Elsewhere on the boards, I was advised to mail a letter to the CA to begin settlement negotiations on two of my three unpaid collections that are past the SOL. I was advised not to admit ownership of the debt. I found something online and edited/re-wrote it to reflect my situation.
I would appreciate feedback - am I shooting myself in the foot? Or is this satisfactory? I figure I would start at 20% as PRA cannot sue me anymore and the accounts will drop off my reports on their own in less than two years.
**My third collection is a medical collection. I am going to write another for them as I was informed that the medical group does not recall billings they have sold to CA's - I would like advice as to where I should start with them - percentage-wise - as they started with a $1150 bill they have run up to $1700. This bill will also disappear in less than 24 months.
I don't know if CA's that specialize in medical collections pay a higher premium for their bills than regular JDB's - it seems like they would, but they also add a lot on their own - the bill keeps going up...
These last three items aren't ruining me credit-wise - My Equifax is 713 - Experian is 653 and Transunion is at 673. Not great, but miles away from 2018 when they were in the mid-500's.
Thanks in advance - this board is a great help and interesting reading.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Re: <Account Number>
I’m writing this letter to inquire about the debt for the account number provided above. After a period of financial hardship, I am currently working to address several items that have appeared on my record. I still have limited resources and really don’t recognize this account.
It also appears that this account has aged past the period where I could be held legally liable for payment.
But in the interest of starting from a clean slate, and with that in mind, I would like to propose to settle this account for $<XX20%XX>. In return, I request that your company remove this collection account from my credit reports.
If your company is willing to accept this offer, please prepare a settlement agreement, sign it and send it to me. Once I receive my signed copy of our agreement, I will pay the amount listed above as agreed.
Sincerely,
<My signature>