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Making Payment Arrangments or Debt Consolidation Program?

Date: Thu, 07/26/2007 - 05:00

Submitted by lawn1016
on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 05:00

Posts: 676 Credits: [Donate]

Total Replies: 12


What is better-contacting creditors directly & trying to work out payment arrangements or find a debt consolidation program?

I have a Chase credit card & 2 others that have high minimum payments. I can make the first 2, but Chase is killing me-the minimum payment is $299. I can't afford that & I'm starting to fall behind. I could afford to send them $180 a month up until January. Would they go for that? I've always paid them but late because of the high balances (but never more than 20 days late).

I've heard horror stories about Chase where people try to reach out for help & get treated like scum. I think I'm hesitant to call as I'm afraid of them yelling at me. I have a job, I just was living beyond my means & now its caught up with me. Added to the stress is I'm pregnant now & my husband and I can't afford much.

I have sent them $99 & will send another $60 later this week...but its just so hard to catch up.


Chase is the worse when u get behind! Seems the more u send them the higher ur bill gets each month! I will NEVER own a Chase credit card again!! They can't wait for u to be late "ONE" time then they jack ur rates up so high and all this interest makes ur amount owed go up then ur over ur limit and now the extra fees start!!
I'm not sure how willing they will be to work with u, unless u default... i know sounds crazy but Chase is hard to deal with.
Have u considered using a debt consolidation company? If u've registered with this site someone will contact u and discuss waht's best for ur situation!
Good Luck,
Ang


lrhall41

Submitted by Ang on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 05:25

( Posts: 2306 | Credits: )


Hi Lawn, Welcome to the forums! This is a great place for advice for you. It sounds like you have a really big balance on that Chase card. What interest rate are you paying. You may be able to transfer the balance to a different card with a lower rate. It can't hurt to call Chase and ask for a lower rate. If they see that they may lose you to another card they may be willing. Communication is important. It shows that you care. Be persistent. If they say no, call back and try again. When you joined here did you ask for the free counseling? If not, I think it would be a good idea. Click on the "Free Consultation" link on the side bar. How is your FICO score. That will have a lot to do with whether you can get a good rate. If it is low you might want to try working on improving it. You can do that by pulling your credit reports and challenging anything that looks wrong or inaccurate. You can do that for free.


lrhall41

Submitted by Frogpatch on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 05:33

( Posts: 5381 | Credits: )


Yea once ur late one time with Chase they jack ur rates up!!
Very good advice from frog there! Is it possible to transfer to another card? If u can use that as leverage Chase may be willing to work with u to keep u as a customer! But i'm just guessing here, that u've been late and have a balance that shows as such? I know when dealing with Chase my past due balance kept growing each month even though i never missed a payment just wasn't able to send full payment!!
Good Luck and keep us posted and ask any questions u have,
Ang


lrhall41

Submitted by Ang on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 05:51

( Posts: 2306 | Credits: )


That is a very high interest rate. I would start shopping around. Start with your own bank! They very often have deals for their depositors. I hope its not Chase. Watch out for the fine print things like, if you miss one payment your interest triples. Or the low interest rate is only good for 12 months and then jumps to 30% etc. They are very sneaky. Stay away from Capitol One, Orchard Bank and HSBC. They are terrible and despite the funny "whats in your wallet" commercials, Capitol One has an awful reputation.


lrhall41

Submitted by Frogpatch on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 06:03

( Posts: 5381 | Credits: )


I am in good standing with my Discover Card-haven't been late with them in quite a long time...like 2 years-is it possible if I explain my situation to Discover & ask for a credit increase to transfer my balance over? Would they be receptive? The interest rate on my discover card is less, so my payments are more manageable with them.


lrhall41

Submitted by lawn1016 on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 06:40

( Posts: 676 | Credits: )


We are here to help. All of are going thhrough or have gone through similar situations and learned from our experiences. Try calling discover and like I said try your local bank. My credit union has excellent rates. Problem is my credit is awful. Too many experiences.


lrhall41

Submitted by on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 10:01

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I'm getting a bit of a reprieve...getting a surprise bonus at work. That will pay for the month that I'm behind & part of the next one. I've been sending in what I can to Chase this month...so far I've sent $189 out of $299. So what I'm thinking is if I can get up to date on the previous month I can at least bargain a little better with Chase.

I called Discover & talked to an account manager-he was very helpful. Suggested I try a debt management Program or contact my creditors & asking for payment plans instead of doing a credit increase & balance transfer. He said that what I was doing was actually creating MORE debt for myself when I want to make LESS debt.

Thanks so much everyone!!! I'll let you know how the bonus works out & if it even helps. I'm just relieved I've been sending in SOMETHING to Chase.

PS...I did visit one site where they had a news report clip about their company & how they helped one man. The man was deep in debt $75,000 & tried to negociate with his credit card companies. The attitude he got from them was "Oh well...too bad you are in debt. We won't help you." He went on to say they jacked up all of his rates to the maximum. That scares me!!!!!!!!! My rates are already at the highest-will they not help me? If they won't I'm getting a free consultation from here.


lrhall41

Submitted by lawn1016 on Fri, 07/27/2007 - 19:18

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I can help you with your debt. I am a debt analyst with a finance company her in Mesa Arizona. My email is xxx.com and you can also call me at xxxx. The name of the company that I work for is xxxx info removed-no advertising per TOS rules..Bossy4455


lrhall41

Submitted by on Sat, 07/28/2007 - 14:38

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