Legal Credit Card Debt Elimination

Legal credit card debt elimination includes payoff, debt settlement, consumer credit counseling services, debt consolidation loans, debt negotiation, and bankruptcy proceedings. These are the only legal credit card debt elimination methods available today. There are however, plenty of illegal methods. There are schemes out there disguised as legal credit card debt elimination services, but in reality are breaking federal law by offering such scams. If an individual finds him/herself as a victim in these illegal scams, they should notify their local law enforcement at once. Thousands of people are falling prey to these illegal methods and being persecuted for federal criminal crimes.

Legal credit card debt elimination methods can be found by browsing the Internet and phone book for businesses that offer debt resolution services. For those who do not have the ability to pay debts, have not made a payment in months and who own no collateral, filing for bankruptcy might be an option. It is important to note that a bankruptcy proceeding will remain on your credit report for 7-10 years and when asked on any future credit applications if you have ever filed for bankruptcy, you are required to tell the truth. There could be an alternative option to bankruptcy if you have available capital to pay some of the debt.

This legal credit card debt elimination alternative is described at debt settlement or debt negotiation. Candidates for bankruptcy are given the option to negotiate down the balances on an overdue credit card in order to make a lump sum payment as paid in full. Usually creditors accept from 30%-50% of the original balance assuming that much of the balance is in late fees and interest charges. These creditors are happy to get anything at all, because if the bankruptcy proceeding were finalized they would get nothing. These debt settlements are quite common, and getting specialized organizational help is advised. These specialized organizations may already be familiar with limitations on terms that certain creditors must adhere to, and that can be advantageous to you, the debtor.

Another avenue of legal credit card debt elimination is the CCCS or Consumer Credit Counseling Service. This service contacts all of your creditors and works out payment plans with them. The debtor then pays a monthly sum which the CCCS disperses to the creditor as per the agreement. This holds off any further collection activity and can salvage a credit report if done in a reasonable amount of time. The only true way to obtain legal credit card debt elimination is to make a plan of action for paying debt and creating a realistic lifestyle budget. These logical techniques will ensure that credit card debt is no longer a problem to be solved.