Negotiating credit card debt yourself can be a challenge, but it can be done. If debt settlement is the debt relief option you have chosen, negotiating the debt yourself is a wise decision. Find out everything you can about credit card debt settlement and how it can affect you.
Research is something you should do on your own, because debt settlement companies are not nonprofit and they are in this business to make money. In most cases, this means they are going to give you information that is going to try to persuade you to see it their way. They will also charge you a fee that will most likely be a percentage of the amount of money they saved you on your credit card balance.
The best way to negotiate debt is to have the money in hand at the time of the negotiation. Now I realize this is much easier said than done in many cases, but doing this will give you a lot more bargaining power. Address your accounts one at a time, and if possible keep making minimum payments (unless they are already charged off) on the rest of your accounts. Try to keep them as current as possible, until you have the money to settle these accounts. With the current economy, it is more common to see lenders suing account holders that stop making payments on their accounts.
The best ways to negotiate is over the phone and then follow up with the terms of the settlement in writing, via email if possible. Many individuals include in their terms that acceptance of the settlement includes removal of all negative credit history and they also include a statement saying the terms of the loan were satisfied. I guess it does not hurt to try to get this, but having worked for a credit card company, I don’t see this happening. Most credit card companies do not alter a credit history unless it is truly incorrect.
Be aware that debt settlement does impact your credit negatively and the amount of the debt that is forgiven will be considered income and the IRS will expect you to pay taxes on this amount. There is a lot to consider when you are contemplating do it yourself debt negotiation.