YPs there’s a saying, “Closed mouths don’t get fed,” I don’t know who said it but it holds true in so many instances. I’ve recently had to use what I know to get what I needed and wanted regarding two credit issues in which I had to ask/negotiate and was successful in doing so.
The first issue was regarding a collections account for a cell phone I had back in the day that I knew about and wanted to pay the account off but I wanted to pay it off on my terms. YPs collection accounts do adversely affect your credit reports but once a collection account is on your credit report unless your trying to buy a house, you shouldn’t rush to pay that account off. After the collection account is reported on your credit report, it dings your credit score that one time but doesn’t ding it continuously. With that said, negotiate a settlement with collections companies on your terms as you will read I did.
According to the collection account, I owed the cell phone company $340 which consisted of a early termination fee and usage charges. The collection company called me about 6 months ago and I asked them if they could offer me a settlement. The rep proceeds to offer me a $260 settlement which I politely refused and told him I know he could do better than that. Then he goes on and on about the $260 settlement is the best he can do and then he attempts to pressure me by saying that if I don’t take the settlement now I won’t be able to take it later.
FYI: YPs, most collection companies buy your debt for $0.25($85 in my case) on the dollar of your original debt which means if they get you to pay half($170 half of $340) of what you owe, the collection company is going to make double in profit but they like any other business are looking to make as much money as possible so they would like you and me to pay most if not all of the balance owed. In addition, collection agencies know that the older a collection account gets the less and less likelihood of them actually collecting on that account. I say that to say, be patient when you’re negotiating.
Now like I said, this first settlement they offered me wasn’t quite what I was looking for so I said call me back when you’re willing to make me a serious settlement. Of course I continued to get call after call and I would answer asking what settlement they could do for me but they still weren’t giving me any settlement I was happy with so I told them call me back. Also, every time they called I would answer and get an automated system so I would hang up.
That was until a couple of weeks ago when I got that call that would eventually rid me of this collection account. It was a real person and I proceeded to ask the young lady if she could offer me a settlement.
She said, “Yes, I can settle this account for $240.” I said respectfully of course, “Miss, that’s not good enough. I know you can do better.” She then comes back with another settlement offer of $200 which I refused as well. I said, “Look, I would like to take care of this account and honestly feel I am responsible for $150 of the balance so if we can settle this account for $150 then I’ll pay/settle this account today.” She puts me on hold then comes back and says, “We can settle this account for $150 but there will be a $9.95 transaction fee that can not be waved. Do you accept this settlement and the transaction fee?” I paused, then said, “Yes that’s fine. When should I expect documentation stating this account is settled and when will it be reported to the credit bureaus?”
She informed me that in 5-10 business days I should receive documentation and the credit bureaus will be notified and that’s allegedly what the $9.95 transaction fee was to cover but I didn’t care because I finally got this collection account settled and out of my hair.
The second issue I had was regarding one of my credit cards and I’m normally on top of things but for one reason or another I forgot to pay it this month and of course they charged me a $39 late fee. As soon as I realized my mistake I got on the horn(phone) with customer service. I knew from past experiences with other credit cards that with it being my 1st time ever paying late that typically credit card companies will provide a courtesy to cardholders by refunding the entire late fee incurred by the cardholder on a first offense. I kindly explain to the customer service rep what happened and ask her if she refund the late fee to my credit card.
She tells me, “I can refund half of the $39 late fee as a courtesy.” I’m surprised and say, “Why half? This is my first time making my payment late and I’m a good paying customer. Why can’t you refund the entire fee? It makes no sense.” At first, she’s sticking to her guns and says, “Sir, I’m sorry but I can only refund half the late fee as a courtesy.(Like I didn’t hear her the first time.)” Therefore, she wasn’t telling me what I wanted to hear so I asked to speak with her manager in which she attempted to sway me from speaking to him or her by saying, “My manager is going to tell you the same thing!” I tell her, “That’s fine but I would like to hear it from her mouth please.” She then tells me her manager is not in their office probably thinking I would be content with her half hearted attempt to get her manager but I tell her, “I’ll wait. When will you be expecting her back?” She then proceeds to look for another manager and then puts me on hold. She comes back, no manager but says, “Mr. Rucker I can refund the entire $39 late fee as a courtesy. Is there anything else I can assist you with?” I tell her, “No that will be all. Thanks for all of your assistance! Have great rest of your day!”
YPs in both of these instances I used what I knew/know to get what I wanted/needed. I remained respectful and professional during both conversations with each respective representatives. I’ve learned that being a irate customer only makes you look and sound bad and typically doesn’t sway a customer service rep or manager to oblige your request either. Keep a cool head and if the customer service rep isn’t telling you what you want to hear then ask to speak to their manager and if the manager isn’t telling you what you want to hear than ask to speak to there manager and so on. Be knowledgeable, patient, professional, and persistent in order to ensure you using what you know to get what you want.
By YPRuck, Young Professionals Writer
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Very informative cause I am the first person to get frustrated with customer service regarding collection accounts
Twitter: YPRuck
February 27, 2012 at 11:17 am
Yea keep your cool and you’ll see results or get an opportunity to talk to someone that can get you the results you want.
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