January 28th, 2010 | 
Author: I have over 15,000 in my debt, from me being extremely irresponsible in my early twenties. Now I am in so much trouble with this. Even though the collectors stopped calling, I cannot get a car or anything that requires credit check. I do have a good job now, and have been thinking to pay off everything. Now my question, what is the best way? All of my debts have been transferred to collection agencies. Should I contact them (collection agencies) or directly the companies I owe the money too? Can I negotiate? I do have some money saved up, and can possibly make all at one payment, one credit card after another. I am not sure about debt consolidators, as I ahve read they do not fix your credit by itself. My main goal is to fix my credit. Any advice is appreciated.
If you want to pay:
When a credit card is charged-off as bad debt, you need to understand that the damage to your credit is already done and there is nothing that will remove that mark from your credit for 7 years.
If you simply pay the collection agencies, then it will not remove the collection accounts from your credit reports. It will simply be reported as "Paid Collection" which, while slightly better, is still a seriously derogatory item. Per the Fair Credit Reporting Act, both charge-offs and collection accounts will remain on a consumer’s credit reports for up to 7 years.
The best way to take care of the collections is to negotiate a "Pay for Delete" agreement with the collection agencies for the alleged debt, never admitting the debt is yours (say something like in the interest of clearing up your credit history you will be willing to). This means that they will agree to completely remove the account from your credit history in exchange for money. They will not want to do this, but they can.
If they agree, get it in writing BEFORE you send them the payment, always send money orders, never allow them access to your bank accounts.
Have you confirmed that this debt is within the statute of limitations? Every state has a statute of limitations for credit card debt, which is the amount of time that they can successfully take legal action against you for the debt. This time period varies for each state. You should check to see if the statute has expired, if it has they can no longer take you to court and sue you for the debt.
http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/…
Posted in credit card debt consolidators
Your credit is already ruined even if you do pay everyone off.
If you negotiate with a collection agency,they will cut your balance up to half,however the full amount of the debt is held against you and shows you did not pay it all.
Consumer Credit Counseling is a great place to offer advice and help in this matter.
They will speak with everyone you owe and create a plan where you can pay everyone,and reflect on your credit report you are paying.
They help get you affordable payments,by helping you create a budget.
http://www.cccservices.com/
If you don’t like that idea,then I would pay each one off one at a time.
Good Luck!
References :
If you want to pay:
When a credit card is charged-off as bad debt, you need to understand that the damage to your credit is already done and there is nothing that will remove that mark from your credit for 7 years.
If you simply pay the collection agencies, then it will not remove the collection accounts from your credit reports. It will simply be reported as "Paid Collection" which, while slightly better, is still a seriously derogatory item. Per the Fair Credit Reporting Act, both charge-offs and collection accounts will remain on a consumer’s credit reports for up to 7 years.
The best way to take care of the collections is to negotiate a "Pay for Delete" agreement with the collection agencies for the alleged debt, never admitting the debt is yours (say something like in the interest of clearing up your credit history you will be willing to). This means that they will agree to completely remove the account from your credit history in exchange for money. They will not want to do this, but they can.
If they agree, get it in writing BEFORE you send them the payment, always send money orders, never allow them access to your bank accounts.
Have you confirmed that this debt is within the statute of limitations? Every state has a statute of limitations for credit card debt, which is the amount of time that they can successfully take legal action against you for the debt. This time period varies for each state. You should check to see if the statute has expired, if it has they can no longer take you to court and sue you for the debt.
http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/...
References :
You are in a good position. DONOT call the collectors. From the time you inquire about the debt, your seven years starts over again. If you have money saved up, leave it there. My Company works out a negotiation with your creditors to reduce your debt by about 50%, lower your payments and will get you out of debt in about two years or less. And at the end reconstruct your bad debt to good debt and a good credit report. And no up front fees. Email me with the button below.No cost-no obligation.
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