What do you have that's worth protecting? Home equity, cars, wages?
You may want to store that cash in an IRA where it's protected then file BK.
P.S. If you file before they get a judgment your credit will bounce back faster.

[DYLAN150]

I wonder why some people get offers of settlement and other's don't. After 13 months of non-payment, I have gotten two settlement offers which were not very good.

[CCM620]

I have about a $23,000 CC debt with Chase, and they have offered me a settlement for less than $3,000 now two different times. It's been about a year and a half since I defaulted. So as you can see, you would be throwing away alot of money by settling for 30%. I have 6 other cards I owe, so settling one does me no good, even thought the offer can't be beat. If you are in a non garnishmnet state like me, and have no assets to lose, like me, then settling or filing bankruptcy isn't always necessary. Judgements in my state fall off after 10 years (I have received one so far) so right now I am doing nothing. Whether I eventually file bankruptcy or just ride it out is an open question. Waiting to see what the other 6 do.

[keepsmiling]

I kind of assume I get these offers because they know they have very little chance of getting anything from me otherwise. They can't garnish me and I have very little of value for them to take. But I have about 9 or 10- lost count by now- accounts and have only had offers on maybe 6 or 7. One is from the defunct Advanta and haven't heard from them at all (that I know of... after awhile it's pretty hard to tell the players without a scorecard).

The tax consequences are just too major for me to go there. As some here have pointed out, it's trading dischargeable debt for non dischargeable debt.

[DYLAN150]

CCM620: After making no payments on both my Chase cards for over a year, Chase sent me two 1099's. I owed Chase way over 10K in CC debt. But they never offered a settlement. I also wrote them a letter about six months ago offering to make reduced payments and they never answered the letter, lucky for me.

[AngelinaCat]

Yes, if a settlement is made, and part of the debt forgiven, you will get a 1099 form, and the IRS treats that forgiven debt, as though it is income. It is better to just ignore the settlement offers and file BK.