How to Make a Deal With the Credit Card Companies to Stop Interest and Fees

When you have an exceptional amount of credit card debt you may need to call your credit card companies and make the appropriate arrangements to get your account up to date. If you are late with payments you can inherit a number of problems such as late fees, over-the-limit fees in some cases, and extra finance charges due to an increased interest rate. A late payment could trigger or activate a default rate which could be as high as 29.9 percent. To avoid these situations you may need to call and make arrangements to have interest and fees stopped temporarily on your account.

Instructions

1

Call your credit card company and let them know you are having financial difficulty. When you are two or three payments past due it may be difficult to bring your account to a current status. Explain your entire situation to the lender and they will be able to provide you with some type of relief. They may not insist on you bringing the account up to date. Find out all of the information and then follow their instructions. If you are no longer employed, bring this to the credit card company's attention.

2

Ask for the interest rate and fees to be waived or suspended. Some credit card companies may make this suggestion before you even ask. They will try to accommodate your situation. When the interest rate is cancelled for a period of time, such as a year, it gives you an opportunity to pay down your debt. If no portion of your payment is going towards interest, your debt is eliminated more efficiently and effectively. The suspension of fees also will help you pay down your debts.

3

Set up a new payment. The credit card company will set up a lower payment to help cure your financial stress. Your payment will most likely be substantially lower than the normal minimum payment, which can range from 2 to 4 percent. A new payment could be 1 percent of the balance and it will be much more affordable. Some creditors will let you maintain these arrangements for a period of one year. When the year has expired, the original terms and conditions of your credit card account will be reinstated. The credit card company may make a new assessment at that time to see if further assistance is needed with your account.

4

Set up auto deduction. Some credit card companies want this money taken directly from your checking or savings account. This will ensure that the payments are credited to your account on a specific day. If you need to cancel a payment you will need to call the collection department, three to five days prior to the due date, and stop the auto deduction.