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Sears negotiation question/help???
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Posted by piggybank (65.161.12.79) on February 19, 2003 at 02:40:04:
Down to my very last derog....and the most stubborn, of course, Sears. Long story short: I paid a CA in 2000 to settle the acct in full (including interest and $350 in 'legal fees'). So, this debt has actually been (more than) paid in full...but...Sears merely applied payment to balance due and since that time has been reporting (monthly) a current past-due balance on the account that has a DOLA of 7/1997 (verified 11/2002 by all 3 CRA's) Yes, they've violated many laws along the way...including many Arkansas (my home state) state laws--and, this whole mess is for a whopping $200! They never contact me about it, just keep reporting. I sent them a negotiation/settlement offer last week, which I thought was very fair ($135 or 2/3 of alleged amount for deletion of 'disputed/incorrect acct info). Have not heard back yet. I know I don't have to pay it, but I'm tired after more than a year of dealing with CA's, OC's, CRA's, etc. I hate to let them 'win', but I'm not sure how much fight I have left in me. :-(
My real question is this: say they ignore or decline my offer. This account will drop off of my reports in 2004, but I have a 'current outstanding past due balnaces' on derog acctlisted on EQ (and FICO) until that time. Would it benefit me at all to go ahead and pay the whole darned amount--again assuming they ignore my settlement offer??(I am able to pay this in full) Would the fact that I no longer have past due obligations impact my score in any way?? And my worst fear...If I pay it, will Sears re-age the account just to be..well...Sears?? My inclination is to pay it, settlement or not, because I know after it drops off of my reports that means only one thing: dealing with RMA--and it's worth $200 to me to NOT have that hanging over my head, legal or not!
Any advice, tips, hints, etc would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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