So, you are in the position where you have been unable to pay off your credit card/s for quite a while now and its got to the stage where your card/s company have sold on your debt to a debt collection agency. Of course, the collection agency will contact you very soon as they want to get “their” money back and also profit too. They want immediate payment.

However, if not in the first instance, at least some way down the line, they will reduce the amount they are asking for, and very often it will be a very significant reduction of what was once the original debt. If you go ahead and pay, the debt collection agency will get, lets say, around 60% of the final payment you make, leaving just 40% of that for the original creditor/s.

However, when it does get to this stage in the affair, the debt collection agency will actually offer to accept a fair amount less than your actual debt currently stands at. So as an example let us say that the collection agency will receive, if you decide to pay them, a commission of 60% of the reduced debt offer. Following so far?

Although the card company is not going to receive anything near the initial amount owed to them this $3,200 is still more than they would attain in Chapter- bankruptcy. If you were to go for Chapter 7 bankruptcy they would receive absolutely nothing!

So at the end the card company will receive a total of $3,200, which although not nearly as much as you actually owe to them, is a more than they would receive in the case of a Chapter- bankruptcy. In a Chapter 7 though, they would not receive a cent!

But is this any clearer to you now than before? Probably not much. So, ask yourself this:
– how long does bankruptcy stay on your credit file?
Answer: 10 years
– how long does a settlement stay on your file?
Answer: 7 years

If you were to take the route of bankruptcy there are other fees to pay, namely:
– attorney fees
– a bankruptcy filing fee
– court fees
– a fee payable for a pre-filing debtor education course and you have to take the course too.
And if you were to default on the bankruptcy terms and conditions you would have to start again from the beginning, and would at the same time lose all that money paid towards the above costs. A high price to pay for no results!

Therefore, unless your debt is very much insurmountable, it most certainly makes very good sense to focus upon the debt settlement route.

One mother is like many of the other parents who rented from a now bankrupt local music store in 2008. Her son completed the work with his rented clarinet in May 2008, and she attempted to bring it back to the store.

When she got to the store, there was a note on the door informing customers that they were out of business and no one was in there. On numerous instances, she attempted to go by the store, and even called other locations. To add insult to injury, her bank could not stop the automatic monthly payments that were being taken out of her account.

Around two years later, when the payments had come to an end, the boy’s mother sold the clarinet for ninety dollars to someone else. All in all, she was charged three hundred dollars after the point she tried to return it. The young mother thought that that would be the end of the clarinet situation. But soon after she received a five hundred dollar collection notice from a collections agency on behalf of the instrument maker Conn-Selmer. The instrument makers had received her information as part of the bankruptcy process.

The young mother was left in a stupor. She could not believe that she was charged for the year when she tried to, but couldn’t return it, and now that she may be expected to pay money, she felt as if the store owed her money, not the other way around.

After a local news channel contacted a spokeswoman for Conn Selmer to find answers for the parents who had received collection bills, the spokeswoman said that the company will be sending letters to all parents who received collection letters. The letter will supposedly detail how parents who feel as though they are being unfairly treated can challenge the debt.

First, it is very possible that cardholders might find that they are being hit with an assortment of charges and new fees. This is because creditors have already been implementing new fees aggressively or raising ones that already existed to try to make up for any revenue that could be potential lost as a result of the CARD Act.

Some types of these fees are Discover’s new 2% fee on all purchases made outside of the United States of America, and an increase from 3% to 5% fee for rolling over a balance from one credit card to another.Because there are no restrictions on the types of fees creditors can implement, cardholders should pay extra close attention to the “Terms and Conditions” section of their statement so they know what exactly they are being charged for.

In addition, credit will be harder to come by. The amount of credit that was available to consumers by card companies went down about 7% between March and September of last year. And it will only tighten further. According to the CARD Act, credit card companies are going to be extremely restricted in their marketing techniques that target college students, which can potentially cut down on an important part of their business.

Therefore, cardholders with an OK or bad credit history will find that it is much more difficult to obtain a card or have their credit limit extended.

Also expected are fewer rewards. Issuers are becoming more stingy with their rewards in an attempt to save money. For example, American Express told its consumers recently that they would not be able to accumulate reward points on their purchases if they were late with a payment. To avoid missing out, analysts caution that consumers should carefully read any notices they get from their credit card company about changes to their rewards or loyalty program.

