Starting settlement journey

Greettings "Unregistered",

And welcome to the forums.
Seems like you've got a plan in place.

Stick to it.
And keep us posted.

Regards,
King "Kash" Jabba Labba

Hey - Thanks !! I do have one question. How do I keep one card working? I would like to be able to have one card for car rentals, plane tickets etc... I have one card with a small balance and it isn't associated with any of the other banks I have cards with. It's also one of my oldest cards with immaculate payment history. I had a secured cc from my credit union but they cut it off as soon as the unsecured cards started reporting to the credit bureaus.
I would really love to know what I need to do to keep this one card operational.
Thx

Greetings again,

Can't help you with this one.

Killed my plastic masters and I've only got 2 debit cards.
No problem so far!

Regards,
King "Kash" Jabba Labba

Thanks, King - your posts have been inspiring in my journey.
I do have a one question? How do I keep one card functional. I had a secured cc I set up through my credit union before I stopped paying my unsecured cc's. But they cancelled it once the other cc's reported my delinquency to the credit bureaus. I have one card with a small balance and immaculate payment history - it's also one of my oldest cards.
I have feeling if I pay down the balance they'll just start reducing the credit level. I could really use it for car rentals, plane tickets etc
How do I keep this one card functioning?
Thx
DWD Down With Debt

Hi unregistered, I haven't posted much, but have been at this a while and have experienced just about everything.

You can certainly keep a card, but your instincts are correct...that bank may decide to reduce your credit limit, raise your rates or cancel all together if they see from your credit report that you are falling further and further behind w/ other accts. I have kept a small balance card and so far (knocking on wood) they haven't changed anything.

I recommend calling your banks on a regular basis (every other week or so) just to reiterate your situation, but more than anything so they know you're trying to work things out and you're not trying to run from the debt. Then just do what you're doing...wait it out. They all should be willing to settle sometime just before charge off. That is except for Capital One. They will settle regardless of what they say, but it is usually after charge off.

Good luck.

Thanks for the response.

Continue to be in good standing with this credit card. They could make changes at your next renewal date but maybe they won't. You can use a debt card for rental cars and airline tickets. Your working on getting out of debt so maybe a prepaid credit card would work well for you. You can get them just about any where. Keep up the good work!

Just a little update. Besides the bombardment of phone calls from creditors I received 2 letters.
One from Chase trying to offer me payment plan - call us to find out more. Another from Wells Fargo stating it's imperative I resolve this payment delay matter. Both cards are almost past 60 days. I'm not sweating these letters just wanted to post to let others know some of my progress.
Barclays asked me for just a $20.00 payment. Said my current situation can't afford it. Most of my other creditors offered really low payments - my balances are mostly all under 4k.
I'm sticking to my plan and stashing away the cash.
Thanks again to all
DWD Down with Debt:)

I have one card with a 5k limit. So far, I just pay it at minimum bc I believe they will close it if I pay it down. Had 800k total debt so this is nothing much to me.

Also try to register again. Just hit the f5 key if you become logged out.

I received another $20.00 a month payment plan for 6 months interest free with Barclay's. it sounds like a great deal, but I assume they just want to keep me on the payroll - so to speak. So far every CC has been pleasant to deal with. Man, I can't wait for this to be over. Even with all pleasantries from the callers it's tiresome telling my same ol' sob story. I really wish 2009 never happened.
DWD down with debt :-D

Payment plans delay the ability to settle. If you want to pay it off in full, take a payment plan. If you cannot pay it off, or have too much debt to justify trying then just wait 5-6 months and settle.

Thanks for your response. Waiting them out is exactly what I'm going to do. My goal is to settle all my debts.
DWD down with debt:D

Keep in mind that every time you make a payment, even $20.00, your SOL starts over.

We settled 9 cards but did keep small cards that we had used for gas, as well as a Sams Club Credit. We have recently paid them off but during credit score recovery, made on time payments to them. Since they were cards we had had for years, I am sure that helped our credit recover. We are starting 2011 with NO credit card debt. We haven't been able to say that in years and years!

Happy New Year to all!
I was wondering if I should have all my cc accounts closed?
DWD down with debt :D

Hello Unregistered (I have the same problem with log in),
I recently (6-7 months ago) settled with a number of CCs with a lot of help from the people on this board. I can tell you that Cap One did settle one of my husband's cards that was not related to his business (he had a small business gov't backed loan through them that they would not settle). Be cautious, the CC's can see your credit report and know if you are paying on some cards and not others.....they went over my credit report right on the phone. So, they may not be as ready to settle if they see that you are paying on some/one. Also, it has been about 6-7 months since my husband settled his accounts and he has received credit offers. You can also get a secured card after about 6 months or a prepaid card to rent a car. I know it is hard....I do hope they let you keep your card, but again paying on Cap One and the other card may make debt settlement more difficult with the others. Also, we settled cap one at 4 months for about 48%.

One more little question. When do I start my count down date to charge off.1. from the last bill I paid?
2. from the last billing date I stopped making payments.
Thanks
DWD

On what date do you start your charge off count down?
On the day of your last payment or the date of your last billing due date?
Thanks
DWD down with debt:D

Most banks start the clock from your first missed payment due date.

Thanks for your quick responses and I do apologize for the repeated question - I just didn't see it post quickly enough so I wrote it again.
DWD down with debt

New update. For the past couple of weeks I've been getting calls from 215-876-6760 and another number 866-574-2872. One identified themselves as FIA and wanted me to verify my name and address - click went my end of the conversation. The other left a message saying they were Bankers Associates.
Now since I'm still only 85 days into stopping payments who are these people calling? I've been in contact with all my cc's explaining my situation every couple of weeks. Is this norm for any you of your settlement journey.
Thanks
DWD