Friday, May 30, 2008

Debt Consolidation - Can You Negotiate with Your Credit Card Company?

The average American household have nearly $10,000 in credit card debt, and many people are only able to do the minimum payment of 2% of the balance. Even 2% is $200, and by paying the minimum payment, you could be paying on the balance for decennaries before you finally pay it off. Since new statute law will do it more than hard to register for bankruptcy, it may happen to savvy debtors to seek to negociate a better deal with their credit card company in order to do it easier to pay off the balance. Are this possible?It might be possible, depending on your credit history, interest rate, and current balance. Your best bet, especially if you have got a history of paying on time, is to simply name your credit card company and inquire if they will lower your interest rate. They might, especially if you state them that you got a better offer from another bank. If you have got a history of paying late, however, they probably will not be willing to lower your interest rate. That’s unfortunate, since paying late have probably prompted the credit card company to raise your interest rate in the first place. Still, it’s worth a phone call; you may get lucky.If you’ve been paying your measures on time, asking for a lower interest rate may be the lone option available to you. The credit card companies aren’t going to be too sympathetic to your financial sufferings if they’re receiving payment on time. On the other hand, if you’re late on your payments, especially if you’re More than three calendar months behind, you may have got some negotiating leverage. That leverage come ups with a few twines attached, however. You may be able to negociate a lump-sum settlement for your outstanding balance, where the credit card company accepts a part of your debt and composes off the rest. They’re often willing to make this instead of turning your debt over to a aggregation agency, as it’s cheaper just to settle. The settlement amount will vary, depending on your interest rate, your balance and your payment history. This type of settlement come ups with a couple of problems of its own, though. What if you don’t have got the money to settle down all at once? If you can’t wage your measures on time, you probably don’t have got the cash to settle down at once. Additionally, the amount of your debt that gets written off volition show up on your credit report as bad debt, and that volition stay there for seven years.Your credit card company may or may not be willing to work out a payment plan, but it costs you nil to inquire them, and negotiating a settlement with them may be cheaper for you than if you confer with with a debt consolidation firm. If your credit card debt is significant and you just can’t make the payments, it’s worth a try.


Comments: Post a Comment



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?