debt settlement
Date: Mon, 05/17/2010 - 12:17
I am cringing at the thought of $7,000 going to creditors, but it's better than continually paying high interest rates, right?
Anyways, we plan on paying off a few of our highest credit cards with this money. I have a total of about 12,000 in credit card debt.
The two highest credit cards I have is $3,500 and $4,000. I had called the creditors to see if they will allow me to settle these balances and how much I would need to pay to have a 0 balance.
Two of these credit card companies stated that the most they could give me was a 10% discount. One credit card company said there was nothing they could do to lower my balance.
Are there any tricks you can help me with to get them to lower the 10% discount to maybe even 25%. I would really like to take care of most of my credit card debt. Can I do it with $7,000 in cash? And if so, will it look bad on my credit score?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Victoria
Your creditors arent going to settle on your accounts unless you
Your creditors arent going to settle on your accounts unless you are 30-60 days pass due. Even if you did so you would still have a tough time getting a decent settlement out of them. Debt settlement is your best option if you want to cut the balance by 45% and be debt free in 1-4 years. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Email me at DELETED...PM
no posting solicitory info per TOS rules.
Do NOT let anyone else do it for you..you can do it by yourself.
Do NOT let anyone else do it for you..you can do it by yourself. You do need to be late on the cards. Save that money..you could use that to settle. Typically settlements are 30% to 40% of the balance depending on the creditor. READ everything on here..do a search with each of your creditors names in the search bar of this site. Let me stress you can do this all by yourself. Do not pay anyone or any company to do it for you.
Thats one opinion Samaritan. But the fact is that professional s
Thats one opinion Samaritan. But the fact is that professional settlement companies tend to get better settlement offers. Additionally, dealing with phone calls from multiple creditors on multiple accounts is like a full time job. Time that a lot of Americans living with debt do not have.
Bill, I wouldn't say that's fact - many creditors prefer working
Bill, I wouldn't say that's fact - many creditors prefer working directly with the debtor, rather than a third party, and many times, if the actual debtor doesn't get as great of a settlement, it's because they're not as educated on negotiation methods and techniques as the settlement company. That being said, I have nothing against settlement companies, I have worked for them in the past.
Now, as far as the OP's question - I agree with luckin10 ("Debt Samaritan"), in that you will be better off saving the money for the time being and allowing your accounts to go past due. If you want to pay a settlement company to handle the dirty work for you, that's your personal choice, and one that is the best option for some people. Other people choose to save money on fees and such by settling themselves. In either case, you really need to do a LOT of research, either to find the best settlement company, or to educate yourself to the best of your abilities in order to settle the accounts yourself.
I agree, do it yourself! Citi even told me they don't work with
I agree, do it yourself! Citi even told me they don't work with debt settlement companies.
Everything you need to learn you can learn on these forums about how to talk to your creditors and it is not a full time job, I take their phone calls once a week.
Why on earth would you pay someone else when you can do it yourself but also you are already having a financial hardship.
Kaylee