Erica in PA Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 What would you do if you really were serious about getting out of debt, but owed money on very high interest credit cards, and had only "good" credit? Has anyone without excellent credit successfully transferred a balance recently? Do you have a specific card to recommend? Our only other option is to go through a CCC organization, which we'd like to avoid if possible. But as it stands now, if nothing changes, we will never be able to pay off these credit cards, no matter how tightly we pull our belt trying. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inactive Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Do you have a local credit union?? If so, I'd check there...they usually have lower interest rates. (Our local credit union offers a Visa card at 9.9%!!! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in PA Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 You can try calling the credit card company and asking for a lower rate. They may offer it to you if you agree to close the account. We did that with one card. They jacked the rate up on the card (I can't even recall what the rate was). We called them and worked out 6.5% until the balance is paid off (we did have to close the account though). It was a huge relief. The problem with those companies that offer debt consolidation and all that, is that they often will only help if you are at the point where you can no longer pay the minimum on your debt and have the creditors harassing you. My sister looked into it and was told by several companies that she needed to be behind in paying back her debt by at least a couple of months. And then on top of that she would have to pay a fee for the consolidation. Also, some creditors refuse to work with those companies. You are better off calling the individual companies and trying to work something out. Surprisingly many will work with you. Unfortunately, dh and I tried this today and neither company would budge. :sad: I didn't mention closing the card, though... do you think I should call back and try that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 My husband and I are in the middle of a debt consolidation plan through Lutheran Social Services. It is a not for profit company and they took us before we got behind on our payments. It was the only way for us to get past the debt. We will be credit card debt free in a few more years. We did have a very high amount of debt so it may not take as long as it did for us but it was a 5 year plan. They got all of our interest rates lowered. Of course, we had this in place before the current credit card issues and the legislation regulating them. It was the best decision we ever made and I wish we had done it sooner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in PA Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 My husband and I are in the middle of a debt consolidation plan through Lutheran Social Services. It is a not for profit company and they took us before we got behind on our payments. It was the only way for us to get past the debt. We will be credit card debt free in a few more years. We did have a very high amount of debt so it may not take as long as it did for us but it was a 5 year plan. They got all of our interest rates lowered. Of course, we had this in place before the current credit card issues and the legislation regulating them. It was the best decision we ever made and I wish we had done it sooner. Would you mind sharing how much the fees are that go with a program like this? It is so hard to find that kind of information online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in PA Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 You could try. Or try telling them you can't afford your payments as they are, and ask if they could work with you. I did tell them that part. They didn't care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I looked at our statement and we pay $45 monthly fee. I cannot remember though if that is the same for everyone or dependent on the balance we carry. Our balance was VERY high and so that makes it all well worth it. We are saving more than that in the interest charges that they got reduced for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I have heard that closing accounts affects your credit score negatively, so you might want to do some reading about that before closing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plimsoll Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 If refinancing your house and pulling out some equity is an option, you may want to consider this. Interest rates are pretty low, certainly lower than what the cc companies are charging. But then you neeed a plan to not run up any new cc debt.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allearia Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 With us we were able to negotiate with what they called "Customer Assistance" on one card, which is basically collections. We got a fixed payment of $205 at 2.5% and closed the account, otherwise it was going up to $550/mo. Some new credit reform laws went into effect so all the rates are going up, and the amount you have to pay monthly just went up too (percentage of balance) is my understanding from talking to the credit card people and they are limited in what they can offer, but "customer assistance" has other options/programs. Now it may have been better for the credit report to keep it open but the way things were going wasn't going to improve things if you know what I mean. When we talked to another company whose rates went up to 29.99% suddenly for no reason, we had to ask about a hardship program, and they gave us the number, though we haven't negotiated yet. We had to tell them about house payment info and the monthly payments on other loans and cards, and also income, though I got no feedback on what I told them. It is worth a try to see what you can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in PA Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 With us we were able to negotiate with what they called "Customer Assistance" on one card, which is basically collections. We got a fixed payment of $205 at 2.5% and closed the account, otherwise it was going up to $550/mo. Some new credit reform laws went into effect so all the rates are going up, and the amount you have to pay monthly just went up too (percentage of balance) is my understanding from talking to the credit card people and they are limited in what they can offer, but "customer assistance" has other options/programs. Now it may have been better for the credit report to keep it open but the way things were going wasn't going to improve things if you know what I mean. When we talked to another company whose rates went up to 29.99% suddenly for no reason, we had to ask about a hardship program, and they gave us the number, though we haven't negotiated yet. We had to tell them about house payment info and the monthly payments on other loans and cards, and also income, though I got no feedback on what I told them. It is worth a try to see what you can get. I don't know, dh and I both tried this approach last night, and neither company would acknowledge that there was *any* option at all. I asked to speak to a supervisor, she said there was no one else to speak to, that she was the final answer. I asked about a settlement, and closing the account, and was told that company didn't do that. So I don't know what the answer is... :confused: I wish we could get a home equity loan and pay this off, but we're renters. It's very frustrating. I guess I'll just keep looking into debt management companies and see if I can find a reasonably priced one that will have been luck negotiating with these specific credit card companies than I've had. I hate to do that, but I don't really see any other choice. We will *never* be able to pay off these credit cards at the current rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMA Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I don't know, dh and I both tried this approach last night, and neither company would acknowledge that there was *any* option at all. I asked to speak to a supervisor, she said there was no one else to speak to, that she was the final answer. I asked about a settlement, and closing the account, and was told that company didn't do that. So I don't know what the answer is... :confused: I wish we could get a home equity loan and pay this off, but we're renters. It's very frustrating. I guess I'll just keep looking into debt management companies and see if I can find a reasonably priced one that will have been luck negotiating with these specific credit card companies than I've had. I hate to do that, but I don't really see any other choice. We will *never* be able to pay off these credit cards at the current rates. Call during the day and ask for a supervisor again. You have wrong information. If you don't like the supervisor, ask for someone else. Call again another day. Do this with both companies. The other option is to try to get another company to offer you a special rate for transferring balances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moni Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 we will never be able to pay off these credit cards, no matter Are you paying less than the monthly interest charge each month? Otherwise I think you would be making some progress. :001_huh: If they won't negotiate terms with you, I'd just keep paying. :seeya: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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