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Dear Readers,
Many of our clients have collections and other debt that is properly verified through our audit process and must be settled. The following is a suggested action plan and verbiage we give our clients when contacting debt collectors and negotiating payment. We hope you find it useful in negotiating collections.
When a debt has been properly verified and now has to be paid there should be two primary objectives. First is negotiating for a reduced balance. Successfully done, consumers can reduce the satisfaction amount by 75% in some cases. Next, negotiating the ever allusive “Letter of Deletion” or “Delete for Payment Letter” is the goal of every consumer working to obtain financing. Unfortunately in many cases, you cannot have both, and debt collectors rarely give deletion letters to the consumer. So what will give you the best opportunity for success? Here is what we have found fruitful. To start, my Father always told me that you get more bees with honey then you do with manure. I can safely say that if you call a collection company with an adversarial tone, you will get an adversarial response, so start off by being more than nice.
I always suggest recording every call if possible, more than likely they are, and you never want to get caught in a game of he said she said. When you make you initial call and get a live call center rep on the phone, politely ask them their FULL name and employee ID if available.
The next thing out of their mouth is going to be, to whom are they speaking with. Before you answer this question, I recommend you say “before I give you that information, would you please give me your department supervisor’s name?” Typically this will be met with, either, why do you want this information or I cannot divulge that information. I would answer with, I am very meticulous with my notes and want to make sure I document everything, I am also recording this call. Would you please tell me who you supervisor is?
Most times they will tell you and then ask for your information and the account you are calling about. Once you have the department head’s name, your response should be great, can I speak with him? Again 99% of these requests will be met with NO. We recommend saying no problem, here is my name and contact phone number, please have him call me back at his convenience. I have had significant challenges dealing with collection companies in the past and I will only discuss my situation with the supervisor.
Here is our logic behind only discussing your file with a supervisor.
- The call center representative will not have to admit failure to the supervisor when escalating the call. You simply would not talk to them and the rep had no choice but to escalate the call.
- You now have a decision maker on the phone, and they are more than likely curious as to why you would not speak to anyone else.
- Because you have made it know you record your calls, they will tend to be more accommodating.
- You have now established a point of contact and will not have to deal with someone different on every call.
- Most importantly, you are now talking with someone who has authority to give you what you are looking for.
Now that you have the supervisor on the phone, let them know that you are aware that you owe them money and prepared to make payment. Tell them that you have been through an economic event and working to climb out of debt and settle what is owed. (I recommend not telling them you are trying to obtain new financing as this will give the collector leverage.) I have other debts to settle and need down payment monies. I am capable of paying 30% of the listed amount today. Is this acceptable? You will have to rely on your own negotiating skills here, most collection companies will bottom line you pretty quickly if you deal straight with them. Remember, you have the Supervisor on the phone; they have authority and want to get you off their desk as quickly as possible. Once you have negotiated a payoff you are halfway done.
The letter of deletion or otherwise known as the “Golden Ticket” is another negotiation in itself. The fact is, it is not illegal for a debt collector to delete collections for payment. The challenge is that payment for deletion is highly frowned upon by the credit reporting agencies. So if in fact you are going to negotiate the letter of deletion, you must have established a rapport with you contact. Often times you can offer increase the negotiated amount to incentivize the supervisor. If the supervisor tells you they would like to but there is no way for it to be done, here is where you can mention that you have researched and found that collection companies can send a Universal Data Form or UDF to the Credit Reporting Agencies that will delete the collection from the report. It may also be prudent to mention that you know that your score more than likely be lowered initially by making payment and time is of the essence.
Lastly, if you are not having any success at all, let them know that you want to review the original creditor and debt information, would you please forward the information in writing so you can review it before continuing the conversation. This is an effort to determine if in fact the debt is 100% accurate and verifiable. If there is documentation missing that verifies if properly, the supervisor may in fact change their tone.
I hope this is helpful and you can submit follow up question as needed.
Thank you for your interest and happy negotiating!
Regards,
