credit card help

I am pretty sure even the hardship plans will tank your scores. Call and talk to your lenders.

what should i say to my lenders? i asked about lowering my interests rates, and they just said no. should i talk to them about my hardship? would that make me a bigger risk, and have them reject any requests i make? thanks for the help!

The only way to not negatively affect your credit is to continue paying them as you are doing.

A hardship program won't hurt your credit *nearly* as much as running out of money and defaulting. I do not believe it will "tank your scores" and I am also under the impression that they are treated as if you are in a Credit Counseling program. This has a notation on your credit report and does affect it a little, but again - a Default (what more many defaults) is *exponentially* worse.

Of course if you just ask them they'll say no. You should write them a letter detailing your situation. Note that you have been laid off. Note that you do *not* want to fall behind. (In other words, yes, send them a hardship letter. They require it. They have more reason to work with you these days.)

It's called Debt Management or Debt Negotiation. If you are having trouble with them, you can avail yourself of the service of a Credit Counseling or a Debt Management firm. Just be sure that a DM firm doesn't try to push you into a settlement plan, which shouldn't even be considered unless you are already far behind and have nothing to lose.

There is no way you are going to be able to keep this up unless you have a sizable savings so it is good that you are trying to do the responsible thing before your situation becomes a problem.

If you click on "Do It Yourself" above, you will see pointers on negotiating for a better interest rate. If you have any savings, the very best thing to do is pay them down as much as possible, which will raise your credit available. This will increase your credit available to credit used ratio and increase your score, thus qualifying you for lower interest.

I agree and disagree with the above.

Yes, you should call your creditors and explain your situation and hardship. Many creditors are working with people in this struggling economy. Whether it is suspending payments or having you only pay interest. Talk to them , write the letters and see if they will work with you.

Where I disagree is to spend your savings on credit card debt just to save your credit score when you have no income. What is important is to have a roof over your head and feed your family not to pay the CC companies. If your credit score goes down, so be it. They will eventually try and work with you on a settlement. They can sue you, but wage garnishment is a waste of time when you have no wage. Nobody wants you to file bankruptcy especially the CC companies. Keep your priorities straight and keep moving forward.

This person is concerned with their credit scores. I was advising the best manner in which to save their credit scores. If they stop becoming concerned about their credit scores, then yes - you are correct.

But to advise someone to stop paying their bills is unethical. Not to mention, the original poster may be actively looking for new employment and may need a good score. Just because one loses their job doesn't mean they should just throw up their hands in despair.

Thank you everyone for your helpful advice. I will start writing hardship letters to my creditors to see if something can be negotiated, where I can still pay my bills without added difficulties.

Is there a sample hardship letter to credit card companies that I can view to get a better idea of what to include?

I did a quick search of this Community (the search box on the top right) but couldn't find a sample. The general consensus is that you need to write your own, basically just detail your situation, be obvious that you do *not* want to default nor fall behind. Detail that your credit is important to you. And detail your new financial situation. Just be frank and honest.