I was replying to Schnitte, who cited the really old British case of Foakes v Beer. Foakes v Beer basically says that the creditor can take the $1000 and then say “Sucker!!! I don’t have to do what I said. You still owe me $9000.” It was my intention to say that things work differently in many of the states.
I had no intention of saying anything about a $0 amount. I was assuming Shnitte was trying to say that md2000’s idea about accepting $1000 was bad because he couldn’t forgive the debt without new consideration from the debtor.
This thread makes me wonder how difficult it would be to purchase your own outstanding debt at a reduced price.
I’m sure there are difficulties involved for one person attempting to buy just one outstanding debt, as these industries seem to operate on corporations buying huge portfolios of outstanding debt. Failing that, I wonder how successful negotiations would be if one attempted to bargain with their debt collector.
That’s essentially the same as settling your debt for a lower payment, isn’t it? You’re buying back your own debt for a certain percentage of its face value.
That’s a fair point. And ISTM that the price of your debt is going to be linked to your ability to pay it, so if I had the means to purchase it, it would probably be selling at close to face value. I can’t think of a way to come out on top without taking the credit hit, and if you’re going that route you may as well wait for the statue to run out.
I was more interested in the logistics of it anyway. Like, how would I personally know if my debt is being sold off in a bundle of other outstanding debt? Would any amount of lying on the telephone help at all? “Oh no, he passed away just recently.” or “I’ve just moved to Germany” or something. Would that land me in legal hot water? I’m sure people try that all the time.
Obviously I wouldn’t actually do that, but just for the sake of discussion. I’ve never had an unpaid debt, so you’ll have to forgive my ignorance.