Question re: charged off debts and collection agencies' purchase of these debts...NJ

Theoretically, you still owe the full obligation. Just because the original debtor decided to charge it off for less than the full value, or sold it to a collection agency for less than full value, does not mean that the obligation becomes somehow worth less. That being said, I am sure the agency would talk to you about a deal if it made financial sense for them to do so. That is how they make money-they buy "bad" debt, on the assumption that they will be able to collect partial or full value on some percentage of it.

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I agree with Mr.Kroll. I practice in Washington, and frequently debt collectors take the account on contingency basis and only pay the original creditor when the collect from you. They will take less if there is little or no effort required from them. The agent will be less likley to strike a deal if he thinks you can pay the whole thing.
Good Luck

New Jersey is a tough place to be a debtor. Not only do you have special civil court where the public functionaries who chase your assets get "poundage" fees, you have the Pressler & Pressler firm who basically write the collections law in that state.

What will a junk debt buyer expect to collect? In normal times their bottom dollar figure is going to be anywhere from 30-50% of what they're asking. In these hard times, some might be going as low as 20%.

There's a lot of thinking and strategy that you ca put into your decisions regarding the situation. And if you get it entirely right you'll save a lot of money. Step on a mine and you'll be stuck with this for years.