Credit Card Debt – Watch Your Credit Report and Your Bill
The credit card industry is so competitive that, whatever card you have, the chances are that somewhere out there is one that would be cheaper or better for you and you can change as often as you want! Literally billions of dollars are being used up on expenses that are only created because of the existence of the credit card industry.
A study by The UK Post Office found that a quarter of credit card holders said they had started the New Year more dependent on real credit than ever before with 41 per cent saying that they would be relying on their credit cards to pay for groceries and other daily expenses.
There are a lot of good reasons to be scared of credit cards, and not to have too many.
We live in an ‘I-want-it-now’ consumer culture, and we’re willing to pay more than we can afford to fund our lifestyles. Credit cards are called credit cards to avoid saying what they really are: debt! You will do much better in all things connected to credit cards if you always remember this simple mantra: credit cards are debt cards.
If you had bad credit, you couldn’t get a credit card at all. Once you’ve got a credit card, you’ll find that you can do more with it than just pay for things with the card. Whatever you do, though, don’t spend a whole day applying for every credit card you can find, just to see if anyone will take you.
Lot’s of people who are regular credit card users realize that debt consolidation can bring in several benefits. A loan can be taken for the sole purpose of debt consolidation and often it is at lower rate than what you might be paying to the credit card issuers. You can save money by clearing your credit card bills that might have been attracting very high interest rates. Credit cards are there to put you in debt and keep you in debt. Less than half of all the UK’s credit card users pay off their bills every month and millions are now believed to be using plastic money to pay for everyday necessities, including super market, groceries etc.
If you’re a good customer, you’d be surprised how easy it is to get a better rate.
Far more people get buried in debt because they lose their job, or get sick they take out credit cards to pay for basic expenses, and fall into the interest trap. For higher interest rates, it only gets worse: there are cards out there where only making the minimum payments will actually cause you to owe more each month, not less! Companies giving out small loans are far more likely to rely completely on this rating than to bother checking your income, and a worse rating will mean that you are offered a higher interest rate.
Your limit is just that: a limit, not a minimum! Whatever you do, don’t get a card and immediately spend your whole limit. The average family carries a balance of between 5,000 and 8,000 pounds on all their credit cards, depending on which figures you believe.
Most people don’t work this out, and feel that the payments must simply be their fault for spending too much money to begin with. To avoid being in a credit card debt try to transfer as much money as you can from the high-interest cards down the list to the lower-interest ones.
Phoning companies to ask to negotiate your debts isn’t a good idea it’s too easy to get flustered and say the wrong thing. When you have enough money to pay off your debt, there’s absolutely no reason to keep it. Debt is for people who don’t have the money, and need to borrow it. Debt costs money, and savings make money you want as much of your finances as possible to be savings, not debts. If your savings account and credit card are with the same bank, then you’re effectively paying for the privilege of borrowing your own money from them. Why would you do that?
If you’re in a really bad situation, and you just can’t even make your minimum payments this month, don’t worry. As long as there’s only one late payment, it doesn’t matter too much, especially once a year or so has gone by. Pay attention to what kind of fees you’ll be charged for a late payment, or if you take a cash advance, or if you accidentally exceed your limit on the card.
Don’t let stigmas put you off; this is about your health. People with lots of debts don’t want to talk about it, even with their family, for fear of upsetting people or looking like a failure. It is very important, though, that you do talk about your problems, as keeping it all inside yourself will make you much, much more stressed.
Your rating is important when you get car loans and mortgages too. It is also worth considering that the credit reports of anyone you live with may be linked to your report, and could reflect badly on you your wife or husband’s credit rating is tied to yours quite closely.
Good cards can have a grace period of up to two months bad ones might not have one at all. Check that the card you’re looking at has a grace period on purchases.
The most dangerous thing about debt consolidation loans is that the ones with lower payments generally last a very long time you could be paying it off for twenty years, or even longer. If you’ve got a really unmanageable amount of credit card debt, you might be considering a consolidation loan. If you do take a debt consolidation loan, you need to read the small print as if your life depended on it (it does), and then be very, very careful.
