I had a medical problem and couldn't work for 2 years and really hurt my outstanding credit history. I had a $5,000 Visa card debt and a $19,000 Mastercard debt. I got on a payment program on both cards, offered to me by the banks. I paid both down to below the limit. The $19k one re-activated my account and I have continued to pay it down to $17k. The $5k account, I missed a payment, was dropped from the program and it has now climbed with late fees and penalties to $7010. The bank offered to settle the whole debt by paying $5010 (70%) by Sept 15th. Last I checked my FICA was 575 or so.
Here is my question? Will I have a more difficult time getting my credit rating up if I do this 70% settlement by paying $5010 by the 15th or would it be better to do the following - pay roughly $3,500 asap and then pay the rest off over the next 4 months? My goal is to repair my credit in the shortest time possible. I have about $3,500 now and might be able to borrow $1510 more but it will hurt.
2006-08-30 20:24:01 · 4 answers · asked by Brian Mack 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
check these links, then decide what you want to do, they might even get you to change your mind!
see the FAQ on the first link down but really there's plenty of advice throughout if you have time to read:
http://credit-cards.ebookorama.com
http://finance.ebookorama.com
http://credit.ebookorama.com
http://credit-repair.ebookorama.com
good luck!
if it helps please remember me cheers
2006-08-31 05:05:25 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your credit rating is in the toilet and swirling fast.....your situation warrants settling. Getting out of debt by settling will have implications on your credit report, but not as bad as having these high amounts on your cards or eventually bankruptcy etc.
Don't settle for 70%. You can get a better deal. Most will settle for 50% of less. Do some research and don't let the threat or thought of your credit rating going down worry you. It already has. You will need to be a few months behind to even have the cards negotiate with you.
Read everything you can find about settling before you do anything. Try these sites for starters......
http://www.creditinfocenter.com/
http://credit.about.com/od/debtconsolidation/ss/debtsettle.htm
http://www.zipdebt.com
2006-08-31 01:52:57 · answer #2 · answered by srgmom 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Require a pay for deletion for $5,010.
The hyperlink of the letter you send is attached.
If you can get them to agree to the pay for deletion in WRITING, then you will score should improve when the balance due AND the delinquencies are removed from your credit report.
2006-08-30 20:41:34 · answer #3 · answered by DaMan 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's your FICO score actually, not Fica and DaMan and Echo gave great advice. I can't elaborate on that...good luck and hope things work out for you.
2006-08-30 21:22:32 · answer #4 · answered by dusty_roade 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