“Dear Steve,
I have defaulted on a Macy’s Account. I have sent multiple letters explaining my situation and wanting to try to settle etc, but they just keep sending bills and will not respond to my request.
Steve, I wanted to know what I should try to do next. My husband was laid off from work last year suddenly around the holidays which caused both of us to pick and choose on what accounts we could pay, and the others we defaulted because we had no choice at the time. I had a Macy’s account in which I defaulted. They kept calling after I explained my situation and they were completely unwilling to work with me. So due to all the phone calls (4 a day), I sent by certified mail a cease to desist letter to stop the phone calls, but did stress that it was acceptable to send correspondence by mail. So I keep getting bills and a letter recently from someone with Macy’s asking why I have not paid and once again I explained. Now we are getting out finances back on track THANK GOODNESS! So I have been sending over the last few months offers to settle my account. They will not respond at all. I just keep getting more and more bills in which I ca n’t afford to pay. The original amount owed was approximately $380 and now it is up to $750 due to late fees and interest. The account just shows closed and 120+ days late on my credit reports. So what do I do now? Should I keep trying or should I just give up on it at the moment and wait til it has been turned over to a collector and hope to receive a response to settle the account that way? I am lost and frustrated with this. What do you suggest that I try next?
Thank you.”
So I picked up the phone and talked to someone with experience settling Macy’s accounts. What they said was that Macy’s is horrible about settling accounts in-house before they charge them off. It generally has to go to an outside agency or get sold off first. They said Macy’s typically settles in the 40%-50% range.
The cease and desist letter has no power over the original creditor or current debt owner, only a third party collector.
If you can’t make a payment arrangement with Macy’s then you can just be nice when they call and let your account flow through to charge off and an outside agency. Just keep in mind that technically anytime you are in default on your account the creditor may elect any legal action specified in the client agreement.
The delinquency and charge off will be reported on your credit report for seven years.
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