$52,000 in debt with Chase - where to go from here.

If I were you then I would have opted for debt management program. This program can decrease your total payment by decreasing interest rate and waive off late payment penalties. It also helps you to improve your credit score. To know more on debt management please go through the following page: -

Debt Management lowers monthly payment without hurting your credit

i would first call the companies and see what they can do for you. your wife will need to call on her own though they will not discuss it with you unless your name is also on her account.

If they cannot help you or what they offer will not help, then you may need to consider settlement or management. First find out what they can do if anything. then let us know and we can suggest what may be best!

Hi 44vb2008, I'm in a similar situation. I have 3 Chase accounts that I can no longer afford to pay on (these are only 3 of 9 cards with debt total), my due dates are approaching and for the first time I am going to have to default on them. I know that this will in turn raise my interest rates and incur fees, but like you said, it's pay the credit card or pay the mortgage, and I'm going to choose my mortgage.

I don't know how Chase will be to deal with, but I did just recently have to deal with Citi, and am on the verge of dealing with Bank of America. My Citi card was only 6 days past due when they began calling, they recognized that I had a perfect payment history up until this point and wanted to know what was wrong. I explained that I have a small business with no money coming in and that my husband is out of work, and then said that I was sorry but was unable to make a payment at the time. They were nice, she gave me a # to call for a hardship program, which I did call and she offered me a few different options. I agreed to one that I hope I can keep up, in lieu of a minimum of $200+/mo. at 28.9% interest, they are removing all interest and fees for 12 months, reducing my payments to $85.00/mo. all of it going on the principal.

I don't know how the other companies will deal with me, hopefully they will be as willing to help and put me on a plan as Citi was. I would suggest you wait until they call you, and they will, and be very honest and tell them that you are just unable to pay them at this time. They'll probably ask when you think you'll be able to and that's when you tell them that your situation will probably not change anytime soon, so you really don't know. Don't give them a time frame, leave them with the impression that it's not looking in their favor, it will encourage them to help you more. Just be sure not to avoid their calls and be honest with your situation, it will be to your advantage and make them more willing to help you.

I wish I had more to offer, good luck!

did you both lose your jobs? Why have you been using the cards to live off of? What is your financial position? Do you have any other cards, loans, debts etc other than the 2 cards and the mortgage?

you would each need to deal with chase, they area each your own debts.

Thanks for all the advice!
Maggie, thanks for the kind words of encouragement!
Smo65d11, the wife and I are both employed, but due to a change in employment and pay decrease, we had been putting pretty much everything except for the mortgage payments on our cards just to get by. We bought our house almost 3 years ago and owe $283,000 on it and currently it is worth $230,000. So I guess you could say we are upside down in our mortgage too.
Our take home pay is $3,800 and our mortgage payment alone is down from over $2,500 a month to $2,374 (since the value has dropped, so has the taxes). That leaves $1,426, which now is almost my monthly payment on my Chase card. Chase bumped my APR up from 9.99% to 29.99% (since it went over the limit by a hundred dollars), and I cant afford to pay this now.

I guess the system timed me out by the time I posted the above reply, but the reply is from me, the original poster, 44vb2008.

Have you tried zero or low rate balance transfer credit cards? These cards come with a introductory offer of zero or low APR. These introductory offer lasts for a limited time period, say 6 to 15 months. You may transfer your existing balance from your Chase card to such zero rate card.

But read the fine prints of these zero or low rate credit cards.

I have read a bunch of threads recently about cards offering hardship programs for situations like yours ... if it was me, and I wanted to maintain a decent credit rating, I would try there before anything else! Good luck and please keep us updated.

That is sound advice. Communication is important!! I can't stress that enough!

Thanks again for the advice. I will be contacting Chase myself and will explain our situation and inquire about the hardship program. If I can get them to hold off on the monthly interest and hopefully reduce the payment amount, we still will be short each month on basic living expenses, and it looks like a short sale will be in order to get out of the mortgage. I will keep you posted and thanks again!

pinch every penny now while you can, live on rice, beans and weenies, drink water instead of soda, cut every cost where you can, and your living expenses will go down enough to help you keep up with the necessities .... good luck!

smo, is correct. I have focused my whole blog on how to save money everywere you can. Things you think are necessities that you can go without, how to save a hundred here and there. Things that are very simple. REMEMBER EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR ADDS UP. something simple as a regular cup of coffee everday before work will save you a few hundred a year. You must look long term as to how much that coffee costs you. This could pay a settlement.

I wanted to see what success either of you had with Chase.?? I'm curious to hear if they are willing to work with you for longer than a?? year.
I can get Chase accounts down to 6% pre negotiatied. Let me know if I can help coach you in any way.
The accounts would close but it would be 6%..pretty low!

hey dmg...you tell him you can settle his debt for half but you forgot to tell him about the fees you charge and that on top of the fees he will also have to pay you 15 or 17% of his total debt to you,also.In my opinion and others,instead of paying the outstanding fees with debt settlement programs use that money to settle with the creditors yourself.

Actually I was not referring to a settlement when I discuss lower interest rates because you pay back your full debt with lower rates in a debt management plan, so there is no 15% amount of the debt added on. You are referring to debt settlement which is something very different.

