I am just starting my research into debt solutions for myself. I have tried to contact credit card companies by myself, but they haven't been willing to work with me without negatively effecting my credit report. For example, one company stated that I could do a hardship for six months of lower payments and no late penalties, but it will show up as a collection on my credit report. I asked if the collection would show up for only the six months, but they said no it will stay on there permanently. I want to avoid bankruptcy, but feel on my own the odds are against me.

Please help!

[Jason]

Hi hinindiana,

Welcome to the debt consolidation care forum.

but they haven't been willing to work with me without negatively effecting my credit report.

Don't ever forget to negotiate your credit rating. You should always push for a perfect rating. Your final goal in negotiating your credit rating is to get the creditor to list your credit rating after the settlement as "Paid as Agreed" or "Account Closed- Paid as Agreed". Anything other than this listing will have a negative impact on your credit report.

Creditors are bound to change the status of your listing if you pay. It is because their main aim is to get the money from you rather than marking you negative.

I could do a hardship for six months of lower payments and no late penalties

Credit card debt settlement process does not take long. If you are making a lump sum payment it can take as little as one month. But if you would like to stretch it around six months or more with low monthly payments you have to enter a hardship program.

will show up as a collection on my credit report.

Showing this status would be the creditor's first choice and your last choice. This status is almost as damaging as showing the same debt unpaid. It is although very common, for an account to be deleted once it has been paid. The creditor now has no compelling reason to keep the negative listing on your report. It is still a good idea, to settle even if the creditor won't budge on deleting or positively modifying the negative listing.

I asked if the collection would show up for only the six months, but they said no it will stay on there permanently

Proper and tactful negotiation is very important on your part to remove the negative listing from your account. If you are willing to pay there is no reason why the negative listing will be shown permanently.

Convince your creditor's well. I repeat once more that the main aim of the creditor's is to squeeze money out of you and recover the money you owe them and not mark you negative.

I want to avoid bankruptcy, but feel on my own the odds are against me.

Yes, by all means you should avoid bankruptcy. Don't worry. You are capable of overcoming all odds. Just give in your best while negotiating with your creditors.

We expect your presence more often in this forum and would appreciate if you would share your knowledge and insights with other members.

Regards,
Jason

How long can a credit card balance remain on your credit? I thought it was seven years? I have a credit card balance of 3,500 that has been on my credit since 2000.Originally I believe the balance was less than a 1,000. I have been paying my bills on time and my credit score hasn't changed. What can I do to fix this? Is debt consolidation a solution and if so, will using debt services reflect negatively on my credit reports?

[debtmanagementguys]

Generally it is 7 years for an item to remain on your credit report. After that if it is still being reported you can dispute that item to be removed. Collections do certainly have a negative impact upon your credit report. For $1000 you would not need to use any consolidation service; that is not very much debt. I would send a letter to the 3 credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion requesting that item to be removed since it was 9 years ago. They should respond back with a reason why.

if i do debtconsolidation, does it show in my credit reports?

Debt consolidation shows up on your credit report if the creditor reports it that way. If you close the accounts yourself before you go into the program, then you will see "closed by consumer" on the report. If the creditor wants to be nasty they will report it as "consumer counseling". I was in debt consolidation back in the 90's and most of my creditors did not report it negatively. The only one that decided to write "consumer counseling" was Citibank.

I was current on all my bills when I went into the program, so it actually negatively affected my credit score. However, if you're severely behind in your bills and then do the program it usually improves your score.

I have discussed lowering my credit card payments for one year and lower interest until I get back on my feet. How will this effect my credit score?