I am new to the forum. I have a few questions, but first here is the situation. - We are current on everything. We have never missed a payment or had a late payment a day in our lives. We have some nice credit scores as a result, and I'd prefer not to scar them too much if we can help it. - We have 4 credit cards totaling $19,500 with Chase and Citibank. - We cannot pay our bills any longer. This appears to be a permanent situation. HOWEVER, if we can settle all our debts with our tax return (that would be about 35% of each of the 4 cards' balances), then we can stop going deeper each month and actually live on what we make. So my questions are this: -How likely is it that I can get Chase and Citibank to let me settle and report it in a positive light so we don't get our credit trashed? Any keywords, special negotiating tactics, or techniques to reduce the damage? -Is it even possible to get Chase and Citibank to entertain a settlement request when we are current on our payments? I plan on mentioning bankruptcy as our alternative, which, if we don't get settlements, we will have to stop paying in the next month, so we will probably arrive at bankruptcy soon enough. -Should I ask for them to validate those debts? I don't understand what that is exactly, but from what I read it seems that that action is best taken while we are still current on our payments. -I read something about a "Pay for Delete" letter?? What is that and where do I find it and how effective is it? Is that even something I would like to do in my situation? -Can I just ask them nicely while I am paid in full to settle or we will have to stop making payments? We did this with our CU credit card and they were easy to work with. Only offered us 75%, but I bet we can do better. -I also read this: 1.) You'll pay if they agree to sign an no disclosure agreement 2.) They agree and you pay 3.) You dispute the account through the credit reporting agency 4.) The bank doesn't reply to the CRAs' investigation because of the NDA 5.) the CRAs delete the account because they never hear back from the CA and can't verify the information is correct. How effective is that? Are these all things I have to be delinquent on to even be able to do? Any help would be fantastic!!
Welcome to Creditnet Flohubbs! First, I highly doubt you'll get Chase or Citibank to do much of anything considering you haven't missed a payment yet. They're going to want to see proof of some real hardship before they're willing to make any special arrangements. That said, it can't hurt to ask. Also, debt validation doesn't come into play until the debt is in the hands of a CA. You can't ask for debt validation from an OC. Regarding PFD, take a look at the template in our Sample Letters Section to help guide you through writing one of your own. Utilizing an NDA is also an option as well, but once again, I don't think you're going to have much leverage considering you're still current on all your debts. Why is your current income situation "permanent"? Is there any way to drastically cut expenses and start paying down some of this debt? I think we need a bit more information regarding your personal financial situation in order to provide better guidance here.
We have over the past 2 years cut everything down to bare bones and looked into everything from moving out of state to renting out our home. I am price matching and couponing our groceries and we have sold all we have to sell. We have borrowed money from our family, used up all our savings, etc. We are out of options and finally dried up. My husband lost his 2nd job a couple years ago and has tried and tried and can't get another one. He hasn't gotten a raise in two years and we have our 3rd baby coming any day now, so our expenses will just go up. We have about $7000 in tax returns coming the beginning of the year, and that's why I want to try and settle. If we have no CC pmts, we can make all our other bills. Otherwise we can't make payments anymore starting in Dec. I was just going to explain that to the CC companies. We have never missed a pmt or been late EVER, but we literally have no way to pay them next month on. We talked to our CU and they were willing to settle with us at 75%, and I bet I can get it lower. They perferred us not to miss a pmt and were more willing to work with us because of our excellent history.
I'm really sorry to hear about your situation. I'm sure it's super stressful as you prepare to welcome a new addition to the family. A part from magically landing a new job, it sounds like you've taken all other measures to cut expenses and improve your financial situation. It's great to hear that your CU was willing to work with you too. I'm not sure you'll get the same sort of cooperation from the likes of Citi or Chase, but you never know. It's worth a try. Good luck, and let us know how things play out. Hoping for the best for you.
