Top 3 Most Common Mistakes (to Avoid) When Settling Debt 

I visited your website, I would like information about settling debt.

My wife has a judgement against her from about 5 years ago. If I were to contact someone about settling this debt, would I contact the bank or would I contact the law firm that represents the bank? The bank is named as the plaintiff.

false expectations, feeling like I was the one in charge,... unaware of the significance of my having a default judgement. GUILTY. note to self : avoid default judgment.

Very helpful videos! I am curious what percentage settlement I might be able to get with the following creditors. My accounts are 90+ days past due. Discover, Barclay, Navy Federal CU. Thank you!

Best way .... Do not pay any of it and ride it out the 7 to 9 years.. Never "EVER" answer the phone and make any type of contact with the collector. Unless it is a car or home. Credit cards... lol what a joke.. If you cannot pay them... Then don't ..Ride it out and never ever file Bankruptcy.... Huge mistake!!!!! Talk about a fake crooked idea. Who invented this the MOB? Of they did !!!!

Well im glad i ended my first call but she did offer me 40% off so idk i might settle

How about 55 cents on the dollar . Perhaps start at 50 percent ?

Does settling helps me raise my score?

I'm being summoned because a debt collector wants to sue me for a 1000$ debt. I never made intent to pay or any contact with them during the time. How should I go about communicating with them for a lower settlement and what should I offer?

OMG this is false; he is right about you can't settle debt if it's too early. What happen is the credit you have if you don't pay it nothing is going to happen to you "IF" you don't own a house, you don't work, and you don't have a savings period. Because that company can put in lawsuit to get your wages out of your payroll and put a lien on your house. to get paid. But here is another fact, NO ONE GOES TO JAIL IF YOU GET LAWSUIT BECAUSE OF YOUR DEBT. NO ONE GOES TO JAIL BECAUSE OF DEBT.

Hello Michael, My father is 78 years old. He has a Discover Card account that went into charge off in 2016. He is trying to get a home improvement loan and wants to settle with the collection agency lawyer to remove the lien. What is the best way to settle the debt for a 1-lump settlement? Thank you.

What should I do how do I proceed this problem

Currently in the process of getting a home loan i have an old credit balance with discover reporting to my credit bureau as a closed account the payment status is showing charged off it has been reporting to collection since 2015 my loan officer informed me I need to settle with discover to get pre approved for my home loan the balance is $800 in your opinion do you think I should call discover to offer them a low amount maybe $200 to settle?

Original debt was on both me and my husband names. yet the letters to collect debt, are directed to him. is it possible for me to negotiate with this debt buyers on behalf of both? should I be looking for any terms to use when negotiating? Thank you.

If you settle a debt via Synchrony bank... would this negatily effect your credit score?

I just got a letter to settle my debt on an old account that's already off my credit report and they are going to have a judgement against me if I don't pay it off

I’m new to all of this. Will my banks that I have active credit cards with settle the current debt for less if I offer to pay them off in one lump sum? 17k on one card and 10k on the other. Been a rough decade for my family.

I have had a judgment on my land for over 8 years. The last time I checked with the assessor's office it was around 25k. This was from credit cards. Every year it goes up quite a bit. A lot actually. it is from multiple debts to different credit card companies. This is in Az. How is it that the debt can charge so much interest? Is this legal? Seems like usury. Thanks.

I settled on two accounts before doing research and now I’m super worried. I keep coming across videos that say never settle never pay. Make sure to get a deletion agreement letter first. The debt is my debt. Both about 3-4yrs old. One was from credit one bank and one was from Walmart. I didn’t get a deletion letter. I just called and paid with my card the settle amount they offered cause I was just sick of having bad credit. After looking at different videos I’m worried they’ll try to charge my card for more later or not report my settlement and all kinds of stuff 😔😔

Hi Michael, sorry if this is duplicate ! I am 179 days late on $27,000 CC debt to WF. I called today and they said it was going to be sent to the recovery dept. I offered 35% but they said they no but the rep would talk to someone and call me back in 3-4 days. Do you know what my options would be at this point? Don’t want to get sued, definitely want to settle. Thank you so much !

I owe about 50k in debt and only 8.5k in my savings. I hired an attorney to help consolidate debt but I feel 8.5k might not be enough. Realistically how much do I need to have in order to negotiate debt?

Michael I owe 40K to BoA. I have stopped payment since Feb 2020 (about 6 months late) and now I am receiving a letter that payment should be made or the account will be charged off. I can probably pay in a lump sum about half of my debt. Should I negotiate after the account is charged off or before. If before who should I ask for in BoA?