In some countries, you might not have a legal leg to stand on your card issuer can do what they like to you. When it comes to Credit Card Issuers, getting it in writing also means that you can hold them to what they say later on.
Most creditors would rather let you pay back a tiny fraction of what you owe than have to try to get money out of a bankrupt. They’ll be able to lend you the money at a much better rate than a credit card would, simply because they know why you’re taking the loan and can set regular monthly payments for you to repay it.
You need to sit down, work out a budget, cut unnecessary expenses and try to free up as much money as you can to pay back debts. When you’re paying back debts, a little strategy can make a difference of hundreds or even thousands of pounds.
If the advice you get is to sign up for another loan from one company in particular, don’t believe it the chances are that the person you’re talking to is just a salesman in disguise. If you are identified as sub-prime, you’ll start getting offers for loans secured on your property they know that if you can’t pay, they’ll get their money anyway.
Credit unions are like banks, only more local.
You probably don’t think about it, but using a credit card basically makes your money worth less than it would be usually. That’s why it feels so hard to pay a credit card back if you borrow a dollar from a credit card at 15% interest, sit on it for five years, and then give it back, guess what?
Essentially, every company has a slightly different way of working out how much interest you should pay each month. You might also note that consumers with more debt have less to spend and when money isn’t flowing, it hurts the economy.
You might think that one card issuer won’t know what you’re doing with a competitor’s card, but you’d be wrong. Don’t worry if you don’t understand all the maths involved here with credit card interest rates; it’s been deliberately designed by mathematicians and marketers to be as confusing as possible, to stop you working out what a bad deal you’re getting. After all, if you haven’t read this, would you really ever turn down a month off paying your bills?
If you’re in a situation where you’re relying on advances, you should start using your card for smaller things where you wouldn’t usually bother, just to avoid taking the advances and paying more interest. Transferring your entire balance to another card will make them sit up, take notice, and start making you much better offers than you ever got before.
In all things in life, remember that no-one gives you anything for nothing least of all credit card companies.
Watch the video related to
credit card debt
www.TheCreditCardSolution.com offers free videos on credit card debt laws, usury laws, and other credit topics from credit card debt expert Bob Lindsey. This program offers a national network of debt lawyers using a proven strategy to prevent lawsuits, judgments and debt collector harassment.
Help answer the question about credit card debt
How will settling credit card debt affect my credit score?
I have several accounts on my credit that are all in good standing. I just have one credit card with $25,000 in debt. I was making payments on it but when my husband was laid off, I couldn't make payments. It's over 90 days due and I want to settle the debt but I am afraid of how it will affect my credit score and what I can do to make sure it is not too negative on my credit. Any advice?
About Author
Christos Margetis is available for interviews and public speaking. The tips in this article were extracted from Chris’s award- winning website. ClickGoFind offers best information and reviews for Debt Consolidation Loan and financial resources information.
Comments
You have to make the payment agreement with the one that is suing you.
You should offer a percentage of the debt. You should stipulate in the agreement – if they agree to take a percentage, after payment, they will agree that the debt is paid and no longer collectable.
Be sure to have the agreement in writing!!!
Be sure that when you come to an agreement and when you pay that both the agreement and the payment is filed in the case file !!!
I'm going to check your answers because I need the same help!! GOOD LUCK!
sure dude, here I found tons more. It'll take a month to read it all.
I've found some good information here too…
http://www.safelinked.info/jump.php?link=debt
Hope that helps.
The person's estate has to stand good for what he owes.
If the estate doesn't have enough, then the entire inheritance is sold, given to the credit card companies, and then the rest of the debts are cancelled (the credit card company has no choice but to write it off.)
Which is why, even if the person has a perfect FICO score, that the banks are taking some risk when loaning money.
They better transfer the house before the death of this individual because you are right they will come after the estate of the deceased.
