‘credit card debt’

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I Cannot Pay My Credit Card Debt – What Are My Options

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Seems like you have decided to take this on yourself in the place of hiring a debt relief company.If you have the skills and talents to compete with these professionals when it comes to negotiation, communication and documentation then give it a shot.Not too long ago, a nurse with a little bit of groundwork in tax laws took on the IRS single-handedly then so can you in the case of debt relief.

There are certain things, however, that you must consider when settling credit card debts as a personal endeavor.  These three tips will ensure that you are one step closer to successfully taking on those credit card companies.

You must ensure that your accounts are considerably delinquent

You can try to negotiate a lower principal amount on your credit card bills as soon as you feel that making the minimum monthly payment is not going to be possible or if you feel that the debts are not going to be paid due to other fiscal priorities/emergencies.You should bear in mind that the debt relief process cannot be used unless your accounts are sufficiently delinquent.

Wondering how delinquent?  Well, delinquent credit card accounts are written off as an accounting procedure once these have reached 180-plus days in the ageing method.The writeoff causes the account to drop in value significantly and third parties usually buy these for real cheap – sometimes around 4-6% of the original amount.

To prevent this from taking place, the credit card company will be eager to settle the debt through a negotiation process.If the creditors get half of what you owe, thats much better than the 5% they would’ve gotten from the third party collection agencies.

Maintain Detailed and Descriptive Documentation

In this day and age, verbal agreements hold very little merit when it comes to settling credit card debts through the debt relief process.  After all, it will be your word against the word of the collection agents and you should know by now that nobody wins in such a case.

Instead, you should maintain detailed and descriptive records of everything pertaining to the negotiation and settlement of your credit card loans.Send out the letters with accurate and comprehensive information to clearly specified addresses/addressees.After that, file the letters and other forms of communication in a binder that is easily accessible.

If you must make a conversation over the phone, keep descriptive records of it.  Take note of the time and date, the persons you spoke to, their contact number and the general flow of the conversation.

Use Certified Mail

Once the settlement has been reached, send your payment through certified mail or any mail that can be tracked.  Send the check together with a memo saying that said check is for full payment, if indeed it is, along with a copy of the agreed settlement.Now, you will have pretty good documentation.

Of course, there are specific steps towards settling your credit card debts on your own.Remember the three tips here and you will do just fine in this process.

There are steps that you can carry out. For more information on how to clean up your credit report you should read our articles about getting the best credit card debt relief help


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