Credit Card Debt Settlement worked for me
Will it work for you ?

Do you believe that credit cards are your license to shop and are quite harmless things?
Once upon a time, I too used to think along those lines. One fine morning things changed. I woke up and discovered that my credit card bills have spiralled out of control.
Things were screwed after up far more than I would have liked. Why did it happen?

Well, the pretty looking credit cards made me believe that I had plenty of money. So I purchased what I could not afford and debt, inevitably, followed.

Meanwhile, I lost my job which made things worse, much worse. Being a married person and the sole earner in the family did not help either.
I started to fall more and more behind my payments and I reached a point when I realized that I cannot recover.

I knew that I cannot hope to survive this with debt reduction methods such as debt snowball. Haunted by harassing creditor calls and surrounded by debt zombies, I felt lost.

Credit Card Debt Settlement

I was contemplating filing bankruptcy, and was badly scared by the thought that I might have to part company with most of my worldly possessions and perhaps my reputation too. At this critical moment, one of my friends suggested that I should consider credit card debt settlement.
I had no idea whatsoever what debt settlement was. So I used internet search engines and learnt that if you settle your debt, then a part of your debt is forgiven by the creditors. Of course, it seemed too good to be true. So I decided to dig deeper. Here is what I found out:

• It’s quite hard to make the lenders understand that I desperately need to settle my credit card debt. Since they are losing money, they won’t yield easily.
• I need to pay a lump sum to the creditors in case of a settlement
• My credit report will be tainted quite badly. It will be stated on my credit report that my debt has been “settled” or “paid less than full amount” which might cause problems in case I apply for other loans in a future.

The impact of debt settlement

The credit management company temporarily marked my report, but as I completed the program this negative remark on the report was removed. But I had to sign an agreement paper with the company.
This document stated that I would not open new line of credit while I am on the credit counseling program. Therefore, I can assure you that the effect of credit management won't be as bad as filing bankruptcy.

While I was going through this program I came across a valuable information this might be helpful for all the reader who are planning to enroll with a settlement company.

I was not aware that the impact of debt settlement company would not be severe if I had gone for it after 120 days delinquent in payment. Late payment had already ruined my credit report therefore the affect of debt settlement program would have been bare minimal.

Don't be afraid to contact creditors

While settling my debt I came across that these programs does not give any legal protection against the creditor harassment. The creditor still contacted me while I was going through this settlement program.
You must be wondering why I did not avoid the creditors call?
As a matter of fact, I have seen many of my indebted relatives evade from communication with the creditors, but it could not fetch a fruitful result.

Along with the settlement program I correspondent with the creditors through e-mails. You might not believe the creditors were more approachable more than my expectation and that helped me in further negotiation with them. This also helped to bridge the gap between us and opened the opportunity for applying for other loan program.
Many people avoid their creditors in order to ignore their overwhelming debts. But I spoke to my creditors that had a positive effect while settling the debts.

When I thought of settling my debt I was frantically looking for a debt settlement company that would help me to eliminate the owed amount. However, my friend who recently discharged his debts by enrolling with a settlement firm forewarned me regarding the upfront fee.

But I was fortunate, as the company I enrolled with was quite transparent in the dealing. We discussed the fee that they would charge apart from the monthly payment I was required to make. Federal Trade Commission has implemented new rule that forbids the companies from taking upfront fee.

Leaving the flaws aside the settlement company has helped me a lot to reduce the outstanding amount to an affordable rate. The company even freezes the interest and penalty charges on the owed amount this made the repayment plan reasonable for my pocket.
But all settlement company won't serve you with this luxury. I was informed from the very beginning when I would be able to eliminate my entire debt. Therefore, I managed to eliminate my credit card debt quite easily.

It was a source of support for me when I realized that ultimately I would get rid of the burden that was piled due to irresponsible dealing with credit cards. I splurged on shopping and had an extravagant lifestyle that exceeded my budget. I fail to understand my financial responsibility and this completely messed up my life.

About The Author: Allen is a contributory writer for Credit Magic Community. He is also a financial advisor and guest author for acclaimed blogs. Allen has been writing for more than five years and helping people to get wise with their money. His interests include attending financial seminars, writing columns related to credit repair debt settlement, bankruptcy and visiting personal finance blogs.