If you consent to a "payment plan," they will use your account and routing info to start whacking your bank account, and your bank will let you do it, because the one part of your conversation they reliably record is this payment plan rigamarole. Sending a check won't help - they'll use the account info on the front of your check to undertake "demand debits" from your account, and backstop it with that recorded call.
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Any agreement on your part to get on a payment plan transforms the old, low-value debt you incurred with your credit card into a *brand new*, *high value* debt that you owe to the bill collector. There's a good chance they'll sell this debt to another collector and take the lump sum - and then the new collector will commence a fresh round of harassment.
McKenzie says you should *never* talk to a debt collector. Make them put *everything* in writing.
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