Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Fast Credit Card Debt Help

When you have several credit cards maxed out or close to it, you may feel like you have nowhere to turn. Even though credit card debt can be a major problem, it's not a problem that you can't overcome. With the proper knowledge and a little bit of legwork, you can get help with your credit card debt quickly.

Negotiate With the Credit Card Company

    When you have a large amount of credit card debt, your first option is to try to get help from the credit card company directly. If you're late on your credit card payments and you can't afford to make them, talk to the credit card company. It may be willing to waive late fees, lower your interest rate or pursue other options to help you get the situation under control. The credit card company wants to continue receiving your payments; it may be willing to work with you to make that happen.

Debt Management Plan

    Contact a credit counselor. Credit counseling companies regularly offer help in the form of a debt management plan. With this type of plan, the counseling company contacts your creditors for you and sets up a repayment plan on your behalf. It then takes a payment from you every month and distributes the appropriate amount to your creditors. This method can save you a great deal of money in interest.

Settle Your Debt

    If you're behind on your credit card payments, the credit card company may be willing to settle with you. In this process, the credit card company accepts less money from you than what you actually owe them. You can call the credit card company and negotiate with it for this type settlement. You can also work with a debt settlement company or an attorney to accomplish this. You can settle your accounts for a fraction of the actual balance, although this does some damage to your credit.

File for Bankruptcy

    If you have a very large amount of credit card debt, you may want to think about filing for bankruptcy. When you file for bankruptcy, all of your creditors have to stop collecting from you. This is the result of the automatic stay that's ordered by the court. If you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can legally eliminate all of your credit card debt. If you file for chapter 13 bankruptcy, you enter into a payment plan with the help of the court to repay most of your debt.

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