I Cant Pay Creditcard Debt – What Can I Do?

Seems like you have decided to take this on yourself in the place of hiring a debt relief company.  Well, if you have the talents and abilities to rival those of the professionals especially in the areas of communication, negotiation and documentation, then go on right ahead.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 top 3 strategies will make sure that you are closer to dealing with those credit card companies head-on.

Make Sure that Your Accounts Are Significantly Delinquent

You might want to negotiate for lower principal amounts on your credit card bills as soon as you cannot pay the minimum monthly payment required or as soon as you feel that you cannot pay your debts due to other financial obligations.You should bear in mind that the debt relief process cannot be used unless your accounts are sufficiently delinquent.

Wondering how delinquent?Delinquent credit card accounts are written off by creditors once the 180+ days windows has completed.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 avoid this from happening, the credit card company will be more than willing to settle your debts through negotiation.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.

Document Everything

In this day and age, verbal agreements hold very little merit when it comes to settling credit card debts through the debt relief process.It is your word against the word of the collection agency so there isn't a clearcut winner in this scenario.

The other option is that you maintain excellent written records of all the matters related to the settlement and negotiation process with your creditors.Send out the letters with accurate and comprehensive information to clearly specified addresses/addressees.  Then, file these letters and other forms of communication in a binder for easy access.

If you do have a conversation on the phone, record the details.  Take note of the time and date, the persons you spoke to, their contact number and the general flow of the conversation.

Make It Certified Mail

Once the settlement has been reached, send your payment through certified mail or any mail that can be tracked.Send the check along with a memo clarifying that the check is the full payment along with a copy of the settlement that was reached.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 ideas about how can I improve my credit score you should read our articles about how to avoid a lawsuit over credit card debt

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