Page 65 - Winning The Credit Game Bundle (CK Patrick)

GETTING TO “PAID AS AGREED” 53

for an email or letter stating in writing that they will report the account
status to the credit bureaus as “paid as agreed” upon receipt of the
payment. If they refuse, you will have less to gain by paying them—
and they know that.
During this conversation, you will also want to ask for the best
email address to send an email to yourself if the requested email does
not show up in your inbox. It is easiest to write an email in reply to an
email you’ve already received, after all, so this will help you make it
easier for the creditor to write you this email if they have trouble.
How might you go about asking for something like this? Below I’ll
share phone and email scripts you can use to help get all of your
accounts to “paid as agreed.”

PHONE SCRIPT

Many creditors and debt collectors will contact you via phone call, or
ask you to call their number as their first line of communication. This is
because it’s harder to ignore a phone call than an email, and people are
more likely to reach a decision to pay if they are encouraged to do so in
real-time. Here is a phone script to use when speaking with a creditor
or debt collector about getting your account to “paid as agreed.”

HOW TO NEGOTIATE WITH BILL COLLECTORS

Remember, you will want to check how close your debt is to expiring
under the seven-year statutory limit before contacting any creditor.
When you contact them to pay, the clock will reset to “zero” and the
derogatory mark will now remain on your credit report for seven years
from the date you contact them. So if the bill is already five or six years
old, you may not wish to re-start this clock.
For debts which are less than five years old, you may wish to expe-
dite a faster removal from your credit report. In the event that you
choose to contact a creditor to arrange this, here are instructions you
can use to improve the results of your conversations with this creditor.
Always ask and record who you are talking to. Under the Fair Debt