I need to contact the attorney that is suing me over a CC debt, I want to settle, how should I word the letter?
I have an outstanding debt with a CC company. They have already filed suit against me. I cannot afford an attorney so I have tried to correspond as best as I am able, but I find myself hopelessly tardy in getting all the correct documents to the right people and to the right addresses.
So I figured I would send them a formal letter stating that I am willing to settle. I don’t know how to word this letter. I am unsure of the legal jargon needed to address the law firm. I also don’t know what amount to offer them. Does this letter have to be officially served?
The total amount of the debt is 42.90. This amount includes all the "FEES" assessed by the creditor. Obviously this is not the amount they will ask for once a judgment is issued against me for legal fees court etc…… I know that the original debtor was willing to negotiate with me, but I was in a near Fatal car crash and was unable to deal with any type of billing issues, much less
anything else.
Please help……. Thank you
Attempting a settlement prior to court with the other side’s attorney is a VERY tricky thing to do, so be careful. Your best chance of settling is when you have a lump sum to pay the settlement all at once. Be sure to get a written settlement agreement from the PRIOR to making any payments. NEVER accept settlement terms over the phone without a written agreement.
Here’s an example settlement letter:
I am willing to settle this issue for $3,000 if you send me a written agreement that you will accept this as a payment in full and that this matter will be settled and legal action will cease.
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If this is a confirmed lawsuit, then it’s unlikely that are going to offer any significant settlement. IMPORTANT: Don’t make the mistake of cutting a "good faith" payment to their attorneys without any sort of written agreement that they’ll cease legal action…If you do this they’ll simply take your money and sue you anyway.
If you can only pay them a settlement in installments per month then it gets more complicated. The problem is that they will invariably want you to sign away your legal rights for any settlement agreement by signing a document that authorizes an instant judgement. DO NOT sign such an agreement or any agreement that waives your legal rights. NEVER, EVER trust any “advise” they give you, regardless of how “nice” they might seem on the phone. Remember, the are 100% against you best interests. Accepting advise from them on what to do is like Tweety Bird accepting advise from Sylvester the Cat. Also, do not fill out any questionnaires or paperwork requesting personal information for you to sign and mail back to them…They will use these documents against you if you do.
July 9th, 2010 at 2:38 pm————————
My complete answer for how to deal with being sued for credit card debt is at:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090806101155AAtqVxu
being that the matter is this far along,wait until it goes to court,offer them one thousand at 25 dollars a month…they will take it…ur credit will suffer but it already is….
July 9th, 2010 at 2:38 pmSo how much CAN you pay them?
As the saying goes: actions speak louder than words, and in case of collections, MONEY speaks louder than words.
I would just write a short note, that says: "To make a long story short, I was in a near fatal car crash and it has drained my life savings and nearly ruined me both physically and financially. However, I do want to resolve my debts. I am willing to offer $1000 down, $500 a month until the debt of ________ is settled in full if you don’t tack on any more odd fees. Expecting an answer."
July 9th, 2010 at 2:38 pm