What Do You Do If You Cant Pay The Bills?
So, you have decided that settling your credit card debts on your own is the better path instead of hiring a debt relief company for the purpose.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.
Keep these points in mind when you are settling credit card debt on your own. These three tips will ensure that you are one step closer to successfully taking on those credit card companies.
Make Sure that Your Accounts Are Significantly 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. Keep in mind, however, that the debt relief process cannot be availed of until and unless your credit card accounts are significantly delinquent.
How deep should you be?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. After all, if they can collect 50 percent of the total debt, it is still way better than the 5 percent they will get from third parties.
Keep Descriptive And Detailed 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 do have a conversation on the phone, record the details.Document the date, time, the names of the people you spoke with, the contact numbers and the details 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 together with a memo saying that said check is for full payment, if indeed it is, along with a copy of the agreed settlement. This way, complete documentation is achieved.
Of course, there are specific steps towards settling your credit card debts on your own. Just remember these three tips and you should be alright during the entire process.
These are some specific steps that you can take. 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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