Debt Settlement is a great way to pay off old, delinquent debts.  But, will it hurt or help your credit score?

If you find yourself with too much debt and not enough money to keep up with at least the minimum payments, a debt settlement program may just be what you need to get a fresh start!

But, I'm always asked, "Will debt settlement lower or raise my credit score?

Let's be honest....

The reason you are considering debt settlement is most likely due to the fact that you have accumulated so too much debt and your credit score had gone down already!

Maybe you...

• Lost your job.
• Are retired and living on tight, fixed income from Social Security and/or other retirement income.
• Had a serious illness or possibly a career ending disability.
• Went through a divorce.
• The death of a spouse or partner.

How are Credit Scores determined?

There are basically 5 things that go into making up your credit score:

Payment history ...

• This makes up about 35% of your credit score!
• How have you been handling credit? 
• Do you make payments on time?
• Have you been late too often?
• How long have you been using credit?

Balance-to-limit ratio...

This accounts for 30% of your credit score and in my opinion, actually carries more weight!

Add up all of your balances and the total credit limits you have.

Divide the total balance by the total limit.

Example:

You have about $25,000 of total credit card balances on 5 different cards.

Your total credit limit (each card is different) adds up to $35,000.

$25,000 divided by $35,000 = 71% !!!

When your ratio is above 30%, lenders think that you are over-extended and are not a very good risk to pay back a loan, etc.

This balance/limit ration is very, very important!

*Hint:

Many people make a serious mistake in trying to improve their credit scores by closing credit accounts or cards after paying them off.

Let's continue the example above and see what really happens:

Before:         $25,000 of $35,000 of available credit (credit limits) or 71% (too high!)

After paying off a couple of cards, the ration looks like this:

Total account balance         $ 10,000

Total credit limit                   $  35,000

Ratio:    $10,000 divided by $35,000 = 28% !!! (Looking good!)

Thinking that getting rid of a couple of cards will help his credit score, he calls and closes 2 accounts and his credit score goes back down!

Ratio:    $10,000 divided by only $25,000 (closed 2 accounts with $10,000 limit)

Now his ration is back up to 40%.  Yes, better than 71% before, but still over the 30% goal!

Length of Credit History...

This accounts for about 15% of your credit score.

Younger borrowers have not established a "credit use history" and fair or not, are punished in their credit score.

Lenders are looking for seasoned credit users who have proven they can handle credit.

It will take some time for this factor (only 15% weight) to improve.

In the meantime, don't run out and start opening up several credit cards thinking this will help!

This takes us to the next factor:

New Credit...

If you try opening several credit or store cards, it suggests to the lenders and the credit bureaus that you may be in financial trouble and are trying to "borrow your way out"!

Even though new credit accounts for only 10% of your credit score, it is still very important!

There are no "short cuts".  It takes time and a good payment history to improve your credit score.

Credit mix...

A good mix of revolving credit (credit cards) and installment loans (auto loan) looks better and is viewed as a good risk to lenders and the credit bureaus!

Although accounting for 10% of your score, this is still important!

OK, now you see there are several factors that go into making up your credit score.  So will a debt settlement program help or hurt your credit score?

There are no "quick fixes" so beware of ads that say they can remove negative items from your credit report, etc.) is to pay down and or settle balances.

If the only way to start improving your credit score is by paying down the balances, what if you just don't have that much income?

If your total minimum payments requires $500/month and you only have about $200 (if there are no emergencies, etc.), what are your options?

Debt Management (used to be called "credit counseling")

In this program, each of your creditors agrees to lower your interest and possibly waive some late or over-the-limit fees.

Your total monthly payment is usually about 2.4% of the total balances, which may be the same or even higher than the total of all of your payments now!

Let's say you have $25,000 of total credit.

At 2.4%, that's a payment of abut $600 a month!

If you are having trouble making the required total monthly minimum payments now, most likely a Debt Management Program will not help.

Debt Settlement

Once your accounts start going to collections and you start getting letters and calls (lots of calls!), it's time to face the hard facts!

You're in real trouble and if you don't do something quickly, creditors may start to file claims which leads to a summons, which can lead to judgments.

After a judgment is awarded, a creditor can apply for wage garnishment and/or a bank levy!

Serious stuff!

When a borrower is in serious trouble, they may be thinking about looking into BANKRUPTCY as their only solution.

Creditors will usually be willing to accept a settlement or reduced amount to avoid this.

Settlements can run from 40% to 70%, depending on several factors.

The bottom line is that once a settlement is completed, even though your credit history shows late or no payments for awhile, now you have repaid or "settled-as-agree" the account and you have a $0 balance!

To potential lenders and the credit bureaus, this looks good and your credit scores will start to improve!