Bankruptcy is stamped onto your credit report for a full ten years. And without a decent credit report, your ability to obtain a car, living situation or employment could be greatly hindered. If you are filing, do your best to plan for your bankruptcy.

In America, there are five chapters of bankruptcy that you can file for. Chapter seven is the most common form. A trustee will collect non-exempt property and will sell it and distribute the proceeds to the creditors. Chapter nine is a bankruptcy that is only available to municipalities. It’s pretty much a form of reorganization, not liquidation.

Chapter eleven, twelve, and thirteen are more involved because under these chapters, the debtor gets to keep some or all of her property while they use her future earnings to pay off the debt. Most consumers file chapter seven or chapter 13. Chapter 11 filings are mostly for businesses, individuals are allowed, but are rare. Chapter twelve is similar to Chapter 13 but is only available to “family farmers” and “family fisherman” in certain situations.

Now for the list of bankruptcy DON’Ts.

First off, do not utilize your credit cards once you have made this decision. It’s just a not a good idea to incur even more debt that you don’t intent to repay. It makes you look suspicious, and you could lose your right to cancel out the debt in the bankruptcy. Thing is, there were bankruptcy reforms in 2005 that lowers the threshold on so called luxury purchases to five hundred dollars and extended the abuse period to ninety days before filing. Anything you buy in this period will be under extra scrutiny.

Idealistically speaking, before getting to this point, it would be best to contact the card provider so things do not get out of hand. Credit card providers are often willing to work with a cardholder to either arrange a payment plan or to arrange for a pay off in full for a reduced debt amount.

If you do not make arrangements with the credit card provider, your debt may wind up with a collection agency. At this point, you are no longer able to negotiate with the credit card provider. Collection agencies, as a rule, don’t like to go to court to collect a debt because it costs them time and money for what to them normally amounts to a very small amount. Collection agencies normally purchase debt for cents on the dollar. Therefore, they will normally be willing to make arrangements with you for a lump sum payment or monthly payments.

If your debt does come before a judge for a credit card judgment, you have the right to appear before the judge and plead your case. If the debt is not yours or if the seizing of the assets would mean serious difficulties for you, the judge may take this into consideration. However, this is viewed on a case-by-case basis.

Additionally, not all assets may be seized and a judge may determine exactly which assets may be taken. A judge may also order that money be taken from your bank account to pay the debt , may set a ruling to garnish your wages (depending upon state law), or may even order the filing of a lien upon your real property, if you own any.

Your credit score will be severely damaged if you obtain a credit card judgment. Also, it will be extremely hard to be approved for any credit products. Your credit history can carry this albatross for up to seven years.

Your ability to obtain reasonable rates related to car and home insurance will be affected. Also, a credit card judgment can affect your opportunities for future employment or advancement in your present position.

Once the credit card judgment has been issued, do your best to pay the credit card debt off as quicikly as you can. Keep in mind that you can contact the credit reporting agencies after the debt has been paid in full to request that the debt be removed altogether or, at the very least, be revised to a “paid” status.

The majority of students that have just finished their education and are currently looking for jobs try for federal school loan consolidation first. This loan is beneficial in a number of ways. First, the government is the source of this loan but it is issued by private lenders. That means that the time you have to repay the loan can be extended for a long duration.

Perhaps the most enticing benefit of school loan consolidation is that the multiple student loans are substituted with just one loan. The overall sum of the debt is reduced; at times this reduction can even go up to 60%. This, of course leads to reduction in your monthly payment.

Even better, the new rate of interest is founded on the weighted average of the rates that apply on your present loans. You’ll also be rid of the mental stress connected with remembering the details about multiple loans. Consolidation does not require a cosigner or any checking of the credit score, and you can utilize this opportunity to improve the credit score or rating.

The only con of the situation is that is it is very difficult to prove yourself eligible for the federal school loan consolidation. Typically, you will need the assistance of a good debt consolidation expert to prove that you are eligible for this kind of consolidation. The standards to be qualified for this loan are very rigid, leaving many ineligible for the loan. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to check to see if you qualify. It could be a good resource for protecting your finances in the future.