credit card debt...

hello!
Well unfortunately there is no concrete answer to how long it takes for your cc company to send your account to a collection agency. Most cc companies will hold on to your debt until they charge it off...which is normally at 180 days past due. However, some of the cc companies will send your account to collections early in the game. This happened to me. I had an account with American Express for over $10K. At 90 days past due they sent my account to a collection agency that also happens to be a law firm. This agency gave me 10 days to agree to a settlement or the "litigation process" would begin. It completely took me off guard, because i was only at the 90 day mark. After doing some research and speaking to a professional in the debt settlement industry, I decided they weren't bluffing. I settled for 55% of the balance, payable in 3 payments.

Most debt settlement companies will say that only 1% of the people who enter a debt settlement program get sued. I personally think that is untrue. If you read this site enough, you will learn just how common lawsuits are. Being that you own a home with equity probably puts you at a higher risk of being sued I would think. Although, being sued is not the end of the world....it will just force you to pay a certain amount under specific terms...in other words a settlement.

Hope that helped!

Unfortunately with debt settlement, there are no rules to go by. Generally most people will agree that you would have to be able to save approximately 50% of your total debt in 18-24 months or less in order for debt settlement to be a good option. Even then there of course is the chance that you will be sued. The best advice I could give is to read read read, make a solid plan as to who you would like to settle with first and for how much, who would be second, etc etc., and above all save as much money as you possibly can. If you can't come up with the money to settle then nothing else you do really matters.
Best of luck to you!

You may explore the credit card consolidation option.

it all depens on your creditors, or how you go about it. Some creditors are easy very very easy some are just a real pain in the butt. I have had settlements as low as like 20% to one that would not settle at all.

I had 1 card that sued me at the 2 year mark. My smallest card. While i have heard others getting sued at 7 or 8 months. Its a guessing game. Its a gamble that at some point most of us have had to take. I know with settlement communication is important. If they are ingnored completely that is usually from what i hear is when you get sued quickly.

so for in my circumstances they all knew i was in a settlement program. Most of them all told me they would not work with settlement companies (they all did except for the baby account i had citibank). But they all knew i was slowly saving. And every month my company I used called stated what i had available for settlement it was either a yes or no. If it was no, they were usually buying thier time till i had more. If they are aware your making a attempt, they will hold out. For the most part.

but you never know, like i said its a gamble.