i am now about 3 months behind on payments to the following cards... AMEX ($25k), BOA AAA ($25k), Citicard ($25), UT Federal Credit Union ($17k) and GE Moneybank Banana Republic Card ($6k). Thats almost $100k. I get 25-50 calls a day which i just send to voicemail. that part doesn't bother me. mostly they are recordings left on my voicemail. i am considering chapter 7... but i am concerned about possible preferential payments made so i am 10 months away from being able to file comfortably. i am a very good candidate as i have no assets, my house is underwater, etc... also, the only income i have coming in is from self-employment. however, i would certainly consider debt negotiation from the credit cards and get this over sooner and avoid bankruptcy. i am aware anything i am forgiven will be 1099'ed to me. So, my questions are as follows. 1. what is the best TIME to negotiate? do i start now (3 months late) and keep holding strong. do i wait a few more months (5-6 months)? also, is it better to let them charge it off and then negotiate with whoever buys the debt? 2. do i contact them, or wait for someone to leave a message on my voicemail saying they want to negotiate? how does the whole process start? 3. is there anything i should or shouldn't say when negotiating? can i say, "hey, its this or i declare bankruptcy and you get nothing?" or something along those lines. should i tip my hand about bankruptcy in some way? thanks for your help. any and all responses are appreciated.
I think it's best to negotiate with the OC before a CA takes over. That doesn't necessarily mean you'll get the best settlement, but you will be able to avoid an additional collection on your credit reports. I also think OC's are generally more reasonable to deal with- of course, that isn't always the case. Have you received any written communication from any of your creditors yet, or just phone calls?
You might want to talk with them once just to see what they're offering. From that point on I would keep all the communication in writing.
