Posts Tagged ‘Credit Card Debt Relief Company’

My encounter with Credit Card Debt Relief Company

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

After a not so pleasing encounter with a credit card debt relief company I decided that I would give others a heads up. I went through the negotiating process with a company and realized that if I had known few things before hand my situation would have went a lot better. I hope you can learn from my experience of credit card debt settlement and would try to avoid the mistakes I made.

Stick To These Guidelines

Have everything you need in advance of contacting the credit card debt relief company.
Have your most recent credit card statement handy
A letter from your credit card company saying they are willing to accept a proposed settlement on your debt.
And the closest estimate of what you will be able to give to them

Keep Your Cool

When you call your creditor remember they are not going to be nice when you are late by over 5 months. Try not to get angry over the phone because the person you will be talking to will probably be using a script that is designed to get information out of you so they can make contact with you when they want to for credit card debt. There two ways dealing with your company can go either they will be willing to settle with you or they will not. Just let them know you are taking credit card debt help with the intention of paying them back; but you cannot pay everything and can agree to meet at a negotiable amount.

A Few Options When Greeted With Rejection

If they play hardball with you, you will have three ways of dealing with credit card debt settlement:

End the phone call and do not reciprocate any negativity. Most of the time the person you are talking to does not have the authority to accept your offer.
Politely try going over the persons head. You may get a better response when you talk to a supervisor or manager
Send a letter to the management or head of the company with your offer included.

Keep Focused

A negotiated solution is your goal. Try to get anything added to your balance via a penalty removed. Usually this is almost 35% of your balance. If you are able to get these reduced you will on your way to a good deal. If they only make offers in the 25% and under range then do not take their offer. Most likely they will get in contact with you with a better offer in the weeks to come.

Remember

Keep a few things in mind when dealing with credit card debt relief folks;

Keep detailed records of any correspondence with your lender, whether it is over the phone or by mail. Make sure you have the name of those you communicated with.
Verbally abusing someone is a definite no, no, they will record most calls and this could be used against you in negotiations.
All agreements with credit card debt settlement must be in writing. Verbal agreements will not stand up in court.
Know your legal right and be armed with the most information as possible.

Keep Your Eyes on The Prize

Always remember the main goal; getting your credit card debt reduced. When you are in negotiations you must be professional if you feel like you cannot remain aloof then perhaps a credit card debt relief company maybe your best bet.

~ Good Luck