If the child purchases the house from them the seller needs to keep the money out of the banking system otherwise that money would now be the asset. But I'm sure you already know that.
Once the person is deceased the only thing the child needs to do is open the letters send a copy of the death cert. (it doesn't have to be certified unless they contact them and ask for one) and also include a note that says Deceased has no estate.
I've never after 2 1/2 yrs had any of my father in laws creditors write me again.
The collecting SOL on a credit card is not a myth.
Generally you would go by the state where you have set up residence – employment, utility bills, pay taxes, etc.
Though the creditor/collection agency can actually chose which state they want to file a suit in, if they chose to file.
Since you are out of the collecting SOL in both states, send a SOL letter that includes the fact you are out of the collecting SOL for "both" states.
You might go to the following link and read the SOL letter that is listed.
http://whychat.5u.com/nottoca.html
You can also scroll down to the bottom of that page and click on the home page.
Once on the home page, scroll down to near the bottom where the states are listed.
Click on both states. The statutes you would need for the SOL letter will be listed.
edit+++++
Anonymous -
As for that link you posted, I think Studly gave an excellent example by listing the FCRA statutes of the reporting SOL.
I really don't understand why you posted that link to begin with when the facts of the reporting SOL were posted in there.
As for the "proof" of collecting SOL for you (and for the OP)
If you would take the time to read the state statutes for both Texas and Missouri, you would see for yourself that there is indeed a collecting SOL, as there is in "every" state.
Texas statutes for the collecting SOL and the statutes to prohibit the re-aging of the collecting SOL
§ 16.004. Four-Year Limitations Period
(a) A person must bring suit on the following actions not later than four years after the day the cause of action accrues:
§ 16.065. Acknowledgment of Claim An acknowledgment of the justness of a claim that appears to be barred by limitations is not admissible in evidence to defeat the law of limitations if made after the time that the claim is due unless the acknowledgment is in writing and is signed by the party to be charged.
Missouri
§516.120. Within five years
And the statute that places credit cards in a 4 or 5 year SOL (the 4 year SOL would be the UCC. If the card is a store card claiming the UCC statutes is possible)
432.045: 2,3.
Anonymous, I don't want to get into a gripe match with you on this and I was not the one who gave you the negative vote. If I had, I wouldn't have seen your edit.
Spiff! Man you are starting to disappoint me something terrible!
The definition of a "written" contact is one where all of the payment issues are completely spelled out. The monthly payments, the timeframe, everything.
An "open" or "revolving" credit line does not fall into this catagory because the terms of the agreement change every month. One month you owe $200, and the next you owe $400…..and each month you have a varying amount of payment. You can pay it off, and then run it right back up again….that's why they call it a 'revolving" line of credit.
This is also clearly spelled out in the US UCC codes, and many states specifically label credit card debts as open accounts.
Georgia is one state that specifically labels credit cards as NOT being a written contract. Please refer to the link below.
Once again….poor answers with no source of information cause a lot of damage here on Yahoo. If they don't provide you with a source for further examination it's best not to believe it.
Have you lived in it for at least 2 of the last 5 years? If so, there's no capital gains tax from the IRS, and the money is yours to spend as you wish.
Glenn is correct – This all depends upon what you'll do with these newly cleaned up credit cards….. It's a falacy that people can get out of debt by placing all their credit card debt onto their house. They usually run up their cards again in a few years and are then worse off than before.
Put the money to the house. Start paying EXTRA to your credit cards. Start cutting up your credit cards. Then start sending extra to your house.
FREEDOM!!!!!!
Unfortunately the ones who advertise on television are usually in it just for the money. Beware of any organization that requires an up-front fee.
If you belong to a credit union or there's one that serves your office, they will be able to put you in touch with a reliable organization.
Here's a booklet that will help you:
http://www.consumerlaw.org/initiatives/credit_counseling/content/Cconsumerfactscreditcounselin.pdf
Leave a Comment