what is the worst that can happen in my case?

You can opt for a debt settlement program to payoff your debts. It can decrease your debt by 40 to 60%. But please keep in mind that it will adversely affect your credit score significantly.

I agree with Phoenix. It sure sounds like debt settlement might be your best option. Since you mentioned that you can afford the minimums anyways the fact that debt settlement hurts your credit is irrelevant because you credit is already severely negatively impacted anyways. You can always try and settle the debts on your own or hire a company to assist you. If you do opt to hire a settlement company to assist you make sure they are a member of TASC. Also check them out with the BBB to make sure they at least don't have an unusual pattern of complaints or any unresolved complaints. Don't so much focus on the letter score though because the BBB doesn't like debt settlement and thus the way the BBB ranks debt settlement companies the highest score a settlement company can get is a C.

Stop paying and save for 5 month and settle. Your credit score is meaningless. Unless you have over a 700 they are all the same these days. Mine went down 100 points 630 to 530. The difference between the 2 is not that great as far as what you can get. With accounts settled and 1 hardship program - my score will be 700 in a year in a half. Debt to income was the major problem with my score. Do it now and regroup in the future.

I also agree debt settlement is you best option. But stop making them partail payments are my suggestion. YOu are wasting your time with them, even though you are paying something you are wasting your money and time the bill is getting bigger by the second. If you are going to attempt debt settlement on your own read around in this forum so that you know how to handle things this is a great site for that. If you decide to do a company research research and then research some more. The debt is not going away so you need to take your time and find the right company for you. Sadly there are alot of companies out there that are taking advantage of people these days but if you take your time you will find the good ones. Be sure you are aware of everything so that nothing comes as a suprise while you are going through debt settlement know the facts before signing on with anyone. Good luck in your searches.

I agree with Bill. Do the debt settlement - don't worry about your score. Just focus on getting out of debt then you can rebuild your score.

exactly, your score will recover. It will take a year or two, but it will go back to normal. settlement atleast in my case only effected my credit for a short term, not a long term and if you are responsible with your future debts by paying on time and keeping well below the limits it wont take long at all for you to recover.

Yes first thing first. Getting out of debt should be your first priority. Debt Settlement will definitely hurt your score. But getting out of debt is more important to you. As others said, credit scores can be repaired and increased.

after settling my debts, after 1 year it was better than ever because i wasnt haunted by being what they call EXTENDED. I always had all this credit but so many credit cards hurt my credit even before things got bad

I think you need to make your decision based on the amount of debt you owe and if you intend on borrowing money in the next couple years. Based on the OP it appears like you are barley making minimum payments which is caused by unstable work. If you aren???t covering the minimums then your credit is already being damaged. I probably would not make any payments if I was not covering the minimums. I would just save that money and try to settle in full a few months to a year later. If I had the money to cover minimums and I intended on buying a house or a car anytime soon then I would do by best to make those minimums plus pay down on the principal.

A few advantages to settling the OP has are no source income to garnish, no property to lien and no property to confiscate. You are pretty close to uncollectable with the exception that you are probably young and may eventually have a steady job. A creditor could potentially get a judgment and then act on the judgment a number of years later. Depending on your balances I doubt a creditor would sue within the year though.

Lawsuits are definitely a possibility with debt settlements, whether you do it on your own or through a company - especially if there is a lot of debt or a lot of creditors, because you can't settle them all at once, and some get tired of waiting. I just received my third summons (AAAARGGHHH!) in just over a year. BUT, I just called the attorneys handling the case, and a settlement or payment plan is agreed on before the court date, and the case dismissed. This has happened each time for me. Even if it goes to court, the judge will most likely just order a payment plan that you can handle. Not the end of the world. But something that IS a possibility and that you should be aware of.

SusieQ -

Which creditor was it this time? I am in the same debt settlement program as you with a similar mix of creditors. I was just curious who I might have to look out for.

Thanks,

The Walmart account was the latest. GE Money Bank.

through the settlement company that i went through they said that it is unlikely that you will be sued the first year. Not saying that it cant happen, just unlikely. I had one my second year (a summons) and I called the company that i was working with and they took some pretty quick action to get it settled before the court date. It was dismissed. at the end if my 2 years i had 1 account that would not settle or even talk with my company and i ended up going to court they didnt show up, and I was like you no income but i did have a home and a lein was put on my home but no time limit. He pretty much told me to pay it when i could. so dont be fearful of a summons its not as bad as you think and the judge will make a fair judgement. Considering you have no income, I would not be too concerned at this moment. focus on putting every dollar you have towards a settlement. and get it done as fast as possible. The faster you do it, the less likely of getting a summons

I agree with the above post. If you are going through financial difficulties, there is nothing to fear from a summons. In fact, you can file a Response to them (the summons will show you how to do that). The only way you have something to fear is if you can pay the debt, but just don't want to.

chrys