Credit Card Debt Settlement: Settle Your Obligations For Less And Avoid Legal Complications

May 3
08:56

2012

Devora Witts

Devora Witts

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

Many consumers with past due debts believe that their debts are forgiven, once collection agencies stop bothering them. They do not realize that old debts may strike back at them years later in form of garnishments, levies, and judgments.

mediaimage
After you default on your loan or credit card payments for an extended amount of time,Credit Card Debt Settlement: Settle Your Obligations For Less And Avoid Legal Complications Articles typically exceeding 120 days, your lender will use the services of a collection agency in attempt to recover the amounts due. From this point on, a collection agency will handle all attempts to make you pay on your past due obligations. Many of them are quite persistent and convincing, however, should they fail to collect any money from you within a certain period of time, they may classify you as unrecoverable debt and give up on collection attempts.Many people get relaxed after collectors stop bothering them and get an impression that their troubles are long gone. Well, your old debts often come back to hit you when it is less expected. Lenders may file a lawsuit against you and get a judgment within so-called limitation period that enables them to use any legal tools to recover amounts owed. Some people get surprised when they find out that the money in their bank account got wiped out or their wages got garnished years after they stopped making payments.Old Debts May Haunt You for a Long TimeLet us take a look at how it all works. Laws determine the limitation period – a period of time during which an individual or a business entity may enforce the obligations in a court of law. Limitation period differs state to state and may be as short as two years or as long as twenty. What this means in simple terms is that you may get sued during this period by your lender. That is why your repayment obligations almost never go away and need to be addressed before it is too late.Lenders often wait until the last moment to proceed with legal action, in hopes of recovering your debt without incurring additional legal fees. Often, banks sell default debt portfolios to companies that are in business of collecting on old debts. Those folks are usually the most aggressive ones once it comes to courts, levies, garnishments, and other unpleasant activities for a borrower.Debt Settlement Is the Best SolutionTo avoid all unpleasant circumstances of old debts haunting you, it is always better to settle your past-due obligations. Most lenders, and especially debt repurchases, would be more than willing to give you good discounts on principal and accrued interest and work with you, as long as they see that your are eager to pay. You may negotiate a deal that is comfortable for you in terms of repayment amount and payment frequency. Even if your debt is settled at a lesser amount, once all your payments are over a lender would mark your credit report with a full repayment.As a matter of fact, if you have large amounts of debt showing on your credit report, lenders may offer you attractive settlement plans, as they may fear that you would use bankruptcy protection to run away from your obligations. It is noteworthy, that there are a number of organizations that offer credit counseling and delinquent debt consolidation, that are easily found online. They have professionals on their teams that are well-versed in debt negotiation and are able to work out a great deal for you.