Probably has been posted before so I am sorry if I am repeating. I made better arrangements with my 3 accounts (Chase, Citi and Discover) than any Debt Consolidation company. All you have to do is apply for the hardship program. You have to practically demand these because all CC companies have these but they all try to pass you off to debt consolidation. Say you lost your job, had your hours cut or whatever and can only make a small payment. In turn, they adjust your APR to let you make that small payment and still hit a bit of the balance. If you just want to repay the debt and not use the card anymore, use these programs. Your Credit Report goes to show everything as normal.
This sounds like a good idea if your budget is tight and you want to keep your credit in good shape. The only thing I wonder about is, when you get back on your feet, and perhaps want the cards back, will they let you open/re-use the account?
No of course your previous 30+ day lates will not get deleted. Thats asking too much. But the CCs nowdays will work with you to keep you paying till you get back on your feet. And most will reopen your account and sometimes not necessarily close it although I would close it myself anyway. Unlike Debt Counseling which can screw up your credit, these are direct relationships with the creditors where it is up to you to send the payment in time. I do not know about auto loans.
I went through this same program with around 5 of my credit card accounts in 1998. Discover gave me 6 months no interest and would call up and say if you send us $150 right now we will match your payment and take the same amout off of the overlimit/late fees, Chase gave me 2 years at 5% interest (then 14.9 for a while, in Jan 2002 they jacked me to 22.99), First USA waived all the lates and overlimits and locked me in at 8.9%for one account and 14.9 for another, Wachovia was a real problem If I recall correctly they didn't give me any slack but I'm down to paying the last $400. All the companies closed my accounts never to be reopened. All the accounts note "closed by credit grantor" on my reports some have been sold. All have 30,60,90 days late reporting. I've managed to disput off the Discover, which is paid in full and had 150 days late reporting (my worst). My GE card which was sold to FUSA (90 days 2x)I also managed to disput off as a duplicate account even though I'm still paying on it. I think that it was the better way to go instead of CCCS, my scores are now in the 650-690 range, and are heading up. I also feel that I'm in a good situation to goodwill some of the lates off if they come back verified, and some accounts are listing as positive notations (even though they have lates from 4 years ago). Just my input from someone that has been through it. LisaP21
As for auto loans, I would doubt that that could be done. The reason is because you've signed a contract with your Truth In Lending, Finance charges, etc. To lower your APR, they'd have to send out new loan documents for you to revise. I would still try it. My auto loan is at 11.5%. Yeah, it's my first car, but I would love to get that APR lowered to about 5%. It's a $20k loan and that APR is just plain high.
I would still try it. My auto loan is at 11.5%. Yeah, it's my first car, but I would love to get that APR lowered to about 5%. It's a $20k loan and that APR is just plain high. davidkinde ********** They might lower the rate to keep you from taking your business elsewhere.
I was told that too (after I'd already gotten into a program, and it was too late), but as it turned out, that wasn't my experience. After a year in credit counseling, when I got back on my feet, I pulled all my accounts out of the program. Within a couple of months (when the OCs updated the bureau), every single one of the "debt counseling" notations on my credit report came off without my requesting it. Cap One reinstated my account (I had to go to Mr. Cooke for that as Cust SErv told me it was impossible). AT&T Univ wouldn't, but only because it had been closed over a year. I'm now only 4-5 months out of the program, and my FICO is 740 (up from 580 in March). I got prime rates on my car loan and on a new credit card. So, for me, it turned out to be a good thing.
How much debt were you carrying on these cards for those who had the rates lowered on the hardship program?
This is what I owed when I entered hardship (if I recall correctly) Chase $7600 FUSA $6700 GE/FUSA $6000 Wachovia $5200 Discover $4200 In all honesty I also have to say if I knew then what I know now, I would have seriously considered bankruptcy. Now I've been paying and paying for 4 years and still owe around $10,000 in debt. But I do see and end. Right now I'm just trying to get my scores up so I can get a consolidation loan or get cards with low interest to b/t and get them paid off sooner. Which is really hard with my still high utilization. I have to say it's been a hard lesson in spending wisely and I'm doing my best to never mess up this bad again.