Of course everyone should just save up money themselves and attempt to deal with the creditors but many people are not that structured enough to do that. That is why I give options and I never pressure anyone because it is ultimately their decision.

A debt settlement varies state by state and the fees range anywhere from 10% to 15% of the debt amount, but when you pay half of your debt its substantially lower than what you are currently paying and many find it well worth it not to have to worry about the hassle of dealing with the creditors.

Debt Management Plans or Debt Settlement is certainly not for everyone. If your debt is less than $3,000 I would certainly tell you to focus on paying it off yourself by saving up. It really just depends upon your financial discipline and experience you have had with creditors. Many of my clients never get lower rates until they enroll in a dmp plan, and many clients have been trying to save up for years only to get nowhere.

Ultimately I just like to educate consumers on their options in a country where credit card companies for the most part don't care about your financial situation at all and giving you a lower rate for only a year doesn't fix the solution; it only delays the inevitable.

I'm currently behind on paying my debt as well.. reaching 30 days default. I spoke with Citi Cards at least once a week but they still call me 5 times a day including weekends. I can no longer afford any rate deduction or negotation. I'm opting to settle the debt by myself. 120 days waiting for charge off seems short but having them call me everyday 120 days seems like forever of waiting.

I am currently discussing my debt with a dept recovery program (CredeEx America) who says they can get Chase to waive all the late fees and finance charges to bring my debt down to 60% of what I currently owe. In 4 years and 9 months I will still have paid far less to them than the creditor. Am I missing something here? THanks all.

Normally I suggest you consider a Debt Management Plan with a non profit consumer credit counseling company but you are 120 days late or so odds are you are overextended and thus can't afford that. You will most likely be better suited for a debt settlement program. It can get you one payment around half of what you were paying and can typically cut you debt to around 40%-60% of what you owe. If you are so overextended to where you can't even afford to put money aside for debt settlement than your best bet would be to consult with a bankruptcy attorney.

CHASE IS THE WORST COMPANY TO WORK WITH !! They refused to help me in any way. When I finally answered one of their MANY calls, all they wanted was the current amount due. I proactively called 4 mos ago telling them I was in a hardship and needed some help. I was still current at that time. Since then I have only made 1 paymnt. I got the letter asking for the full amount due or my account would be sent to an attorney. When I called again, they said I was in Pre Litigation and they couldn't do anything to help me. All or none is what they were offereing. Then they said I could pay off $400 a month for 4mos to bring my accout current and then get into a restructuring payment plan. If I couldn't afford the $260 in the beginning how could I afford double that now??? Still no help. Yesterday I got a call wanting to know what I had decided to do? I told them all I could give confidentally at this point was $50, and he said oh that would be great. That will show good faith and an attempt to repay. I asked why they wouldnt offer that to me before and he says since my account is going to the attorney in 5 days, all calls will be reviewed. I asked that the notes be put into my account that I was never offered or allowed to make good faith payments otherwise I woudl have done that all along. I have been w/chase since 1998, and just with i n the last yr by balanced maxed out at 8K. Any suggestions on what I can do now ?? Or do I wait to hear from an attorney. I am scarred out of my pants!! I have never been in this situation before!

I had a similar situation, and contacted Green Path Debt Solutions. They're nationwide and had a local office about 1/2 mile from me. They were able to get my Chase bills down to 0% interest with 60 months to pay. Next they will renegotiate my mortgage - they say they might be able to get it from its current 6.25% ARM (adjusting in 2013) to a fixed % somewhere between 2-4%. They cost $50/month, that's it, no other fees. I went in feeling like I was drowning and came out buoyant and hopeful again. It's only been 1.5 months so they still have a couple more things to negotiate. However, they've been awesome. No pressure, no BS about being able to eliminate my debt through settling, etc. I am finally paying down my debt and in a few years will be FREE!

My buddy just settled his 2 chase accounts after around 10 months, Both cards balances around 39,000 total...settled each at $4200 and $4000....

I was about 165 days late on 2 chase cards and wanted to settle with them down the road and I have been in contact with them, about every 3-4 weeks. They seemed OK and then I got a summons. I guess they did not want to wait.

see you never really know what they are going to do, my thorn in my side was citibank. some dont fool around they just take ya to court. i hear though that you can still negotiate even after judgement though. atleast i think i read that somewere. dont quote me on that, im sure someone will pop in and correct me if im wrong. so there is still light at the end of the tunnel!

I am going thru a horror story with Chase! They more then doubled my minimum payment within 1 week of my finally going back to work (I was out of work for more then 7 months) and I just couldn't keep up. I called them to try to work something out and they said thanks but no thanks. LIke others here it was either pay them or my mortgage and I'm sorry but my mortgage will win each and every time. They now call my home phone and my cell phone 20 times a day (I have very limited minutes on my cell).

They are a horrible company and won't work with you!

You can also negotiate a settlement or an equitable payment plan at court itself to avoid a judgement. (Avoid it if you can.) They would likely be more willing to deal face-to-face than when you're just another voice on the phone.

See "http://www.nedap.org/hotline/settle.html" for some good pointers on negotiating in court. It's for New York, so you may wish to double check any procedures with your local court, and especially any needed forms and protocols.

What did you end up doing ?