In trying to handle my debt settlement, I've been speaking to a few collection agencies over the past few weeks, but one in particular has been an enormous pain, almost schizophrenic in their communications with me.

The very first time I called the agent I spoke to explained that they would only settle for what worked out to about 60 cents on a dollar. That was I more than I was able to pay at the time, so I said I'd have to call them back. I decided to call back and see if I could make that payment over 2-3 payments and just get it done with. This time the person I spoke to said that they could not settle this account for less than 85%. I explained that I had already spoken to someone who said that I could pay 60%. The response: "Impossible."

So I decided to call right back to see if I could get another rep on the phone. I was back to about 70% this time. I am just SO CONFUSED. Are these percentages just being made up on the spot? Is there no sort of regulation with debt settlement? And perhaps most importantly, should I just keep trying back until I get a settlement I think works for me? How terribly tedious.