Make Him an Offer He Can’t Refuse
June 23, 2008
On June 4th, one of our negotiators received an unexpected call from a collection agent. This agent wanted to make an offer to Provanta for a relatively new client. Since the client was so new, he was just starting to to accumulate funds in a savings account that was reserved for his debt settlement program. The current balance on the account was $11,536, our client’s highest account, and he only had $250 in his savings account.
Our negotiator didn’t know what the offer was going to but expected it to be high. She was prepared to decline the offer and explain it was too simply too high and unreasonable, our client had a valid financial hardship, etc, when the agent made an unexpected offer that we simply could not refuse (at least not right away). The agent said the account can be settled for $1200 (10% of what was actually owed!). It was simply too good for us to turn away without serious consideration.
We immediately contacted the client, who was just as excited as we were. We discussed his options and helped him brainstom the different ways for him to come up with the money. The creditor agreed to accept the $1200 settlement in 3 payments over 3 months which will make it easier for our client to accomodate.
(Ref.1525)
Technorati Tags: debt settlement results, debt settlement percentages, debt settlement offers, debt negotiation process
The Attorney Surrenders
June 19, 2008
This Provanta Client is seventy-seven years old, on a fixed income, and has all the health issues one might expect. One creditor sent their account to a collection attorney, subsequently suing the client for a delinquent debt of $7,265.00. After court costs, attorney fees, and interest, the balance had inflated to $11,468.00 despite the numerous attempts we have made to settle since the client enrolled in early 2003.
At one point our negotiator was told they would only settle for 80% of the balance regardless of the clients limited income, health issues, and age. After the attorney spent time and money to obtain a judgment against our client in 2007, they finally realized the client had no assets they could secure the judgment with. Today we are happy to report that our clients account has been settled for $5,128.29 only 44% of the current balance and about 70% of the original balance, after five years of delinquency.
(Ref. 1522)
Technorati Tags: debt settlement, debt forgiveness
Outstanding Settlement
June 18, 2008
A Provanta client had a delinquent balance of $17,133.00. Through tough and hard-nosed negotiating, our staff was able to settle the debt in full satisfaction for $5,996.54 only 35% of the balance. That’s a total savings of $11,136.46.
Though any particular settlement is never a guarantee for any particular future result, some clients can certainly expect similar results from time to time on some cases.
(Ref. 1520)
Technorati Tags: debt settlement, debt forgiveness
“Standard” Won’t Do
June 18, 2008
Today, one of Provanta’s debt negotiators was attempting a settlement for one of our clients with a Successor In Interest or Debt Buyer.
As our negotiator opened dialog with the agent, he was given the “standard.” This agency’s “standard” settlement offer is 60% of the current balance, which would be $4,879.00 on this client’s debt. The negotiator countered the agents offer with an offer of $1,640.00, which was only 20% of the current claim. She emphasized that the client’s account is more than four years delinquent and that recovery, no matter how small, should be an important part of their decision.
She was hoping to get them off of their “standard” and go lower, and she was pleased when they came back with 25% of the current claim as an acceptable settlement amount. The client is now getting a settlement of $2,032.00 on her $8,131.00 account, which amounts to almost $6,000 worth of savings.
(Ref. 1521)
Technorati Tags: debt settlement, debt relief, bad debt buyers
Weekly Settlement Statistics
June 18, 2008
Total for the week of June 9-13, 2008:
- Total Debt Settled - $131,618
- Total Settlement Amount - $62,522
- Settlement Percentage - 47.5%
- Total Cases Settled - 25
Best Settlement:
- Current Claim - $8,868
- Settlement Amount - $1,956
- Percentage - 22.1% (negotiated with a original creditor)
Worst Settlement:
- Current Claim - $4,121
- Settlement Amount - $3,500
- Percentage - 84.9% (negotiated with an original creditor)
Technorati Tags: debt forgiveness, debt settlement
38 Months to Freedom From Debt
June 17, 2008
A young couple, Provanta clients, just received some very good news from us. Not only did we just settle an account for them, it was the last account on their program. In approximately 38 months, we were able to settle all 9 of the accounts they enrolled and they are debt free.
Our clients had a financial hardship when they first enrolled. For over a year and a half, the husband worked for the military and he was relocated to Hawaii, so he and his wife were separated for quite awhile. When he finally switched jobs to be back at home, he worked for a year and then suddenly, he was laid off. He was still collecting unemployment by the time he and his wife had their first child. His wife was also not working and collecting disability. They were new parents, unemployed, and struggling with medical bills when they contacted Provanta.
