Commonly Asked Questions about Credit Card Debt Settlement
Do I have a legal right to settle my credit card debt?
Contrary to debt settlement firms advertising the SECRET credit card companies do not want you to know, there is no secret to legally settling credit card debt.
Unsigned, credit card agreements are contracts between the credit card bank and the applying consumer. Like any contract, these contracts can be lawfully edited with the agreement of both sides. The most important legal aspect of negotiating credit card debt for the consumer, according to the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide, is getting the settlement and its terms in writing.
Can I settle my credit card debt while still making payments?
No you cannot do that. Just like mortgage banks, credit card banks will not negotiate with consumers who are current with their monthly payments. Otherwise, they would be losing money to everyone seeking to negotiate their credit card debt.
To settle a credit card debt for less than full value with the bank, a consumer will have to risk not making monthly credit card payments, then save those payments for a lump sum settlement. The risk comes from being in arrears and having the bank not agree to the lump sum amount.
How much of a balance reduction do credit card companies usually 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.