An 8-part case study of an actual FITZGERALD & CAMPBELL, APLC client who did
Part Six – The Representation Begins… The First 6 Months…
So John hired Fitzgerald & Campbell, APLC on 5/2/22 and the fun began. After putting Navient on notice that we represented the client on what would ultimately be 7 different accounts totaling just under $94K, our client began depositing $2000/mo into our attorney/client trust account. We demanded the original loan documentation from Navient and got the loan application, note, loan disclosures, transaction history, etc. Amazingly, we got them! That is not always the case.
Serious negotiations were not going to start until after the accounts had “charged off” which is 180 days after default. Settlements that are anywhere near what we expect do not happen until after charge-off. You may be able to settle pre charge-off, but you will pay much more. Also, since the client was saving at $2000/mo, it took him 6 months to have $12,000 saved. So that was our first offer in Feb 2022: $12,000.
That was immediately declined, and they said they would never go below $50K. The balance had grown to over $98,000 by that time. This was good news as they had already knocked 48K off. A few months later they went to $35K. We countered at 15K. We were told: “we will never go below 35K, not now, not in 10 years, not ever”. Our response: take it to court then. I will take up with the lawyer and you will not get any commission! There really is not anything more fun than toying with collectors. After 30 years, it still does not get old!
Click here for: Part Seven – The Settlement!