Credit card help/relief type services

Good. They can

Good. Then they shouldn't be able to report anything negative on your credit report. If they do fight them through the CRAs.

 

In general, the debt relief organizations are scams, with one exception: Consumer Credit Counseling Service. (cccs.org) They're recommended by Clark Howard (a consumer advocate who also provides good information on handling credit -- clarkhoward.com) and they have debt-management plans and do financial reviews with their clients to help them get on the right track. The DMP is helpful -- your payment is consolidated and they disburse the funds to your creditors, with whom they negotiate reduced rates and fees, and the payment is usually a fraction of what you'd be paying if you just paid your minimum payments every month. Your credit may take a hit, but it's not as severe as the hit you'd take if you just keep falling further and further behind.

 

Thanks. I'm still pretty pissed. It's the second time it's happened. I go online, think that I paid the bill, record it in my ledger then -- bam -- a month later there's a late fee. The first was three or four years ago. Time to cut the card.

I took on a second job (well I got my old job at my paper back) and my entire salary goes to paying off credit cards. I'm in a really good place right now. I've paid off three, this will be my fourth. It doesn't matter that I can't use the card agian; at least I'm getting myself out of debt.

 

Did you pay it online through the card's website or did you use online banking? Do you have a receipt showing it was paid when you paid it?

 

No. The payment never went through and I just didn't realize it. I recorded it in my ledger, but doesn't mean anything.

I pay four credit cards online every month. It's become so repetitive that this just fell through the cracks.

 

Priorities, dude. Everyone has different priorities. Maybe RickStain prefers supporting his family to going out and spending money on other things like expensive cars or meals.

 

Cool, but his waving that around and lecturing people is just as bad as someone coming on here bragging about dropping $600 dor dinner at Primo Podunk and driving a tricked out Hummer.

 

I think RickStain is really Spock. I like reading his posts, but it can get frustrating.

 

My Hummer has spinners by the way.

 

So the payment wasn't made and the bank is in the wrong? I understand that late payments are high but failure to pay is failure to pay whether it was a computer clitch or the dog ate my bill excuse.

 

Be careful some of these debt restructuring outfits are actually debt collectors who will buy your credit card debt from the company for nickles or dimes on the dollar. For instance if a credit card company is ready to give up on collecting a $10,000 bill from you, they'll sell the debt to a debt collector for $1,000 (or less), write off the loss on their books and then the debt collector says you can pay off the $10,000 debt for just $1,000 (or a lesser amount).
If you're looking to them for restructuring, the same process applies, except the credit card company might let the debt go for 25 cents on the dollar instead of a nickel or dime.

 

You miss the point - the point is his approach to giving advice, not his actual advice.