Credit card debt – Can the government help to settle it?
Problem:
I have incurred around $30,000 credit card debt in the last few months. Frankly, I don’t have the financial resources to pay off this huge debt. I was unemployed for several months. I got a job in a small private company last month. A major portion of my salary goes toward the living expenses. I am in a fix. Can the government credit card debt settlement program give me relief from the unpaid credit card debt or should I negotiate with the credit card companies to lower the interest rate? What should be my next course of action?
Solution:
Going through your query it is quite clear that you have piled up huge amount of credit card debt. Considering you were unemployed, you should have used your credit cards responsibly. However, getting back to your query, there is no government credit card debt settlement program in the nation. There are several debt settlement companies in the country that claim to offer government credit card debt settlement programs to lure innocent consumers. But there is no truth in this. The fact is there is no government debt settlement program for the consumers suffering from debt problems at present.
As far as dealing with the credit card companies on your own is concerned, it largely depends on the numbers of creditors you owe money. It is much easier to negotiate with few creditors rather than many. You may be able to negotiate with 2 or 3 creditors successfully. But it will be very difficult for you to manage several creditors simultaneously. However, it is essential to note that the creditors would not want to settle the debt unless they get a considerable amount of money.
If you have few creditors knocking at the door and have still not contacted your creditors, then you should start working towards the payment of the debt right away. You may contact your nearest bank and ask them whether or not they offer any hardship programs. These programs help consumers to pay off their unpaid credit card debt. The only disadvantage is that these are very short term programs.
However, if you have several creditors and are unable to reach an agreement with them, then contact a reputable credit counseling agency. The counselors will advise you the best course of action after analyzing your financial situation in detail. They may advise you an effective budget plan to help you pay back the debt.
Finally, you can also get help of debt consolidation program to pay off the debt. Once you enroll in the program, the debt consolidation company will communicate with your creditors and request them to reduce the interest rates and late fees. Once the creditors agree with counselors, all you need to do is make one monthly payment to the company. The company will then disburse the money to your creditors after deducting their fees. The program can help you pay back the debt within 4-6 years comfortably.
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