why won't cc's settle?

[frustrated7]

I don't get it. We hired an attorney to settle our debts (as you can see from a former post about the inlaw fiasco), but none of our creditors have even contacted him. He sent letters with an offer of 15%, but not a single creditor has even responded with a counter offer. We are between 5-7 months behind on all cc's. We had received offers of 65% to settle on one account before we hired the attorney, but they never responded to his letter either. I keep reading about how so many of you get unsolicited offers to settle and yet we actually tried to settle and nobody even considered it? It makes no sense to me. His letter said that we were considering BK and that they would likely get nothing if they did not negotiate a settlement.

Of course, the fact that our attorney sucks could also be a factor, being as how he refuses to call any of them and won't send any more letters. The attorney was hired in mid-November and the letters went out then. Unfortunately, we can't get back the $1,000 we paid this attorney and his secretary actually informed me yesterday that they have met their "requirement" to contact our creditors by sending one letter to each one.

I contacted a BK attorney and have a free consultation tomorrow. I'm hoping that I find out some good news (hopefully we can file a no-assets Chapter 7).

Thanks everyone.

[AngelinaCat]

Have you filed? Yes or No. That is the question at the time these letters were sent out in November 2008, I think you said it was. If the answer is NO, the receiving end can simply laugh, tear-up the paperwork and go on their merry way

Attorneys dealing with settling and compromising debts are one thing. Those that actually are BK attorneys are another.

You have been dealing with ‘scam artists’ in my humble opinion, and I think you need to leave that creature be.

Talk with your BK person and let us know how it goes. Just do NOT hire him or her on the spot. You need to interview several attorneys before you settle on one.

Good luck to you~~~

[HHM]

For one, if you are 5-7 months behind, odds are the accounts have been charged off and no longer managed by the CC company. They are most likely assigned to collections. When it comes to settling with CC companies directly, that is done over the phone, you need to call, call, and call again. At some point you will land in the right office, provide some info, negotiate a settlement and have them confirm it in writing.

The letter writing is more useful with collection agencies, but ultimately, debt settlement requires working the phones.

[frustrated7]

We have not filed, but were preparing to when we decided to try this attorney to see about settlement. This attorney is not part of a debt settlement program, he is a general practice attorney (or whatever they call them) and negotiated one woman's settlement before (that we know of). I think we got totally screwed.

His office does resend the original letter to ca's whenever the accounts are sold. We get letters from ca's informing us they now own the debt, we fax those letters to his office, and then he resends that first letter to the ca. Again, I think we got totally screwed.

Thanks everyone for your responses.

[fltoo]

Total rip off. Guy should be ashamed of himself for charging 1000. to send out these letters.

As HHM said, if you want to settle, you need to call, call and call again until you get to the person that can negotiate a settlement with you. Be proactive.

Are you sure BK is not a better option for you? You need lots of cash to settle upfront with the cc companies, even at 20%.

[frustrated7]

Thanks for responding. When the attorney was first hired, we were under the understanding that he would send out letters and then negotiate by phone. We had no idea he had no intention of ever calling anyone. I can't believe he is okay with not doing anything on our account; he should be ashamed with his refusal to do what he was hired to do.

BK might be the better option for us if we are eligible for a Chapter 7. I am going to the free consult tomorrow, but I'm nervous about the whole thing. This entire mess has me super stressed out. I hope it all works out, one way or another, and soon.

[jktrading]

Thanks for responding. When the attorney was first hired, we were under the understanding that he would send out letters and then negotiate by phone. We had no idea he had no intention of ever calling anyone. I can't believe he is okay with not doing anything on our account; he should be ashamed with his refusal to do what he was hired to do.

BK might be the better option for us if we are eligible for a Chapter 7. I am going to the free consult tomorrow, but I'm nervous about the whole thing. This entire mess has me super stressed out. I hope it all works out, one way or another, and soon.

Go to your state bar website (google it) and file a complaint against this attorney. It doesn't take very long and you may get some cash back. You may not either, but again, not very long to fill out a complaint you can probably print out from the website.