Hi Michael, thank you for sharing this valuable tips. My daughter is 20 years old she dropped some classes in the middle if the semester and ended up owing the school $10,000. We tried to make a payment plans but they wanted us to pay $1000 a month which we can't afford. So they hired the collection agency and they are willing to accept $200 a month. The problem is my daughter is trying to register in a different college and her previous college the one she owes the $10,000 wouldn't release her transcript until we pay the $10000. I have $5000 that willing to pay the college to settle the debt and release her college transcripts. So how I should approach this problem and who I have to contact the college or the collection agency's. I appreciate your feedback so much.

I am about a year behind on 3 accounts. financial hardship. A business adventure that did not go as planned. I am dissolving LLC as soon as I can. I am current on my other accounts (school, other cc, and have zero balance in 2 others). My debt for the 3 cards is about $16900(not including late fees). I am highly considering bankruptcy, but I would like to try to settle my debts. Realistically, I can only afford 20-25%. My credit has already taken a hit and my credit reports show these accounts have been written off. What would be my best option? Should I try to settle and get them to take these off my credit? Should I file for bankruptcy?

I had to allow about 10k from 3 different us bank accounts be charged off in 8/2019 b/c of financial hardship. I had a 4th charge off from chase who settled for 20% off an offer letter. 2 of the us bank accounts have sent collection placement letters, but no offers. The 3rd has offered twice: 40% & 45% off but I couldn't take either at the time. I want to settle all 3 for no more than 20-40% now. I had called in to offer settlement for the only one they're actively pursuing. I lowballed at 450 and the lady said us bank wont accept, is currently offering 60% off, and I said no to any monthly plan. I'm terrified of wage garnishment after judgment so I want to settle all with various lump payments thru end of May I have budgeted for. Should I call again to offer a different amount than the 60% for the one or take the 60%? Should I ignore and see if they'll offer less like Chase? They are AllTran. Should I reach out to the other quiet 2? They are both with Capital Mgmt Serv. Do I pay the 60% one they're pursuing and wait for the others to (hopefully) offer? Should I write a big explanatory offer letter to Us Bank directly requesting a single lump settlement for all 3 in May for like 25%? I also need to move by October, so I want these settled with my budgeted funds by May to get the utilization decrease boost like I got from Chase. Please help! Sorry so long, thanks if you answer!

I have 27000 in credit card debt without fees and have consulted with a BK attorney in Indiana. I do not qualify for chapter 7 so I have started paying the attorney to file 13. I have not payed on any of these CC since I lost my job in Oct of 2017 along with having back surgery I can only work part time. I am working for my self (1099) making very little income. All my cards are in my name only but I am married and my spouse has a a good paying job. I am considering asking collection to accept less and paying these cards off. I may be able to come up with the funds to do this IF they can settle for 40-50% on the dollar. I guess my question is should I file the chapter 13 or try to settle for less. I should also mention that our house is current and only in my spouses name and I drive a 12 yr. old vehicle with no payments. I do understand that I have to report my spouses income though I am filing solely which will make my monthly payments higher with the CH 13 as we do have disposable income but not much in the future because I may have to have addition surgery on my back. Please help in any way as I am at a loss as to how to handle this situation correctly.

Hello, So I'm still young but I've always had great credit until I lost my job and couldn't afford to pay my 2 Credit cards debt. I still owe these CC and on my credit report it says charged- off. I received letters regarding a settlement from the original creditor. Should I accept? Will it build my credit back up if I settle? The other credit card is in collections and they're contacting me through mail/phone. I haven't responded as yet. I want it off my report if I settle.

What? I settled all my debt by literally writing letters and making phone calls

What is a good strategy for settling with US Bank. I owe $10,000 and haven't made a payment since July 2020... Lost my job due to Covid 19. I've received several letters. What should I say when I call them?

My derogatory accounts say they're from 2019 or 2018 when they were either 2016 or 2017. It looks like a never ending 7 year period. What's up with that?

I have American express, wouldn't they sue me if I wait too long? That's why I read About amex

Hi Michael. Thanks to you, I have successfully negotiated and settled two credit card debts for under 30 percent. Awesome, right! My final credit card debt settlement is within sights, just not as easily as the others. My question: do I have to provide proof of income in a hardship letter, or can I just list it. ie, I would rather not provide a copy of pay slip or bank statement. Thanks, Linda

This guy gives crap advice towards the end about bankruptcy.

Been putting money aside to settle on a $14k judgement from 2012. Finally got a letter from attorney to settle for $4800. Gave them a call to agree on settlement. I asked what would happen after they received payment... they would send paperwork that i would have to file at county court to clear judgement. Is this how judgment settlements usually get finalized?

I’m currently being sued by BOA. I have a lawyer he’s been going back an fourth with then and they’re not budging