Credit card debt settlement is a negotiation process where a debtor tries to convince a lender to accept a sum that is less than the full debt owed to satisfy as repayment. This type of credit card debt relief can expunge between 50-80% of the total debt owed. Although it can be difficult to work out on your own, credit card debt settlement can provide you with ample financial breathing room when the process is handled by experienced debt professionals. If you’re looking for experienced help with credit card debt, find the most effective way to pay off your credit cards.
Credit card companies want to be paid back what is owed in full. Part of your arrangement when making use of a credit card is that you’ll pay back all the fees you’ve built up plus any interest that has accrued. Oftentimes, bank card issuers recognize that getting payment for all the credit extended to a debtor is unrealistic and unlikely to happen. To recover the funds, they may chase you via a collections agency or get a legal representative, but often it isn’t worth the cost, creating the opportunity to get relief through a credit card settlement.
The majority of credit card debt is unsecured, which means that your creditors have nothing to collect on, no house to repossess or wages to garnish, when the debt goes unpaid. Financial institutions also understand that if you apply for personal bankruptcy, it’s very possible they may never see a single dime of the credit card debt repaid. When confronted with the possibility of obtaining no repayment from you at all, your credit card company may want to work out a deal with you for less than the full amount as part of what’s called a credit card settlement. Due to economic uncertainty and the overwhelming number of people that need help with credit card debt, creditors are left with little choice but to negotiate credit card debt settlement deals. One way to negotiate these deals is through the utilization of a credit card debt relief program.
Types of Credit Card Debt Relief
There are a number of different relief programs designed to help with credit card debt management through tried-and-true credit card debt solutions.
LUMP-SUM CREDIT CARD SETTLEMENT
If you have access to a decent chunk of cash, such as from an inheritance, you can attempt to discuss a settlement for less than the full amount owed. Typically, the credit card debt relief repayment can be broken up into 3 segments.
With a lump-sum settlement, it’s important that both you and your lender are clear that the agreed-upon amount will satisfy the costs of the credit card debt and to get this agreement in writing. It’s also important to understand that paying less than what you owe can negatively influence your credit score depending on how the repayment is reported to the major credit bureaus.
If a loan provider forgives $900 worth of the principal amount of your credit card debt, it must report that amount to the IRS because it is greater than $600. For example, a lump sum payment of $2,500 to work out a $4,500 credit card debt will likely mean that you’ll have to pay taxes on an additional $2,000 in earnings next year.
WORKOUT ARRANGEMENT FOR CREDIT CARD DEBT
With this type of credit card settlement, the bank might eliminate or reduce your minimum monthly payments, rate of interest, and may even stop assessing late charges or over-limit fees. You may also be able to ask the lender to forgive previous fees to lower the balance even further.
Looking for a debt relief expert to help you work out an arrangement? Contact us at New Era Debt Solutions today.
FORBEARANCE PROGRAM
If your economic problem is only short-lived, such as a major medical occasion that places you unemployed for a couple of months, a forbearance program may be the right form of credit debt relief for you. With this type of credit card debt relief program, the bank card issuer may get rid of or lower your interest rates and place a halt on late charges.
Forbearance programs offer a brief break from complete payments, not forgiveness of any credit card debt. A forbearance is for momentary economic issues when you know your finances and revenue will certainly return to regular quickly. This type of program offers temporary help with credit card debt while get you back on your feet financially. Likewise, you will still pay back every penny you obtained, and possibly a lot more.
CREDIT CARD DEBT MANAGEMENT PLAN
If you don’t intend to negotiate with your creditors yourself, you can sign up for a credit card debt management plan. With this form of credit card debt relief, a financial counselor will meet with you to discuss your circumstance and arrange repayment to each of your creditors. The counselor will communicate with the lender(s) to reorganize your repayment of credit card debt so it’s cost-effective and more affordable. Commonly, the counselor can work out a decrease in your rate of interest, minimize or drop additional fees, and reduce your monthly credit card debt payments.
This form of credit card debt relief often requires that you pay the entire amount owed. The other downside is that being enrolled in a debt management plan could have a small effect on your credit rating. Shutting down credit card accounts is likely to cause at least some injury to your credit score. So, while this form of debt relief can directly help with credit card debt relief, it can be somewhat detrimental to your finances in other ways.
CREDIT CARD DEBT SETTLEMENT PROGRAM
With the option of credit card debt settlement, such as the services New Era Debt Solutions offers, you or your debt settlement company negotiates with the lender to agree upon a settlement. This settlement balance is often significantly less than the total credit card debt that is owed, but satisfies repayment of the debt. This form of relief from credit card debt is less harmful to your credit score than bankruptcy and can offer some immediate alleviation from financial pressure.
The biggest risk with credit card settlement is that deciding to end payments on your debts can potentially do considerable damage to your credit history, but paying a percentage of what you owe is far better than paying absolutely nothing.