Their financial hardship actually worsened during our program. While the wife was pregnant with their second child, she was in a serious car accident. The car was totaled but luckily, both the unborn child and mother were going to be okay. Provanta worked closely with the clients to help them maintain their program despite the unexpected and scary experience. We made adjustments to their program and to our negotiation strategies to accommodate their new situation.
Though their program took 38 months instead of 36, as originally estimated, our clients are thrilled to finally be able to put all of this behind them and concentrate on raising their children. In addition, since they referred someone they knew to our debt settlement program, we offered the clients the option of receiving $595 cash or $1000 credit toward their final Provanta fees, simply as a thank you for helping someone they know become debt free through our program. They opted for the credit so not only did we settle their last account for them, we paid the fees associated with it. They are very happy.
(Ref.1519)
Technorati Tags: debt relief story, debt hardship, debt management program estimates, debt management referral program, debt settlement results
Weekly Settlement Statistics
June 10, 2008
Total for the week of June 2-6, 2008:
- Total Debt Settled - $62,342
- Total Settlement Amount - $24,874
- Settlement Percentage - 39.9%
- Total Cases Settled - 13
Best Settlement:
- Current Claim - $1,783
- Settlement Amount - $400
- Percentage - 22.4% (negotiated with a collection agency)
Worst Settlement:
- Current Claim - $13,316
- Settlement Amount - $9,321
- Percentage - 70% (negotiated with an original creditor)
Technorati Tags: debt forgiveness
An Early Victory for a New Client
June 10, 2008
Last week we settled an account for a client who just enrolled at the end of April. Our client signed the Limited Power of Attorney we provided in his Enrollment Application, as all of our clients are required to do, which authorized Provanta to negotiate debt settlements on his behalf. We had to send the creditor a copy of the Limited Power of Attorney three times in May before the creditor finally acknowledged that we had proper authorization to speak on behalf of our client regarding this account.
In a different letter we faxed to the creditor office in June, we offered to settle the $8747 account for $2625. A Provanta negotiator contacted an agent at the office to follow up on our offer. The agent said that his manager was reviewing it and would get back to us. Two days letter, they accepted the offer. The account was settled at 30% of the original claim.
This settlement was possible at this early stage of our client’s program because our client had provided a substantial lump sum for the program up front. He was recently laid off and although he will be receiving unemployment, he knew he would not be able to keep up with his minimum payments. With unemployment on the rise nationwide, our client knew he had to find a solution to his debt as soon as possible just in case he could not find a job within a reasonable time frame. He decided to liquidate a significant amount of his savings so that he could offer it as settlements to his creditors through our program. He decided to do this before he even contacted Provanta.
Whether to use savings, investments and/or retirement funds to expedite the debt settlement process is always completely up to our clients. There can be benefits to doing so such as shorter programs, litigation avoidance, lower monthly EFTs, etc, but there can also be some risks as well such as a smaller emergency reserve or a postponed long term goal such as a house or retirement. This is why our Program Managers are always available to speak to any client who is debating such an issue.
(Ref. 1515)
Technorati Tags: debt settlement, debt settlement percentage, unemployment, financial hardship
Monthly Settlement Statistics
June 5, 2008
For May, 2008:
- Total Debt Settled - $708,512
- Total Settlement Amount - $295,406
- Settlement Percentage - 41.7%
- Total Cases Settled - 123
Best Settlement:
- Current Claim - $9,637
- Settlement Amount - $1,328
- Percentage - 13.8% (Negotiation entity: original creditor)
Worst Settlement:
- Current Claim - $3,832
- Settlement Amount - $3,257
- Percentage - 85% (Negotiation entity: original creditor)
Technorati Tags: debt settlement statistics
Weekly Settlement Statistics
June 4, 2008
Total for the week of May 26-30, 2008:
- Total Debt Settled - $266,887
- Total Settlement Amount - $118,413
- Settlement Percentage - 44.4%
- Total Cases Settled - 42
Best Settlement:
- Current Claim - $12,614
- Settlement Amount - $3,154
- Percentage - 25% (negotiated with an original creditor)
Worst Settlement:
- Current Claim - $3,832
- Settlement Amount - $3,257
- Percentage - 85% (negotiated with an original creditor)
Technorati Tags: debt forgiveness
Weekly Settlement Statistics
May 27, 2008
Total for the week of May 19-23, 2008:
- Total Debt Settled - $158,311
- Total Settlement Amount - $56,738
- Settlement Percentage - 35.8%
- Total Cases Settled - 29
Best Settlement:
- Current Claim - $9,637
- Settlement Amount - $1,328
- Percentage - 13.8% (negotiated with an original creditor)
Worst Settlement:
- Current Claim - $517
- Settlement Amount - $414
- Percentage - 80% (negotiated with an original creditor)
Technorati Tags: debt forgiveness
Excerpt From A Client Letter
May 22, 2008
Excerpt from a client’s written request to close her debt settlement program with Provanta received on 5/22/08:
I am writing to inform you that I would like to close my Provanta account with a full refund of any funds still in the account. Since (the final creditor) wont’t talk to you I will call them and take care of the final account. I thank you for all the help for getting my credit back in order. I have found that I can live without credit cards. Thank you for that.
