My options

Personally, I think you should sit down with a bankruptcy attorney and explore your options. You have 3 aggressive creditors,,,,AMEX, Cap One and Citi all like to sue.

Hi mis investor,

You can try to consolidate the credit cards that you have. As you have so many credit cards, try to transfer the balance from all of the other credit cards that you have to one of the credit card which has the lowest interest rate. It would be better for you to transfer it into the Citi Universal or Chase credit card.

As you are talking about settlement, you can start with anyone. But, you will have to keep in mind that if the creditors agree to the settlements, you should get a settlement agreement on the same.

You can try to either settle or consolidate the credit cards on your own or else you can also get the help of a consolidation or settlement company. Only if you fail to get any of these, you can file for bankruptcy.

Thanks

Sorry to hear about the tough situation you're facing.

While I happen to be employed in the debt settlement industry, it's important to know that not everyone is qualified for this debt relief option, so if I were you I would definitely explore all of my options, and talk with a consumer credit counseling agency, as well as a bankruptcy attorney.

If you opt for settlement, your accounts (or at least the majority of them) should be delinquent. Reason being, if you negotiate with just one creditor on a delinquent account they will definitely be asking why you discontinued payments to them, but not your other creditors. This could make it a little tough for you.

I disagree with another poster, who indicated that Citi likes to sue. I've only seen approximately 2% of our clients' Citibank accounts get that far (litigation). American Express, however, likes to send about 30% of their delinquent accounts to a national law firm (Zwicker & Associates), but these accounts are usually still settled, even if a lawsuit happens to be filed.

Regarding Capital One and lawsuits - again, we just don't see very many delinquent Capital One accounts go to litigation - not at least until they are nearly two years delinquent.

Please also keep in mind that if you choose debt settlement, it's important to have a plan in place. How will you come up with the funds to offer your creditors for future settlements? Will you be able to set sufficient funds aside on a monthly basis so that you can get through the process relatively quickly (i.e. within a 24-36 month period)?

Debt settlement is not a bad option by any means, but like I said, not everyone qualifies for this form of debt relief. It's important to explore all of your options, and decide what's going to work best for you and your situation.

Best of luck to you!

Thank you very much for your answers.
I think the bankruptcy option will be our last stop.

We will try to settle few cards.
My question is : If we want to start the process do we have to stop paying to all cards or we can stop with some and keep up with minimum payments to others ( for example American Express)?
As of my understanding credit cards companies will monitor my activities with all creditors. They will be able to see that I can pay to some of them. How this will affect my settlement? Thank you

Thank you very much for your answers. I didn't see your post when I posted my additional questions.
Now I am more clear about that we have to do it with all of our cards.
Where I can find if we are qualified for the debt relieve / settlement? We are living in New Jersey (North)?

Except for the last two creditors you listed, with whom I have no experience, you can try a payment arrangement with Capital One and go for a settlement with all the rest, including Citi. Try to settle them before chargeoff (even if it's just 2 days before c/o) and you have a good chance to not get sued. As stated, even if you do get sued, you can still typically settle, albeit for more cents on the dollar.

Yes, it is true that in order to settle, you will have to miss payments on your credit cards. Creditors in general do not agree to settle the debts until you miss payments. You can make payments on some and try settling the others if you think that you can manage to do that. Or else, you can directly go on for settlements on all of the credit cards.

Thanks

Thanks so much for the additional information you provided.

When I mentioned qualifying for this type of debt relief, I just meant that in order to do so, funds will need to be available. So, if you believe that you can set aside sufficient funds each month to get through debt settlement within 24-36 months (and even better, within 24 months), this makes you a good candidate. But remember, even this length of time can result in a lawsuit. Again, this isn't the end of the world - these accounts can still be settled. I do have a concern regarding your personal situation, and I'll PM you on this.

Thanks again. Good luck to you!

Thank you very much all for your answers and advises. This forum is a great source of information.

In regards to our personal information. We are both working, our income over 120K with two kids. Due to my husband income loss about 30% we were trying to stay current with our mortgage and take offers from the cc companies with 0% to pay the difference. In January this year we applied for HAMP, get approved in March, bank gave us lower % rate, which help us to save around $600.00. At the end of last year my husband was taken emergency to the hospital and we ended up with the huge medical bills. I

This all above accumulate our credit cards debt. We were never late on our payments. It looks like we running around and around without getting any better with our finances. Actually, we just getting deeper and deeper into debt. I took second job and working now 6 days. Which is around $500.00 extra per month.

I have an option to choose which cc to pay and which try to settle? I want to keep American Express. Which card I should choose first to settle?