$2,600 verizon settlement

[Rhoomega]

Jurisdiction

South Carolina

I have posted about a week ago regarding an old Verzon wireless bill. It was suggested that I make sure it completely goes off my reporr if i do pay the $800 settlement amount. When i did call the ORIGINAL collection agency (Pinbacle), they said this was gonna be removed from my score anyway b/c its been 7 yrs. Nothing has happened on acct. since 2011. I did dispute about 1 yr ago and have only spoke to the current collections agency (Tate & Kirlin) about what COULD BE affordable if i did confirm this was actually my debt & did in fact, start making payments but HAVE NOT agreed to pay anything. I have not yet confirmed this was my account and told them that i would call back after getting more info. Thing is, they said the settlement amount was only good for this month. My final question is: since it is going off my credit report next yr. & b/c i haven't agreed to any payments, should I just not pay anything at this point and if/when they happen to get a judgement against me, I would most likely be able to raise an SOL defense.
Again, your feedback has been VERY much appreciated.

 

[mightymoose]

My final question is: since it is going off my credit report next yr. & b/c i haven't agreed to any payments, should I just not pay anything at this point and if/when they happen to get a judgement against me, I would most likely be able to raise an SOL defense.
Again, your feedback has been VERY much appreciated.

A common misconception is that after the statute of limitations expires the debt is no point owed. Hopefully you do not think that. They can continue to attempt to collect as long as they like.
If they do not go to court and get a judgment against you then you can expect to receive a 1099-C in the next couple of years. This would require you to report the debt as income for that tax year and pay income taxes on the amount. The company would write it off as a bad debt and likely cease collection attempts at that time.
This is common with bad credit accounts and likely applies to your Verizon debt as well.
I don't think anyone here will advise you to not pay your debts. I'd suggest the settlement offer as it will reduce the debt, end collections, and not require taxes to be paid. Any settlement agreement needs to be read carefully. Know that if you make this payment it will restart the SOL clock to 0, so you had better be sure you look at the details.
It most likely will remain on your credit report for 7 more years, but not as a delinquent account. You might be able to negotiate that they remove it completely, but don't count on it if you are settling for less. Any settlement agreement should indicate that the debt is satisfied in full.
Do not just fork over the money and expect good things to happen.

 

[army judge]

Once you pay a debt scavenger, he or she has little desire to assist you further.

Debt scavengers want ONE thing, and ONE thing only, as much of your money as you are willing to give away.

Once your money is in their greedy paws, they have no need to do anything to assist you.

That is one of the major follies of the FICO system.

There are many others, but that is the one you need to take heed of, mate.

The debt has already abused, molested, damaged, and assaulted your FICO.

That isn't enough for these beasts, the debt will haunt you for 70% of another decade once you've given them the loot they demand.

There is little to win here for you, except further damage to your FICO.

If your score is below 600, think long and hard about giving them $2,000 to $3,000 to make this go away.

Its not going away, whether you pay or delay.

If I were you, I'd figure out a way to avoid engaging in the DEBT scam.
That's the one they call the CREDIT.

 

[zddoodah]

My final question is: since it is going off my credit report next yr. & b/c i haven't agreed to any payments, should I just not pay anything at this point and if/when they happen to get a judgement against me, I would most likely be able to raise an SOL defense.

Final question? It seems to be the only question. What you "should" or "should not" do is up to you. However, if "they [sic] get a judgment against" you, it will be too late to raise an SOL defense. The time to raise an SOL defense (or any other affirmative defense) is in your answer to the complaint before any judgment is entered.