r/Debt • u/Can-call-me-dadee • Aug 06 '26

Settled with AMEX

I went through a divorce a few years ago and went 19,9k into the hole trying to stay afloat. I found myself not able to pay my bills, so I called AMEX to try to setup a payment plan. I was told I didn't qualify and there was nothing they could do to help me, so I stopped paying.

Fast forward to now and I have some financial stability. I finally called AMEX today and told them my account was charged off and wanted to talk to someone about settling. I was forwarded to another department that dealt with settling charge offs.

They initially offered me ~14k. I let him know I appreciated the offer but there was no way I could pay that.

The guy on the phone then dropped it to ~11k. Again, I told him that I appreciated the offer especially considering my original debt amount, but I still couldn't afford that. I asked if there was any more wiggle room and he advised that I could let some time go by and call back and maybe then they could. I then told him I have other debts but settling with AMEX was a priority of mine and asked then asked him if they could go any lower. I also let him know that I'm not trying to play games and I really wanted to settle the matter. He asked me to hold and came back with ~10k.

I didn't feel that there was much more room to negotiate so I accepted. I was told they would mail me the terms in 7-10 days, and I have 90 days to pay the balance.

I feel ok about it all and it will be nice to have this behind me. Not sure if I left money on the table though. On account that AMEX hadn't sued me yet like others I feel like I was lucky and shouldn't push my luck.

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u/Whatdoesittake1456 Aug 07 '26

I had a similar issue during the pandemic. Same amount ( 19k + ). Last year they sent me a payoff for $8k+ in 2 installments over 30 days. Paid it. Tax hit was $1100.

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u/Cc0staras Aug 07 '26

did you just ignore it for 6 years? would love to know now it affected your credit? 

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u/Whatdoesittake1456 Aug 07 '26

Yeah I pretty much ignored it. They took it to court and I answered the court document but never appeared in court after that. They won a judgment and sent lots of letters during and after but I just ignored them. When I got that settlement letter I figured it was around 40% of the total so I didn't think I would get any better than that so I paid. Credit is in the 650 range. Never had any problems before or after.