Negotiate debt settlement free and reduce balances owed.
Negotiate debt settlement yourself or let a debt settlement company
negotiate chargeoffs and draft creditor settlement letters for you.
Can't pay bills anymore? Going through a divorce? Want to get out of debt the fastest way possible? There are many reasons why some people choose debt settlement instead of credit counseling.
Do-It-Yourself Tips to Negotiate Debt Settlement
Not comfortable dealing with creditors yourself? A debt settlement company can do it for you, and can do the entire process quickly.
They can help you settle higher amounts and charge off bills.
Determine how much you can afford to pay in total to settle debt. Write down all of your essential expenses, such as rent, mortgage, food, etc. Subtract this amount from your monthly net pay. Whatever is left over is what you can pay out each month on your debt settlement plan.
Make a list of all of your delinquent accounts and the amounts owed on each.
Next to each creditor's name and balance owed, write down how much of your debt settlement budget you can pay toward that account. The closer to 50% of the balance that you can get, the better chance you'll have of getting your offer accepted.
Contact your creditors (or the collection agencies if your debt has been turned over). Explain your plan and how it affects them. Explain that your current financial situation simply won't allow you to make your payments as you originally agreed.
Tell creditors how much you owe in total, how much you have available to pay off all your debts, and how much you can pay to settle their particular accounts. Let them know that your offer is being sent to all of your creditors, and the ones who accept the offer first will be paid off first.
You'll receive some acceptance letters as well as rejections. Keep a copy of the acceptance letters for your records and immediately send in the amounts agreed upon, requesting a receipt stating "paid in full". Don't send any debt settlement payments until you get the revised agreement in writing.
Each month, repeat the process while adjusting your debt settlement offers upwards. You can now afford to offer each creditor a higher percentage of the outstanding balance because you have fewer debts left to pay off. Again, you'll receive some acceptance letters and perhaps rejections.
Keep repeating this process each month until all of your debts have been settled.
Important things to keep in mind:
Insist on getting all debt settlement agreements in writing, and never pay the amount agreed upon until you receive the signed written agreement. Your creditors could easily accept your offer on the phone, then "forget" about the settlement offer after receiving a payment.
Keep all signed agreements and receipts for your records, even after the accounts have been marked "settled" on your credit reports.
Be very careful with your finances in the future to ensure that you never have to repeat the debt settlement process again.
You can negotiate payoff of unsecured bills without a debt settlement loan.
If you need professional help, use our form above to locate a counselor.
Search our free credit help resources and apply for financial services. The credit crisis may have prompted stricter credit card company and loan lender approval standards, but poor credit people can still find bad credit financing.