Provanta settled 4 accounts for this client. The current claim on these 4 accounts at the time of settlement was $38,271.34. The accounts settled for a total of $17,294 and the client has received a gross savings of $20,977.34.
(Ref. 1508)
Technorati Tags: debt settlement savings, debt settlement testimonial
The Good and the Bad
May 20, 2008
One of the largest programs we’ve enrolled into the Provanta Debt Settlement Program belongs to a retired couple who joined Provanta a little over a year and a half ago. They enrolled with over $240,000 of unsecured credit card debt on over 10 accounts.
The positive update on their program is that we have settled 5 accounts for them so far. The total original claim on these accounts was $125,000 and the total current claim at the time of settlement was $148,000. We settled the accounts for total of $48,000. The clients have received a gross savings of $100,000.
The less positive update on their program is that they just received a summons from one of their creditors. The balance on the account is $10,000 (one of our client’s smallest accounts) and the creditor has refused to settle. In order to try to prevent further legal action we contacted the client to see if they could provide additional funds to pay the balance in full (something we do only in extreme situations). Unfortunately, they could not.
Our clients have always been aware that litigation was a possibility and they accept their situation and our services for what it is. They understand that we cannot stop litigation but we can give their creditors information about their financial hardship to try to deter them from choosing litigation. Since they don’t have the money to pay this particular creditor they’ve asked us to focus our efforts on the other creditors who have not pursued legal action. They understand litigation may continue and even possibly turn a judgment, but at this point, there is nothing the clients can do about it and they plan on dealing with it if it actually happens.
We agree with the client’s decision and assured them that even while we work on the other accounts, we will stay in touch with this particular creditor. They may come around eventually and want to settle in the future because from our experience even legal accounts can be settled.
(Ref. 1507)
Technorati Tags: debt settlement, debt collection lawsuit, client stories, financial hardship, debt forgiveness
Weekly Settlement Statistics
May 20, 2008
Total for the week of May 12-16, 2008:
- Total Debt Settled - $58,603
- Total Settlement Amount - $22,569
- Settlement Percentage - 38.5%
- Total Cases Settled - 17
Best Settlement:
- Current Claim - $4,404
- Settlement Amount - $718
- Percentage - 16.3% (negotiated with an original creditor)
Worst Settlement:
- Current Claim - $1,721
- Settlement Amount - $1,205
- Percentage - 70% (negotiated with an original creditor)
Technorati Tags: debt forgiveness
Fighting Fire With Fire
May 19, 2008
Sometimes, it’s like a battlefield…
In October 2007, Provanta negotiated a settlement on a $12,900 account with a collection agency who was representing the original creditor. As with all settlements, Provanta required the collection agency to supply a written settlement agreement before any payment to them. We received the written agreement, sent the settlement payment of $5,600 to the collection agency, and saved our clients a gross amount of $7,300.
Three weeks later, Provanta received a call from a supervisor at the collection agency. She informed us that the original creditor recalled the account and as a result they could not proceed with the settlement agreement. This was completely unacceptable to Provanta, for we had a valid, signed settlement agreement that was in already in place, performed upon, and the payment accepted.
To make matters worse, the original creditor sent the account to a collection attorney who threatened to sue our clients unless they paid the balance in full. This was the last straw for Provanta, and we contacted an attorney that we have worked with for many years. He specializes in consumer law and FDCPA, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, violations. He was more than happy to assist our clients.
It took about 6 months and lot of letters to reach an agreement but we finally did. In the end, the collection attorney agreed to accept the $5600 original settlement agreement, or deal with a lawsuit against themselves, as well as the original creditor, should they persist.
Technorati Tags: FDCPA, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, debt settlement, accord and satisfaction, consumer law, consumer protection, FTC
(Ref. 1506)
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