Your partial payments can actually be denied

A collector does not have to agree to take your partial payment. Which is kind of crazy. It's all or nothing when it comes to debt collectors for some odd reason.  Collectors want you to send them a lump sum payment and they don't care if you have to borrow it from a relative, skip your car payment or take a cash advance from your credit card.  So they use very aggressive tactics to scare you in to paying the debt in full as quickly as possible.  But the smarter thing to do is to pay them only what you can afford to pay them.  Keep paying your house and car payments, don't borrow money from relatives or your credit card and pay them only what you can afford each month.  Send it in every month even if they keep sending it back. Keep proof that you've been trying to send them money.  This will significantly reduce your odds of being sued, as most collection attorneys know that a judge, when presented with evidence that you tried to pay the debt, will yell at the plaintiff for wasting his time with an unnecessary suit when the defendant was trying to pay the debt.  Eventually, most collectors will give in and accept the partial payments.

Man.  This happened to me.  I had a private school loan through Wells Fargo...  the loan payment was something close to $400 a month, and after having a kid, and being out of work for 12 weeks with complications- I found it hard to pay that.  So I sent them less, every month. 

Every month, they sent it back and said they don't accept partial payments. They charged a late fee and jacked up my interest rate.  After exactly 91 days, and after receiving a payment of $1800 in a lump sum (but one that didn't quite catch up the late payments since they weren't accepting the partial payments) they charged my account into collections.  Sickening, isn't it?

Now, they'll accept the full amount, or payments of an amount THEY decide; and if I make payments they will not take it out of collections or otherwise change it on my credit report to "paid as agreed" or anything other than "charged off", so I'm not making payments on it.

I offered to settle for half the amount owed (because they charged it off with an extra $12,000 in "fees" and "interest" so I felt it would be fair to offer them half of what they show as being owed since I originally paid the account down by a bout $12,000 before I fell behind).  They won't take it.

So it's still in collections.  I haven't heard from them in about 6 months.  waiting to see what happens, but my credit is at a stand still- cannot be improved until something is done with this account!

I know that they will use whatever they can think of to scare you into paying them in all. I know my parents had to move from one state to another over a job and they were on a lease,so they came up with these lies to charge them extra. Well it went to a collectors,but they offered them to pay only half of the payment and that would close it,but no they didn't. They only get a letter from them about twice a year now.

This is addressed to Debbie - my boyfriend is in the same predictment as you.  The student loan process needs to be regulated.  From what I have read, they appear to be exempt from the Fair Credit Act, which is unfair.  So, because they REFUSE to negotiate and harrass you, they have the right to destroy your credit.  The government needs to look at their business practices and sanction these lenders.  They destroy our lives with no hesitation.  And I swear, they get some of the meanest people to harrass you.

It boggles my mind that creditor's won't take partial payments.. Whatever happened to the old "Something is better than nothing" mantra? If a creditor wants to be paid, and the payee is late/past due, they should be happy they're getting anything.  It tempts one to say fine, how about a settlement then, if you won't take a partial payment? That way I can give you partial payment of the total at once and be done with you ;)

I agree with Meeshee1. They ought to be happy to see anything come in at all. But then again, the world we live in tells us we should have it all.

I've only had a partial payment refused twice. I kept the returned check and letter each time. When the company called me to put the squeeze on I let them know that I was well aware that a judge would not look favorably on their refusal of my payment attempts and that I planned to keep sending them. After a brief hold, the associate came back on the line and agreed to accept the partial payments.

The letter and returned check are called EVIDENCE once you present them in court. In fact, they are overpowering EVIDENCE that will almost always hand you a victory. Smart move CChadwick. Always, and I mean ALWAYS save every piece of correspondence you receive from the collector as it can almost always become evidence in your behalf.

I was glad to hear that it does affect them when you are trying to do what you can and they say it is not good enough.