subject: Credit Card Debt Relief – How Debt Negotiation Could Pay Off Big For You [print this page] Having a credit card can be a good thing if your spending habits are not out of control. Today, they are very easy to acquire with very little time and effort to apply for one. Every household has at least one credit card that is used on a weekly basis. It is when you have 2 or 3 that have been maxed out, that you need to worry. When we go over the limit and only pay the minimum amount due, we never get out of paying for interest and penalties. These can add up quickly and cause us to start missing payments. Credit card companies are not like banks and other lenders. Banks will send you a late notice when you've missed a payment. On the other hand, credit card companies will hound you until you pay them. Since your card is an unsecured loan, they have more to lose if you don't pay for them.
Eventually, after not paying the bill that is owed, they will close your account with them. They will no longer allow you to purchase things on that card. When this happens, they will demand payment in full. After several months of trying to get you to pay, they will resort to different tactics. Some will offer to let you pay in payments. If you choose this route, remember that you will still be paying interest and late fees on your account while you are making payments. Others will threaten to take you to court and sue you for the balance owed. After unsuccessfully trying these other tactics and when all else fails, they will offer to settle with you in order to close the account.
There are pros and cons about settling with a credit card company. The good news is that you will probably get to pay off your account below what is actually owed. The bad news is that at this point, it has already been reported to the credit bureaus as bad credit. Most companies will start with an offer to settle by taking off some of the fees. This offer is good for them because you will still be paying for what you owe them minus the fees. If you don't agree to that, their second offer will be to come down a bit more. Some will offer to take off 25% of what's owed. If they do not hear from you, they will finally offer to settle the account for much less than 50% if you pay within a certain amount of time and you pay the amount in one lump sum. Holding out for a settlement can be very good for your wallet by saving you money.
Credit Card Debt Relief How Debt Negotiation Could Pay Off Big For You
