I have had them for many years and never been late but due to my lower income and the higher interest rates (they keep raising them and now I have 29.9% interest although I have never missed a payment or been late. There is no money to send them. No way to cut anything as I live bare bones right now and I have no assets, no car, etc. I heard that if I send them 5 dollars a month they can't do anything to me. However the interest on the cards is about 200 a month and with a late fee and over the limit fees that will begin to accumulate, the 5 dollars will really do nothing to reduce my debt. I know that but want to avoid them suing me as long as possible (although I have nothing of value for them to take and only make 700 month and have a dependent. My question is do I send the 5 dollars with the regular payment voucher or do I send a letter explaining my situation and the 5 dollars to the customer service address? I have no money or time to file bankruptcy.
2007-01-31 07:28:12 · 7 answers · asked by reallyfedup 5 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
Call the credit card company and request some help. They should be able to create an option for you. If you haven't missed a payment then you can look into a balance transfer which will give you an extra 30 to 60 days to make a payment. Also, the government might have a program to help out people with debt that cannot afford it.
Get a 2nd job. Work nights. Get a roomate. Good luck!
2007-01-31 07:41:24 · answer #1 · answered by MR MONEY 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm a lawyer and I've never heard of this "$5 rule" you're talking about. I wish it were true. If you don't make the minimum payments they will hit you will all sorts of penalties plus the interest will keep adding up. (For example, 22% interest on a $10,000 debt is $2200 PER YEAR. It really adds up fast.)
You can always try to talk to them, or consult a REPUTABLE credit counselling service to see what kind of affordable deal you can work out. Sooner or later they will sue you because there's so much money involved by now, and in addition the contract probably allows them to charge YOU their legal fees for suing you. If they get a judgment, they might not be able to collect it now, but they can keep that judgment open for another 10 or 20 years and come after you when you have more money.
In the long run, bankruptcy is your best bet. Believe me, it's affordable: paying a lawyer $500 or even $1000 to handle a simple bankruptcy that erases $30,000 or worse in credit card debts is a good investment for you. However, it's now a condition of the Reagan-Bush bankruptcy laws that you have to go thru debt counselling, and credit card debts are harder to have discharged than they used to be.
I'm sorry for the problems.
2007-01-31 08:58:53 · answer #2 · answered by AnOrdinaryGuy 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Unfortunately, none of your reasons are any concern of your credit card company. You spent the money and they want it back.
No, sending 5 dollars won't make ANY difference. They will simply take 5 dollars off your balance and you'll still be delinquent. What you SHOULD do right away is to call the credit card company and discuss your problem with them.
It is in their interest to work with you so that they can get back the money you spent. They'd rather work with you and try to get back as much as they can than send you to the collection agency at a steep discount. It is in your interest too.
Call them now as you have nothing to lose (literally) and everything to gain. Focus on the fact you are willing to pay back but negotiate on how.
If you just send in nothing at all or less than minimum, they will eventually turn you over to collection agency.
2007-01-31 07:42:37 · answer #3 · answered by tkquestion 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most cards report to the bureaus on the statement cut date. Then it takes each bureau a few days to update. For me (on a 3-in-1 monitoring system I subscribe to), I usually see EX within about 2 or 3 days...then TU a day or 2 later, then EQ right after TU. Sometimes there is a glitch & nothing shows until the next month, but that's rare. Congrats on that hearty score! Go to the myFICO forums & add yourself as a FICO high achiever! They'll love ya there!! :-)
2016-05-23 23:28:20 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would like to recommend that you read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. It is an outstanding book, and he talks to what you should do when you can't afford to pay your collectors. I think this is what you are thinking about with sending "5$" .
He also provides a plan for getting on a budget and finding the money to get yourself out of debt and on the path to building wealth.
His plan is working well for my husband and I.
2007-01-31 12:36:56 · answer #5 · answered by Jen G 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I never heard of that 5 dollar thing, it sounds like an urban legend to me. Call them and explain the situation...they are either going to sue you or write off the expense, so just keep the 5 bucks.
2007-01-31 07:33:44 · answer #6 · answered by AA 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Tell them you want a lower interest rate. Many times they'll give it to you to keep you from transferring your balance to a lower rated card.
2007-01-31 07:51:47 · answer #7 · answered by nursesr4evr 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