Knee Deep in Debt - Credit Card Debt Settlement

Credit Card Debt Settlement

Is your credit card debt eating you alive? Have access to a large sum of cash, but not enough to pay off your credit cards? Then credit card debt settlement may be the answer to your credit card debt problem.

How Credit Card Debt Settlement Works

Credit card debt settlement is a compromise with your creditors to get them to let you pay back the total amount you owe at pennies on the dollar to consider the debt paid in full. So let's say you owe $10,000 in credit card debt. With a credit card debt settlement plan that would allow you to pay off your balance at 50 cents on the dollar, you'd have to pay back $5,000--but you'd have to do it all at once. Sometimes, if you go through a credit card debt settlement company, you can find one that will allow you to pay it back within 1-3 years, but in most cases, you have to pay it off much sooner than that.

Getting It

You can try to negotiate with your creditors on your own to get your credit card debt settled, but if you've had late payments or your credit is bad, they probably won't be willing players. And they certainly won't give you more time to pay off your new, lower balance. But if you go through a credit card debt settlement company, you'll probably get a better deal. Either way, credit card debt settlement might leave a small "blip" on your credit report, but it's better than bankruptcy, and it's the fastest way to get your debt paid off (short of winning the lottery and paying it off that way).

If you decide to use a debt management company, to find one, simply search the Internet on the term credit card debt settlement or search our Related Resources page.