Debt Settlement???

There are a few things that you can do. Are you unemployed?. If you are, three months had to elapse. At that point, tell Capital One that you need to go on a special arrangement plan.

If you are not, I suggest contacting Capital one and let them that you are planning to honor your debts but you've hit a hard time in your life. They may give you 6 months non-interest to get caught up (meaning no over limits or interest). If they refuse, I suggest contacting CCCS (Consumer Credit Counseling Service) and ask to get on their counseling program. They will get these extra fees to end and will get you a lower interest rate to help pay down your debt. While you are on CCCS, your credit report will show that you are on credit counseling (which is considered as bad as claiming bankruptcy in some lenders mind) and you will not be able to use those cards. They ask a $10/month fee. This is a viable option because the next step Capital One will take is to close your account, send you to collections or charge the bad debt off.

Capital One is a subprime lender so if you don't get this account in shape, it will really hurt you in the future.

-J

 

I am no expert nor have any personal experience with CCCS, but I have heard that going with CCCS and having them on your report is worse than filing BK. I would do a search on here about CCCS and see what others have experienced before going a route that would do more harm than good.

 

My husband is with CCCS and we have had no problem. They are the most recommend company in their business. Infact, his TU score went up from 520 to 608 with them on his credit report and he just refinanced his car loan to 6.5%.

In this situation, if the person doesn't get outside help, the marks left on the account will be more damaging than CCCS. Remember that once you are done with credit counseling it comes off of the report and you are not supposed to establish any credit while on the program so it causes no problems.

Been though credit hell and back with my spouse for the last 3 years.

-J

FICO- 701

 

I have some information

A company would negotiate legal settlements between the clients and their creditors. Each account is usually settled in one lump sum. They can usually settle the account for about 50-70 cents on the dollar and that would include our fees.

Info provided at <>www.klfs.org<>


shawn

 

Sorry to be the big meanie, but self promotion is strictly prohibited here. You can put your link in your "tagline" but no promotion.

 

ADVERTISERS have to pay a fee...

 

Many people have reported that they were unable to get a 100% SECURED CARD 2 YEARS POST CCCS...

I have NO first hand knowledge of SECURED CARDS or CCCS...

 

Be carefull when dealing with cccs.This could damange your credit and make it hard to obtain finance in direct future. Should be your last result.

 

The best solution really depends on the reason for your inability to pay. If it is hardship, contact Capital One and ask for their hardship program.

If it is overspending, considering the current environment, CCCS may be your best option. Things have changed, and card companies are NOT just sending it to collections, then writing it off, then selling it. They are sending it to collections, and then suing.

Share a little more about your situation and perhaps there would be other options.

Up until recently I would never have advised anyone to take the CCCS route. It is bad, but if you can do it, it is better than being sued.

Make sure it is the real CCCS, not one of these upstart companies - they charge big fees, some don't even make the payments, and usually screw your credit up even worse.

 

Just to add a statement to last reply. If CCCS is your only option then make sure they do not have this information posted on your CBR record. I have seen several companies start to practise this and it only helps.. If you need more info about any companies just ask.

 

CCCS was a double-edged sword for us. Yes there were some notations on our CR's that went away when we finished. But that big meanie Foleys, accepted lesser payments, however calculated payment due each month as if we weren't on an "alternative payment plan".

I have 24 (twenty-four) LOL 90+ day late notations on that account. I am using CHOD for it first, praying the easy way out.

It did save us from BK, but we bailed on it as soon as humanly possible.

 

Then I would think your first step would be to call Cap One - until you know what they are willing to do/not do, you can't make a plan of action.

Good luck - I didn't have any luck with them myself recently. But my situation might have been different in some way.

 

I think the threads that you have read/heard about are references to "payment in exchange for deletion." That is where you negotiate to pay less than the actual balance owed, and the creditor, in exchange, either deletes the entire entry from your credit report, or agrees to report the debt as R1 - paid in full, with no lates.

 

That's what I thought. Or at least it sounded like that's what you were looking for.

There are occasions where you can negotiate payment in exchange for deletion, but this is not one of them.

1. That technique is used pretty much exclusively with collection agencies, not original creditors, and on very old debts where they pretty much have no other means of collecting the money from you.

2. I know many people have tried, both before and after paying the debt off entirely, and have not been able to get CapOne to change their reporting.

3. You cannot generally negotiate a settlement unless you can pay a lum sum.

4. Even if you do, with an original creditor, it will usually be reported as "settled for less than owed" the balance may or may not be sold to a collection agency, who will then begin the collection process and hound you for years.

5. If you had a lump sum of money and negotiated a settlement, and they did not sell the unpaid balance to a CA, you would then get a 1099 from CapOne and have to pay taxes on that amount as "ordinary income" for the year they send you the 1099.

The reality of your situation is, CapOne holds ALL the cards. They can (and will) sue. go to your states court's website and type in their name and see how many lawsuits there are. You hold none of the cards - you have no ground to negotiate from. I'm not being mean, just saying there is no easy way out. You should reconsider on the suggestions offered in previous posts.

 

Definately try talking to them. MBNA gave me 0% interest for awhile and even wiped a couple of late fees when my account was close to charge-off. If nothing else, see if they'll combine the 3 into 1 to reduce the fees. Threaten bankruptcy if need be. "You want to pay (sniffle) but they're making it impossible (snurffle) and you feel guilty even thinking about it (sob) and you just need such a little help."

If nothing else works and you don't want to try cccr here's a thought - not a recommendation - as it's like seeing how close you can get to the flame without being burned.

Since you are already incurring late + overlimit fees on 3 accounts stopping paying on 2 accounts (or paying v. minimal amts.) and putting all the money to get 1 acct. back to normal couldn't make things much worse. That will give you an extra $58/month to use to get the 2nd card back in line. Then use the $116 to get the 3rd card caught up. Whilst doing this:
1. Don't charge anything else.
2. Cut all your expenses that you can and plow those savings into paying the cc's. There's a good thread on this somewhere. Think of it as a sacrifice so that long term you will be financially healthy.
3. Once a card is restored, pay at least the min. and don't let it lapse.