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I have a credit card that was originally charged off for around $1700. This is clearly stated in the most recent copy of my credit report.
However, the first collection agency that bought the debt was trying to get 2,700+ out of me. I never answered or responded to their letters. They sold it to another agency and they now want 3,800+ with a settlement offer of 2,700+.
I read that Federal Trade Commision doesn't allow for fees and interest to be added on after a charge off and that they can only collect on the orginal amount, in my case 1,700.
How do I go about letting the collection agency know that I will only negotiate on the amount I originally owe? I'm thinking that validation WILL NOT give me the original amount. Any advice?
If you want to pay for your debt,contact the original creditor and offer to pay them the money. If they refuse, which is highly unlikely then only communicate with collection agencies by mail. You would first want to validate the debt to make dure they even have the debt they are asking you to pay. This is very important step and needs to be done. After you get to that point make a settlement offer by what is called Pay For Deletion. Good Luck.
Hi Guest,
I have not heard of any FTC laws that prevents interests to accrue on charged-off accounts. A creditor places a charge-off on an account when he considers it as a loss for his company, and passes it on to a collection agency. The CA continues with the debt collection practices. The more you delay in paying off the account, the interest would keep piling up.
I would suggest that you send a debt validation (DV) letter to the collection agency. You will find a sample DV Letter in the Letters of Credit section. The CA should validate the debt within 30 days, after receiving your DV letter. It will be best to accept the CA's settlement offer, after you come to a pay for deletion agreement. However, you can request for a payment structure that is affordable.