Debt Settlement Citi and BofA

Yes, it is not at all difficult to settle your debts yourself. All you need to do is to contact your creditors and negotiate with them for settling the account for less. You can find more details on how to settle your debts yourself if you visit the link http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/steps.html .

Quote:

pure,
Any way you can come up with 10k-11k in 8 months?
You will need say, 2.5-3k in month 5 the same in month 6, 7 & 8.
If you can, 2/3 of the debt is gone! I know it might be tough to do it, but it will be worth it. Get creative.

Heres the deal:
Larger balances not being sued upon is a crock, in my opinion (and experience). That is being said to make a sale and a commission.
Citi has calmed down a bit-still no guarantee.
BofA will be a dramatic savings, with time to pay. Your company will likely not get you this type of savings and the balance they will be dealing with, 12+ months from now, will be higher to boot. All the while you have litigation exposure.

Credit grantors are not patient. They will not be any more patient with your company than they would be with you. An outside 3rd party collection company may be creative in how they hold an account, but thats a toss of the dice.

If you knock out 2/3 inside of 8 months, citi can then be knocked out. Worse case, if sued on citi, even agreeing to a stip at 0 interest, you are a still a huge winner.

The reason the plan is going to take you this long is due to the fees you will be paying.

My biggest concern from what you wrote is that you have little faith in your accountability to save and not spend. If that concern is at a level so high that you are willing to have this take twice as long, paying more in settlements, with increased exposure, stay the course.


Mileage may vary.

I settled two Bank of America accounts after about three months into a debt settlement program. After about a year and two months, I settled the first of my Citi accounts. Haven't heard from the last two accounts to be settled (I started out with nine) which are both Citi, for some time. Hoping they will hold off until this current one I'm paying off is through.

Thanks so much for all of your comments... support is much needed. I've calculate and re-calculated everything over and over.
If I ditched the DS company, I could have about $7000 to $8000 in about 8 months (Jan)... and 40% of the Citi acct is $8100ish... so if I could make it that long w/out being sued, I'd be good. Then, for BofA, I could have about 30% of that balance by Aug of next year, which puts me at about 14 months w/out payment w/ BofA.
So, if I stuck to my guns, I could have enough for both cards by about 14 months from now... is that a good time frame?
With only 2 creditors, I think I could handle the calls... if I just knew what exactly to say to them.. do I say I'm working on a way to pay, etc. and that I can't pay one creditor w/out paying the others, etc? Isn't it best to be cordial and s/w them as opposed to ignoring them?

couple things to keep in mind, first of all you have to remember that once you stop paying min payment your balance will go up fast in addition to late fees and over limit fees interest on these cards will go up to the roof so your $20k within 8 months and no payment will be somwhere around $25 and your $40 in 1 year no payment will go up to $50k or more, if yur creditors have not done this yet they will soon change you interest to 25-30%
thatso much of bad news on the other had it is doable I have settled 2 BofA account $25k for 25% and CITI $10k @ 30% took me about 4-5 months
good luck!

Okay.. I did it... I ditched the DS company and I'm going to do it on my own... Better to ditch now than pay in those fees and end up doing it myself anyway... I CAN DO THIS!!!!

Couple of questions/ opinions needed.

Recap:
$20K to Citi and $40K to BofA
First late pay was 6/9/09 w/ BofA and will be 6/22/09 w/ Citi

I have budgeted money each month and by Feb (8 months away), I will have 45% of the Citi.. then in Aug of '10 I will have 35% of BofA.

So, after reading over and over again, I want your advice.. If BofA were to offer 15 to 20% (or so) before write-off around 150 to 180 days out, that would be around $7500 or so. I would have that much in savings by then... should I take that and chance the Citi account? I know they are tougher to deal with but I also had to miss a good deal from BofA if it happens.

If I could settle the BofA first, for cheaper than I have budgeted at 35%, I obviously could pay Citi faster and hopefully have enough by April '10 to settle it. I plan to place income tax and my work bonus into the account in March of next year. Do I chance it w/ Citi? I just really hate to push them as being sued would really freak me out!

Ohhhh.. and when I was going to use a DS company, they required I close both accts that I was to enter into the program, said it would look better if I voluntarily closed them instead of defaulting. So, of course, I closed those accts in writing. In the letter to request closure, I added a small blurb about my hardship and inability to pay - thanked them for their understanding, blah, blah, blah. Do you think that will help me or hurt me - as far as closing the accts on my own and disclosing part of my hardship to them? (Not that creditors have a heart really). Will they be "more forgiving" if that's even a option?

Okay, I'm getting over confident now.. I'm just feeling so much better knowing that so many people have done this on their own, have been successful and I'm thankful for everything I've learned on here.

I settled 20K with BoA last night at 30%. It was very simple. easy and fast. The accoune was 5 monts past. They fax me the settl letter right away too.
I'm trying to settle with Citi Home Dept card but they want 55%- I'm asking 25%. I guess I will have to call them again in few days. Good luck man!

hi there;
This is just my 2 cents but I think you would be best to definitely aim to settle the BofA first. The reason is that BofA savings is absolutely HUGE if you can settle before charge off. Charge off should happen at 180 days past due. I settled a $40K BofA credit card account at 17%, but that was before they really toughened up and according to others I got in just under the wire. BofA (from what I have heard) really scrutinizes over your account before they give you any settlement offers...a lot depends on how long the account has been open, were there any cash advances or balance transfers, etc.

Also you really must stress that the reason you can no longer make your payments is because of REDUCED INCOME. Saying you got behind on bills or over-extended yourself is not acceptable to them...your settlement offer will not be as good. Tell them you had to take a cut in pay, whatever. You will not have to prove income.

Citibank does offer a 12 month hardship program....it is 0% interest, and they require you pay 1% of your balance each month. I had to enroll my Citibank account in that exact type of hardship plan in order to settle with BofA and other creditors. Basically it bought me a year of time before having to deal with them. A Citibank rep once told me that Citi allows 3 different types of hardship plans to occur on each account. They also have another hardship plan that gives you 2 months of no interest AND no payment. (I used that first when my account was 90 days past due...then when that was done I enrolled in the 12 month, 0% interest/1% payment.) So basically I went for 5 months without a payment and now I pay a fraction of what my normal payment would have been, and I am saving saving saving $$$ so that my last (3rd) hardship deal will be the actual settlement deal. I am hoping for 40%, which would be pretty good with Citibank from what I hear.

It is amazing what you can cut out of your life if you have to. I cancelled cable, reduced my cell phone plan, and live on a strict budget for groceries. I have also gone through my house and sold anything I can on ebay and Craigslist which helps. You were smart to do this yourself and opt out of the DS plan. Who will work harder for you than you?????

to P2 just FYI I had Home Depot card from Citi with balance of $10k and settled for 30% of what I owe after being past due 120 days, so you can do better then 55% keep telling them you do not have that much and call back month later
good luck

Dealt with both. Cash in everything you own to settle. 401 stocks , etc. Citi gave me 12 month settlement and BOA we went 1 lump sum from a 403b. Good luck. The money I was trying to save I roll back into the stocks.

Joe777

Thanks!

BLL.....how did you get money form you 403b? I thought these were only allowed to be liquidated under extreme circumstances.