Bottom line...

Debt Settlement will help improve your credit score over time!

If you have received a summons for an unpaid, unsecured credit debt, you know how intimidating it is!

In order to help you understand why this has happened and what your options are now, I'm going to walk you through the basic process and give you ideas on how to prevent in the future.

Dealing with the stress of having too much debt and not able to make the minimum payments due is a terrible experience.

Then, you get a knock at the door and are handed a SUMMONS!

Now what?

Do you have to go to court?

Are they going to garnish your paycheck or levy your bank account?

Most likely, the answer is NO!

Let me walk you through the basic litigation process and I think you'll understand more and hopefully feel better!

When you applied for the credit card or unsecured loan, you were making a promise to repay the debt per the payment and interest of that account.

But, things happen in life and you most likely have had one or more of the following events cause this:

• Unemployment
• Illness or disability (medical bills!)
• Death of a spouse or partner
• Divorce
• Retired on a very limited fixed income!

 Letters and calls

When you don't make the minimum payments required by your credit account agreement, you'll start getting letters and calls.

The letters will warn you that you missed a payment and now you must make up the missed one, pay the late fee and add the next payment due!!!!

The calls usually come after a couple of months of missed payments.  Unfortunately, the original creditor has the contractual right to call you.

Once these accounts are charged off and/or sold to a collection agency, you can put a stop to the calls.

(I'll show you how to stop calls from collectors in just a minute.)

I've been helping people deal with credit issues for over 15 years and have not found it very helpful or productive to try to explain yourself to the agent making the call.

If you feel like you just have to...try saying something like:

"I've had some things happen and can't make the payments now.  I intend to get caught up soon, but would appreciate it if you would stop calling."

This may work, but don't be surprised if it doesn't.

Collection Letters and Calls

After 2-3 months of non-payment, your credit card or unsecured account will most likely be transferred to a DEBT COLLECTION AGENCY.

If the calls had stopped, they will begin again.

But, now you can stop the calls.  Here's how:

The calls will stop, but the letters will continue.

You may get a letter with a SETTLEMENT OFFER. 

It will say something like...

The current balance is $$$$$$$, but we are making a one-time settlement offer of $$$$$.  This must be received in our office by (date).

 Sometimes, these are not bad offers!  I've seen some at 40% or so of the balance (yes with all of the added interest and late fees), but for example, a $4,000 settlement on a balance of $10,000 is a pretty good deal!

However, I'm guessing that if you had that kind of money, you wouldn't have gotten behind in the first place!

Debt Collection Agencies (sometime attorneys who specialize in debt collection) have either purchased the debt or have taken it on a kind of consignment.  The debt collector will get a percentage of what they collect.

So, they are going to play "HARD-BALL" and try to get as much as possible out of the debtor (you).

You can negotiate a settlement, but the final settlement will be determined by several factors:

How much the collector paid or stand to earn on this particular debt.  Different creditors (Capital One, CitiBank, etc.) each have their own parameters of what they will or will not take as a settlement.

Your particular financial circumstances also play a very important part of the negotiating process!

If you are employed and are paying a mortgage, the collector may not be willing to come down much as they may decide to file a claim hoping to get a judgment in the future.  I'll explain more about this later.

But, if you are unemployed, disabled, retired, renting and just barely getting by, they will be more willing to accept a good settlement (40%-50%).

Before you make the call, it is a good idea to have "all your ducks in a row" so to speak!

You need to have completed a budget (what's coming in and going out each month).  The collector will need to provide this in order to present you offer to the original creditor or their manager.

Here's a FREE BUDGET WORKSHEET to help:

Now that you know where you stand financially, you can make the call.

Most debt collectors are surprisingly professional and even polite, so you do the same!

Being aggressive or having a "take it or leave" attitude will not help!

But on the other hand, don't beg or show weakness either.

Just explain your situation and that you are trying your best to work out settlements rather than being forced to seek BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION.

Although bankruptcy is an option, you should do everything you can to avoid it as it stays on your credit report a long time and makes it difficult when applying or credit in the future.

OK... Let's say you negotiate a good settlement....Now what?

Before you set up or make any payments, you MUST....ABSOLUTELY MUST have the agreement emailed, faxed or mailed IN WRITING!

Once you have the written agreement, you can either call to set up automatic payments or mail them per the agreement.

To give you an idea of what a real settlement agreement looks like, click below:

If you are mailing the settlement, make sure it arrives on or before the due date!  They can and will void the agreement if you are late!

If you cannot reach a settlement agreement, the collector may opt to go for a judgment.

I've written several articles about this process.  Rather than go into it in this blog, check out:

What To Do If You Receive a Summons

I hope this has helped. Let us know if we can help...

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