Settling A Two And A Half Year Old Repo

Hello my name is Taylor. I am 31 yrs old and live in Nashville TN.

My question is 2 1/2 yrs ago my jeep Cherokee was reposessed because I was in jail for a few months. My original loan was through wells Fargo and has been sold to arrow acceptance. I am wanting to by a house now and my fico median is around 680. 

The loan has been turned over to a law firm who says nothing will be reported on my credit until it is paid in full. They threatned to sue me but I am a merchant mariner and it is impossible to place a garnishment or attatchment against my wages according to u.s.c. 46 part 11109. I told them this about a year ago and they have not responded back.

My real question is should I use a dept settlement company to pay them off or should I just say screw them. My credit has already taken the hit for the repo but I don’t know if a settlement would further hurt my score.

The owed balance is $10500 they said they would settle with me for $8500. I think this is hi being that they in no way can garnish my wages what amount should I be looking g to settle at? 

Thanks for any help or advice.

Taylor the towboater

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Hello Taylor,

Wage garnishment is only one means by which collection on a judgment can be pursued.  A judgment – if it gets to that stage – can also lead to garnishment of bank funds or attachment to any other asset owned.

I’d guess that balance could be settled for half of what was offered, but bear in mind that from a credit reporting standpoint – if the law office is collecting and nothing is on the credit save the original tradeline which shows a $10,500 balance, then settling this 2.5 year old account without a pay for delete will probably reduce the credit score.

Read: Dana’s Story

Thanks for the questions and hope this helps.

Paul

This author is not an attorney and this information should not be considered legal advice.  Please consult an attorney for legal advice.