How to Negotiate a Balance With a Citibank Credit Card

The spiral of credit card debt can be a serious burden. A single late payment means late fees and extra interest, making the next minimum payment that much higher. This often means missing that next payment, which means further late fees and even more interest. It's surprising how fast that debt can spiral out of control. Fortunately, you can often negotiate some kind of settlement if you talk to the right person at Citibank.

Instructions

Talk With the Right Person

1

If your account is not already in collections, call the number on the back of your card. If it is already in collections, use the number on any letters sent to you. These are different departments within Citibank, and one can't help the other.

2

Remain polite throughout the phone call. Although this can be an emotional subject and a frustrating experience, customer service operators will do more for people who treat them with respect. Many spend all day talking with angry or unreasonable people and will welcome an exception.

3

Ask to speak with a supervisor. The frontline representative you speak with might resist--it's part of his job to run some interference for the boss. Be polite, but insistent.

If Your Account Isn't in Collections

4

Use all three of the steps below, but not during the same phone call. Citibank is a huge company, and each call should reach a different representative. Though there will be notes in the system, each individual representative will be more likely to approve your individual request. Asking all three of the same representative would be pushing your luck.

5

Ask for help with the late fees. Even frontline representatives are authorized to waive a late fee or two. You can give a long series of excuses if you want, but most reps would rather just hear you ask the question. In most cases, they can forgive at least the most recent one.

6

Try to negotiate a better interest rate. This won't reduce the existing balance, but will lower future rates and reduce your monthly minimum payment. The best method for this is to threaten to transfer the balance to another card with a lower interest rate. Citibank would rather have a lower percentage of your business than a high percentage of nothing.

7

Try to get your new rate approved retroactively, if you successfully negotiated a better rate. This is especially helpful if you are carrying a high balance.

If Your Account is In Collections

8

Find out who owns the debt. Citibank, like many other creditors, will eventually sell your account to a third-party collections agency. Once this happens, don't bother communicating any further with Citibank.

9

Attempt to negotiate a partial payment of the debt. Because the legal process of pursuing a debt is so expensive, many companies will take a percentage of the total balance and accept it as payment in full. Discounting you 10 percent of the balance might save them expenses of 25 percent of the balance. This strategy applies best with third-party agencies, but is worth a try if it's being handled within Citibank's internal collections department.

10

Remain polite throughout the negotiation. If at all possible, get the collector to name an exact number first. As with other negotiations, the person who speaks first loses.