I Want My Creditors to Forgive Part of My Debt and Give Me Payments That Are Doable. – Kathy

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“Hi Steve!

I lost my job for the second time this past October (economy) and I have both a mortgage and significant credit card debt. I do not want to file for bankruptcy, but I can’t handle these payments, too high.

How do I get some of the credit cards to forgive some of the debt and give me payments that are doable? Especially since two of my cards have been bought by Chase, giving me 4 Chase cards. And I read that Chase is going to raise the min pymts, and I can’t even afford them now. Thanks for your help!

Kathy”

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  • Judy

    How can I find a reputable debt settlement company? I have been out of work for 8 months and getting unemployment. I have approx. 20K in CC debt and have paid on time til now. It is debt I acquired on my own and I am recently remarried. If I go to CCCS or to debt settlement, will they force me to get my husband involved in repayment or assessing ability to pay> He did not incur this debt and will not want to repay it. I ussed all my savings to pay the credit cards till now and interest rates are rising. Should I stop paying for a few months and then try to deal with them directly? Or, is there a debt mgmt. co. I can TRUST to help me..recue prinicpal and pay off…CCCS will take forever. I don’t really care about hit on my credit score which is 720 or so…I have 8000 in a 401 which I might be able to pull out under hardship….what should I do and is hte first step to stop paying the bills?

    • http://GetOutOfDebt.org Steve Rhode

      Judy,

      If the credit cards are joint accounts, it will involve your husband. It sounds like these are your accounts alone. In that case, your husband is not involved.

      I think you should go talk to a local bankruptcy attorney. Without any expectation of new employment, draining your assets to travel further down a dead-end road is not the best option. Do NOT take the money out of your 401(K).

      Steve

  • Karen Jaffe

    It never hurts to try. You can try to negotiate to settle your debt with the credit card company for pennies on the dollar, usually as little as forty-five to fifty cents on the dollar if you have the upfront cash to pay immediately. Credit card companies are being particularly uncooperative right now, so you might want to look into a reliable debt settlement company to do the dirty work for you. Try to get a referral to one if possible, or at least get some references from some of their prior clients before agreeing to anything. Be careful about borrowing from relatives. You still have to pay the money back and you could ruin a relationship if you’re unable to pay it back quickly enough.

  • Prudence Miller

    I have $10 K on two credit cards from a lawyer who did a poor job on my employment case. In fact, he took actions that jeopardized my case without consulting me. Ultimately I lost my job. I am scraping by (without unemployment which was denied by my employer) but cannot afford to repay these debts. I have tried disputing them but was told I would have to deal with the attorney directly or take action against him. No money for that. I have a relative who could loan me some cash to pay part of these debts off but how do I negotiate with the credit card companies? Thanks and could you answer me soon? They’re banging on my door practically.

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