Can I Negotiate Credit Card Debt Reduction

Title pretty much says it all! As with many folks nowadays, I am staring down bankruptcy, and would like to get some expert's (or those who have gone through this and succeeded) advice. I have ventured on my own, and have been unsuccessful at achieving either a rate reduction or debt forgiveness.

You certainly aren't alone, so many are facing the same thing.

What you need is a third party, independent advocate, to intervene on your behalf. Call Lifeline or the Salvation Army and ask to speak to their financial counsellor. If you belong to a church, they may have someone who can help you. You may have to wait a little, but do explain how urgent it is and they may be able to delay things for you. Whatever you do, don't go into further debt, trying to get another loan to pay out what you already have.

Also please don't get involved in any 'new schemes'... you have to work with what you have now. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Best wishes.

2008-10-30 15:06:37 by Induced Karma

ask-debtconsolidation.com If you have good negotiation skills, a reduction of your balance can be made with just one phone call.

I've been going deeper in debt because of not having a job and paying for courses that will allow me to start a new career. I just heard an advertisement about a company that states it can have your tax debt reduced by up to 85%. I've also been contacted by companies that offer debt negotiation services. Has anyone had any experience with these. And how can you tell if they are legitimate or just more of the predatory lender types?

Most of the tax settlement firms that advertise heavily are complete ripoffs. Their fees can run in to the thousands of dollars and the IRS still says "No" a vast majority of the time.

The IRS does have a settlement program for those people that owe more than $10,000. It is called an "Offer In Compromise". It is a complex matter. The "form" for the offer is 44 pages long and the IRS has 2 years to decide. The tax settlement firms will always tell you that you qualify. They tell everyone that they qualify but the truth is that the IRS says No over 80% of the time.

If you owe under $10,000 in taxes, there is nothing that anyone can do. Enter in to an installment agreement with the IRS and stick to it. If you owe more that $10,000, read up on "Offers in Compromise" at IRS.gov and, if you think that you qualify, contact a CPA or EA in your local area.

I don't know a lot about debt settlement companies but I believe that they also have a bad reputation for being ripoffs.

2008-10-05 19:42:37 by D. G

If I give them a large amount of money, will they negotiate a settlement?

Affordable debt consolidation allows you to lower your bills while still meeting your obligations. You will be able to reduce your monthly payments on all of your debt by paying one lower payment to a consolidation company.

The debt consolidation company will make you a loan that covers all of your obligations. They may also be able to negotiate lower principle and interest rates with some of the credit card companies and other unsecured debt owners.

2009-05-21 13:03:35 by John B

My goal is to pay my creditor back about 30 cents on the dollar. They call me about 3 times a day. I have purposely made no contact with them. They have sent me a lot of form letters as well. Most are just reminding me that I am overdue and that they have plans that can help me. BUT...today I received an offer from them. They are giving me until 8-12-09 to accept it. Otherwise they say they will turn my account over to an outside collection agency. They offered a 25% reduction in my debt if I am to settle with a lump sum now. As I stated earlier, my goal is to settle for about 30 cents on the dollar, not 75 cents on the dollar.

MY QUESTIONS TO YOU:
1. Will I be able to negotiate a better settlement with the credit card companies in house debt collectors or a private debt collection agency?
2. What is the timeline in regards to when credit card companies sell an unpaid debt to a private debt collection company?
3. If I make a counter offer before the 12th of August that I will pay a lump sum of 30 cents on the dollar instead of the 75 cents on the dollar they offered, and they refuse to my offer then what do I do?

You borrowed 100% of the money. Why do you only want to pay 30% of it back?

To be honest, the creditor doesn't have to settle with you at all. If they do, they will do it on their timeline and their terms. So you may have to wait until they send you a letter offering you what you want.

Enjoy the phone calls in the meantime.

2009-08-05 20:51:23 by gotmini02

Have a friend that is in a bit of credit card debt. She doesnt want to do banruptcy or charge offs, as it will affect her credit score. My question is, if she negotiates a bill, say currently 20k, and the CC company settles for 10k, will that show up on her credit report as something negitive.

Thanks for your time.

You can use this credit monitoring service to pre-estimate future scores for different scenarios of such payments - credit-report-score.10001mb.com

2009-10-05 10:40:18 by Christopher A