Co-Founder of SoloSuit
George Simons, JD/MBA

George Simons is the co-founder and CEO of SoloSuit. He has helped Americans protect over $1 billion from predatory debt lawsuits. George graduated from BYU Law school in 2020 with a JD-MBA. In his spare time, George likes to cook, because he likes to eat.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Summary: Are you trying to settle a debt with Santander? Make an offer for free with SoloSettle.

A credit card can put you in a vicious cycle of debt and tremendous financial stress. If you're unable to clear your outstanding balance on your Santander credit card, you may want to consider negotiating a debt settlement.

Debt settlement involves negotiating debt with your creditor to forgive part of the debt and accept a settlement amount. Usually, communication between you and the creditor is documented through letters to ensure that the terms of the agreement are clear to both parties. Therefore, before reaching out to Santander for debt settlement negotiations, you can use this guide to polish your negotiation skills.

What is debt settlement?

A debt settlement is an agreement that arises from debt negotiations between a debtor and a creditor. The debtor offers to make a lump-sum payment or a few installments to the creditor, who in turn agrees to forgive a portion of the debt. After clearing the agreed balance, the debt account is marked as settled on your credit report.

How to reach a debt settlement With Santander

The easiest way to settle is with SoloSettle. Here are some additional tips to help you prepare for a successful negotiation.

Save some money

Consider saving up some money before approaching the credit officer at Santander Bank for negotiations. By doing so, you reduce the chances of missing payments again, which may eventually damage your relationship with the creditor.

Make an offer with SoloSettle

Reaching a settlement is easier when you use SoloSettle. You can send an offer to settle for free to Santander Bank explaining your financial situation and what you're willing to pay.

Settle with SoloSettle

Make an Offer

Note that no law binds the creditor to negotiate a debt settlement with their debtors. Therefore, you must give the creditor enough reasons to accept your request. We'll discuss how to write such a letter in detail shortly.

Request a written confirmation of the settlement agreement

If Santander accepts your settlement offer, request that they do it in writing. You need the confirmation letter before making any payments to avoid any misunderstandings in the future.

Honor your payments

Whether you agree to a lump sum or several installments, ensure that you keep your word and send payments on time. Always stay in touch with the creditor until you settle everything per the agreement.

How to write a Debt Lawsuit Settlement Letter

if you want to try settling on your own you can attempt to make a Debt Lawsuit Settlement Letter.

About 55% of credit card holders struggle with credit card debts, with a good number of them longing for solutions like debt settlement agreements. As a result, a renowned creditor like Santander Bank will most likely receive thousands of settlement letters on the regular.

Your Debt Lawsuit Settlement Letter must be formal, straightforward, and comprehensive to increase the chances of approval. Here's what you should include in the letter:

your name and contact information;
your mailing address;
your account number;
reasons you can't pay the debt in full;
settlement amount wish to offer, and;
your expectations in the agreement.

SoloSettle can help you send an offer in minutes.

Reasons that prove financial hardships stand better chances of acceptance. For example, if you suffered an injury that makes it impossible to work, it will probably affect your income and ability to pay the debt. You may also need to provide documents such as a doctor's report to prove that you're incapable of working like you used to because of the injury.

When choosing a settlement offer, consider a reasonable amount as the benchmark of the negotiations. For example, you may offer a lump sum of about 30% of what you owe.

Here are some of the best tactics to use when trying to reach a settlement agreement:

If the creditor hasn't reported the account to the credit bureaus yet, you may request them to report it as a paid-in-full account rather than a settled account. A settled account is a negative entry on your credit report and can hurt your credit score for a long time. On the other hand, a paid-in-full account is a positive entry that can boost your credit score.

Remember to request the agreement in writing if Santander accepts your proposal.

What to expect after sending an offer to settle

The creditor may approve, counter, or reject your request. If they approve it, they'll send you a written agreement. Alternatively, they may propose a new settlement if they disagree with your initial offer. In that case, it's up to you to decide whether you can afford their proposed amount. If Santander Bank rejects your proposal, you'll be expected to pay the debt in full.

What if you can't pay Santander Debt?

When you're unable to pay what you owe Santander Bank, and your settlement offer has been rejected, the creditor might decide to file a lawsuit against you. You'll then be served with a debt collection summons to which you must respond within 14-30 days, depending on which state you live in.

Ignoring the Summons won't make the debt disappear. Instead, it could prompt the judge to issue a default judgment against you, giving Santander the authority to recover the debt through other legal options such as wage garnishment.

To avoid this, you'll need to respond to the debt collection Summons by filing a written Answer and stating your affirmative defenses with the court. In your answer, you may either admit, deny or claim that you lack sufficient knowledge regarding each claim listed in the court Complaint.

If you deny the claim, you can state reasons such as:

the credit card debt isn't yours;
the summons wasn't served properly;
you already paid the debt in question, or;
the debt's statute of limitations has expired.

Finding an attorney to help you draft and file your Answer can be time-consuming and costly. Represent yourself with SoloSuit's help—you can draft your Answer, have SoloSuit file it for you, and get an attorney to review the document before sending it off.

SoloSuit can help you file an Answer in all 50 states.

How debt settlement affects your credit

Debt settlement may be the best option compared to filing for bankruptcy or having an unpaid debt account. However, this option can also negatively impact your credit score.

Paying your debt on time and per the original credit agreement improves your credit scores. On the other hand, a debt settlement agreement modifies the original credit agreement, hurting your credit score as a result.

When the creditor closes your debt account after a settlement, they'll notify the credit bureaus of the changes in your debt account. The bureaus will then update your credit report. Credit bureaus consider a settled account a negative entry. This record might stay in your credit report for up to seven years from the delinquency date and affect your future creditworthiness.

The good news is that you have a chance to rebuild your credit over time to reverse the effects of a settlement account. Additionally, settling a debt account helps you avoid filing for bankruptcy, which significantly impacts your credit.

Watch SoloSuit's CEO, George Simons, explain the effects that settlement can have on your credit:

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

Settle with SoloSettle

Make an Offer

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You can ask your questions on the SoloSuit forum and the community will help you out. Whether you need help now or are just looking for support, we're here for you.

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>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

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