Commonly Asked Questions about Credit Card Debt Settlement
Is there a legal basis to settle credit card debt?
While credit card debt settlement firms may assert otherwise, settling a credit card debt does not involve a legal secret.
Credit cards are contracts between consumers and credit card companies. These contracts can be legally modified if both sides mutually agree to the changes. According to the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide, for the consumer the most important LEGAL feature of a credit card debt settlement is getting the negotiated debt amount and the terms in writing and signed.
Can I settle my credit card debt while my payments are still current?
The short answer is NO. Banks will not settle with consumers who are not late in their payments. If they did, they would open up the floodgates to every credit card account holder seeking credit card debt relief.
As far as credit card accounts go, consumers fall in to two categories; those who can pay the monthly minimum, and those who cannot. For those who can pay and who want to settle for less than their full balance, they must risk not making their monthly payments and then banking that money for a lump sum settlement.
What percentage of the balance would a credit card company settle for?
On Web discussion boards, consumers report negotiating credit card balance reductions of 20 to 70 percent. Debt settlement teacher Charles Phelan reports credit card companies would rather negotiate with the account holder and not a debt settlement firm, and that consumers get the best deal of they do the negotiating themselves.
For a debt reduction agreement initiated by a consumer to work, credit card debt banks want consumers with real hardship issues like low income, job loss, family death, medical catastrophe, etc. The best time to settle, according to the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide, is right before the bank charges off the account. This usually happens six months after payments stopped. During this period, banks sometimes contact the consumer and offer to reduce the balance.
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