Debt Settlement, a few things...

I will comment only on 1st one Yes you have to stop paying, this is so f... up pretty much they will lough on you and have nothing to talk about if you keep paying at least your min.
I approched couple of creditors when I was current never late in my life and had credit score 750 all they offered me was hardship program which takes your interest rate to 0% for 6 months then 9.9% for next 6 month, then after a year they will review what next, well if you end up with over 150k in CC reducing interest rate for 6 month does not do any good, aslo somehow in hardship program my min payments would be slightly higher then they were when I was paying not sure why, so I said Thanks for you help and stop paying I'm now 90 days past due on all CC paying as usually mortgage and cars and negotiating CC as you can see cannot answer other question I'm newbie too

Hi jorgefenix,

First off, I would ask the credit card companies about their hardship programs. It's a good start.

1. If I owed you $100, would you take $20 and go? Sometimes it happens, it depends completely on the creditor. They don't *have* to settle, unless they take you to court and they are awarded a part of the debt - which is getting way ahead of yourself.

2. I personally cannot answer this one as I have not done debt settlement myself. The FTC suggests getting a Secured credit card and a small loan (even if with a cosigner).

3. Only the car loan company, if you do not pay them.

4. They would have no way to "investigate your balances" unless one of your CCs are on the same bank you bank at. So you should actually be socking away as much money as you possibly can, in order to pay off settlements. When a creditor offers you a good settlement, it usually needs to be paid immediately.

Here is some great info: How to settle your debts yourself and simplify your life.

Good luck, and welcome to the Community!

chrys

hello!

1. yes you need to stop paying and start saving they wont even discuss settlement if your current and why should they? if you are paying they think why settle? you can afford it. your paying the bill right? but see what they can do first before deciding on settlement maybe thier hardship program will be for you if they have one available for you.

2. if you still choose settlement it doesnt take long once all cards are paid off. when i went through my settlement it was about a year when i started to recieve offers again for credit i did apply for a first premier 300$ available credit that charged me 5.00 everymonth to have, but they reported to all 3 cc reporting agencies every month. but i also had a line of home equity i paid on time even during the settlement process.

so about a year to get ok credit again. by the second year i was starting to get pretty satisfied with my credit.

3. they can only take your car if you dont make the car payment you usually cant do settlements with secured debt like car payments or home loans

4 like crys said you will need to be stashing away as much money as you possibly can. they usually want paid at the end of a agreement in one lump sum. I hear they sometimes will spread it out of 3 months in some cases with large amount of debt but they usually try to get one lump sum so you need your accounts.

Hope this helps!

hello!

1. yes you need to stop paying and start saving they wont even discuss settlement if your current and why should they? if you are paying they think why settle? you can afford it. your paying the bill right? but see what they can do first before deciding on settlement maybe thier hardship program will be for you if they have one available for you.

2. if you still choose settlement it doesnt take long once all cards are paid off. when i went through my settlement it was about a year when i started to recieve offers again for credit i did apply for a first premier 300$ available credit that charged me 5.00 everymonth to have, but they reported to all 3 cc reporting agencies every month. but i also had a line of home equity i paid on time even during the settlement process.

so about a year to get ok credit again. by the second year i was starting to get pretty satisfied with my credit.

3. they can only take your car if you dont make the car payment you usually cant do settlements with secured debt like car payments or home loans

4 like crys said you will need to be stashing away as much money as you possibly can. they usually want paid at the end of a agreement in one lump sum. I hear they sometimes will spread it out of 3 months in some cases with large amount of debt but they usually try to get one lump sum so you need your accounts.

Hope this helps!

1. Delinquent? Only if you go the settlement route. There are other methods you can opt for and pursue NOW, before you start missing payments.

2. By yourself? Expect 1.5-2 years for ok credit. If you go with a credit REPAIR company, like the one my agency refers our clients to, we'd be talking 6-8 months average. Definitely worth the money in my estimation. I'll see about finding you the name/address for that company. If I haven't posted that in a few days, remind me! I lose track sometimes


3. If you default on the car loan, then yep. If its your OTHER cards you're worried about, they can't come after your car.

4. If you were going to negotiate that way, that's probably a good idea. Such as, if you were trying to work out a loan mod (like I have performed for clients) you would be in a better bargaining position if you appeared to be more broke than you were. Not sure how that would play out in debt settlement

I've experienced dealing with debt collectors and with discharging creditors, so keep posting any questions you have, and I'll share any little I have to offer (if it applies). FYI- - if you ever get calls from collectors, don't talk on the phone. only do business in writing