UPDATE: 137k credit card/unsecured debt
So, it's been a year since ai started this saga. Thought I'd give an update.
Last year, I was 137k in debt with credit cards and personal loan.
If you click my profile, you can find my posts where I was able to secure hardship plans with Discover, Citibank, and AMEX.
SOFI (personal debt consolidation loan) offered me a 33% settlement (15k on 42k of debt) about month before they charged off the debt. I couldn't afford $15k - not then and not now. Funny enough, when I contacted them, the CSRs always said they don't make settlement offers, but they 100% did in my case. I did offer them an amount I could afford, but the turned it down.
The account got charged off and NES/Velocity had it. They call a lot. Now Asset Recovery has it. Idk if they are all the same company or what. They called, they emailed, they called. I actually responded briefly to 1-2 if their emails and made a settlement offer thru their website, which was turned down. When they called a member of my family, I contacted them via email and online chat to tell them to not call me or anyone. They acknowledged. I also asked what their settlement offer was as they had sent NUMEROUS emails saying my account qualified for settlement. They initially said, $21k and some change. Told them I couldn't do that. I made another offer. It was refused. They then came down to $17k and some change. Told them I couldn't do that. So, we parted ways cordially and said we'd revisit it at a later date.
The Chase cards are not resolved. Two are currently with a law firm that has sent a demand letter but no lawsuit has been filed yet. Two other Chase cards are still with Chase.
There's also a PayPal Credit card with Synchrony. It has about $3800 on it. They just call. Haven't emailed or anything beyond that.
Hoping to be able to save some money soon so I can start actually settled this debt
I didn't qualify for Ch 7 bankruptcy. Chapter 13 was going to be 100% payback, so, I'd much rather try to settle without the added expense of lawyers.
In regard to lawyers and bankruptcy, I did learn thru Reddit posts about MetLife Legal Services - very cheap at just over $20/month, and some people have had them handle their bankruptcy. Saved a lot if money. I am signing up simply in case someone does decide to sue. Once I setkle all the debt, I can decide whether to keep the legal service membership.
Hope this and my previous posts help someone.