American Express/MRS Associates - Try to settle the debt?

[ld2366eh]

Hi, We are planning on filing C13, but not for a few months.

Quick question. Has anyone ever had experience with a charged off American Express account and dealings with MRS Associates? They called and want to discuss "payment plan or possible debt settlement" and told me if I had a lawyer, I should have them contact them.

This account has probably been charged off for quite some time, because it was being paid on a DMP but AMEX charged it off before it when on the DMP. They never pursued anything since they were getting a monthly payment (through Feb.).

Now I'm being "threatened" by MRS Associates. My BK attorney/paralegal said I will probably be in a C13 plan that pays about 10% to my unsecured creditors based on our level of income (which is fine and seems fair).

I want to say to MRS, "look, I'd be willing to discuss a settlement for 10%, since that's all you'll get if I file for BK", but I've never discussed settlement before so I'm not sure how the commitment would work. Would I ask for a settlement amount in writing? What else should I tell them I need before sending them any cash? I don't want to send them anything unless this is going to "go away".

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks!!!

[keepmine]

If bk is in the cards, I'd not try and settle. Just include them in your filing.
Also, in a 13 the creditor will need to file a timely proof of claim. Sometimes creditors drop the ball and don't file in a timely manner so the entire debt is discharged.

[keepsmiling]

If they were your only creditor, maybe. I did have a surprisingly low offer from them- it was like 13%. But if you have other unsecured, what's the point?
And keepmine makes an excellent point.

[AngelinaCat]

We were a CH7 case, not a Ch13, and our attorney told us that if we made any side deals with a creditor, that we ran the risk of having our case dismissed and that we might not be able to discharge the current list of creditors if we tried to refile.

Also, before filing, if you pay anything to one creditor in the months before you file, and nothing at all to the others, that is considered a 'Preferential Payment' and the trustee can have it undone.

Again, we were a CH7, so some of the above may not apply. Do talk this over with your attorney.

[LadyInTheRed]

I don't see the point of settling if your are going to file BK. It's a waste of money. Use the money to pay your attorney.

[ld2366eh]

Everyone makes very good points. The only reason I was even considering trying to settle, is that we want to put off the actual filing of the BK as long as possible because our attorney is going to try to push through a loan mod on our first mortgage prior to filing the BK13, and I didn't want a judgement and wage garnishment interfering with all of this. Thank you all for your suggestions. The next time they call, I'll give them my attorney's name and information and we'll just see where it goes from there...

[GoingDown]

I had a number of ugly phone calls from MRS Associates about 5 years ago. They're all talk and no bite.

I would send them a cease and desist letter to get them to stop calling.

[daytona]

Even "if" MRS decides to sue you, you will have plenty of time to get to the CH13 by just responding to the suit and asking for proof, statements, etc.

Have they sent you a notice for an opportunity to DV them? If so, my experience was creditors rarely respond, if they actually respond it usually takes them months. Also in the DV, inform them that the only way they are to contact you is via USPS...the calls will trickle off and often completely stop.

[ld2366eh]

What does DV mean? Thanks...

[df04527]

Debt validation.

[lillymarlene]

Even "if" MRS decides to sue you, you will have plenty of time to get to the CH13 by just responding to the suit and asking for proof, statements, etc.

I remember that name, MRS. I filed chapter 13 October 2010, but I was able to hold a lot of creditors and their junk debt buyers off for at least a year or more by using cease and desist letters. Whenever a collection agency would notify me, I'd send off a cease and desist saying that I would only deal with the original creditor. Some original creditors passed me around to at least 3 different agencies. Then, finally I received a couple of summons. However, as daytonna pointed out, you should still have plenty of time just by responding to the suits.

[catleg]

Amex "never" sells its debts....because, they hold out hope that by blacklisting you, that you will someday come back to them and pay the debt in full, which they cannot do once they sell it.
So the normal path is that you bounce from CA to CA, but they are always agents for Amex, never the actual owner of the debt.
Amex maintains a blacklist, once you welch on a debt to them (pay less than full) you will never get another Amex card on your own..but you can be an authorized user or a signer on a corporate card (corporation's risk).
I agree with the others, there is no point in settling with them, and I don't think they will sue you on a small personal account.
Business accounts are different, they will go at you hard with a lawsuit, pour l'encouragement de les autres, as they would say in the French Foreign Legion.
You always have the option to wait until they file a complaint to file your BK and prevent a judgment from happening.
A judgment hurts your credit, but not sure it's that much worse than a chargeoff.

[treehugger1]

Is there a reason this thread was brought back to life?

[catleg]

It seems to be happening a lot lately.