Thread: Capital One's Bogus Settlement Offer--what to do?

Hi there, first post, and it's grumbly (sorry)

Quick background, my husband and I are trying to raise our credit scores which are mid to high 500's due to unpaid medical bills, a few utilities, and I have a debt with Capital One from when I was in high school. We are paying off a number of things, particularly those who are reporting in 09, which includes a few utilities, a medical bill, and what we hoped would be Capital One, but they're making that exceedingly difficult.

The card was originally for $300, but it's gone unpaid since 2004 so with interest it has gone up to $1,400. I called their recovery department and spoke to Shmilia who agreed upon a $500 settlement, split up into two payments of $250 by the 3rd of July and $250 by the 3rd of August. I asked for an unambiguous letter in writing from them before I paid them anything, this was on the 26th of June. I told her that I would NOT pay unless I had the letter for my own protection and she said fine, but that the offer would expire on the 3rd if I didn't pay it. I said I hope it got there because there was no way I was sending them anything without a letter.

Well, the letter finally arrived ON the 3rd, stating "Pay $500 by 7/3/09 to settle your account!" This was NOT what we had agreed on, as the agreement was essentially $500 by 8/3.

I called Shmilia back and she said that the offer is now expired because I didnt pay. I told her that I refused to pay because it was not to the terms that we had agreed upon. She said that the letter WAS indeed what we agreed upon.

From my point of view, I'd say that it was not, because if I had not paid the full amount and made the partial payment, then the offer would also be void because I did not pay the full amount listed as the letter said. For my own protection, I wanted them to send me a letter detailing our agreed upon terms. What I got was a letter with my name misspelled and terms that we did not discuss on the phone.

So my question is, what do I do #1, and #2 would you have paid it? Any and all advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

You probably did the smart thing in not paying without a clear letter. Have you tried calling and working with someone else on a new agreement and getting a new letter? I guess that's what I'd try to do first.

It seems like she's the only one working there. Is that entirely possible? Because all of my phone calls have gone straight to her.

Should I write a letter? Should I dispute it on my credit?

Putting your offer in writing might not be a bad idea... then they'd maybe respond in writing and you just get what you want without having to ask. It's worth a shot, right?