Credit Card Debt Help?

Question

Okay, I have $2,885 between Citi and Discover Card. I am 20 years old and a full-time college student. These credit cards are in collections now and I called the collector for citi and they wont settle for less then $200 a month and I called Discover and they won't settle for less then $114. I have said to both the people I spoke with that I am in college and in a time situation and there answer was, I understand I am a full-time college student as well. So then I looked for someway to get manageable payments and I found http://www.cccsatl.org/ . I filled out the info and they sent me a packet of information and I would be paying 84$ a month and 29$ goes to discover, $40 to Citi, 5$ for an operating fund and 10$ for an adjustment, so 15$ will go to CCCS. There also is a 120$ start up. Should I go for this CCCS service or what should I do, I need some direction on how to pay this off and afford college. Thanks for the advice.

Answer 1

Take a loan from the bank that way you will have one payment to the bank. I was in the situation before and it went to the creditors. I ended up paying  half for my credit cards, it hurt my credit but it was easy to rebound

Answer 2

are the cards maxed out? did u default on the payments?

Answer 3

It is never a wise financial decision to borrow more money while in debt. Since your credit score will have dropped considerably because of unpaid credit cards debt, borrowing more money, believe it or not, would plunge you into more debt. Even if the bank were to borrow you the money, the interest would be very, very high.

I would, however, suggest two options that I sincerely thought would be in your best interest:

First, talk to your friends or family members to see if anyone could borrow you the sum of $2,885 without interest. Sometimes friends or relatives could be generous (or compassionate) to assist financially.

Second, even though you're in college, look for a part-time job, work hard, and use the money earn to pay down the debt gradually until it’s paid off. You could consider the option provided by the collection agencies. Nevertheless, negotiate the debt and obtain a written consent that the debt would be deleted from your credit report as soon as it’s paid off.  If you don’t (even after payment) it’ll remain on your credit report for 7 years and will also be factored or weighed into your credit score.

Meanwhile, please don't consider the option from the Web site you referred to in your question. It is a rip-off. In the long run, you would end up paying twice more than the money you owed and it could take you (under their terms) more than 6 years to pay off your credit cards debt.  Besides, the fees attached to the terms of the loan are, in my own fervent opinion, improper and unsatisfactory. Please ignore it so you don't regret later!

Best wishes.

Answer 4

Do not go to cccsatl.  Either borrow the money from Family. Or get a a Line of Credit form your bank and place all the debt in one place.  The interest rate may be high, but most likely lower than the credit cards.  Just make sure you have some type of part time job and pay down the debt as fast as possible.  

I hope you are learning a valuable lesson about Credit/Debt.