Home -- Guide's Table of Contents -- Credit Card Debt Blog -- Credit Card Debt Articles -- Court Summons -- Credit Card Companies -- Debt Counseling -- Debt Services -- Junk Debt Buyers -- Debt Collectors -- Credit Card Debt Consolidation -- Credit Card Debt Settlement -- Credit Repair -- Debt Collection Attorneys -- Contact Us -- Privacy Policy

The Basics Blog 4.19.11

Credit Card Debt Relief -- 12 Important Things to Think About

• If right now, you can afford to pay something every month toward your credit card debt, you should be thinking about working with your original creditors to reduce your monthly payments (See Chapter 5 of the Guide.).  But, your original creditors only.  If you debts have already charged off and been sold, do not attempt to settle with a junk debt buyer.  Once you original creditor has sold your debt, you can do nothing to remove the negative credit mark caused by the charge off.
• If you cannot afford to make any monthly payments toward your credit card debt, do not sacrifice money for those debts that should go to paying for necessities; food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, etc.  You will see as you become more educated that not paying unsecured credit card debt is not the end of your financial world.
• Do not make debt settlement agreements with or payments to debt collectors, debt collection attorneys or junk debt buyers.  These are no more than ploys to get you to re-contract the debt, to reset the statute of limitations on debt collection and make you more liable for a court action/judgment to collect the debt.  If you must settle, get it writing.
• Get rid of any guilt about your debt.  Do not let it incapacitate you to taking action against debt collection efforts.
• Debt collectors are powerless.  They feed off your guilt.  If you have no guilt, they have no power over you.  Do not take their phone calls.
• Showing weakness to a debt collector can result in a court summons.  Do not take their phone calls, but ALWAYS reply to their written communications denying and disputing the alleged debt, asking for documentation and instructing that collection activities cease (See Chapter 6 of the Guide for sample letters and wording that do that in compliance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.).
• Avoid debt-relief-service sales pitches. They all prey on the secret wish of each consumer for someone else to take over their debt problems.  They all want to be paid before they produce results (See Chapter 4 of the Guide for the all the scams and services out there.).
• Most attorneys have no experience defending consumer debt litigation.  There is no money in it.  Finding affordable local legal help in the Yellow Pages is difficult. But, there are ways to find legal help and advice that you can afford (See Chapter 8 of the Guide.).
• Understand your particular situation; your credit card bank(s), your finances, your ability or inability to pay.
• Educate yourself and plan ahead to avoid a high need state that could result from a court summons or judgment.
• Credit repair is doable, but it does not work with a cookie cutter approach.  Inappropriate communications with credit reporting agencies can cause your credit score to go down (See Chapter 9 of the Guide.).
• Do-it-yourself debt relief is not that difficult if you educate yourself with the right resources.