COnfused and Dont Know what to do

[danver 15]

Hello fellow members,

Okay here is the story. When i first got here in 2007 i wanted to build my credit by getting a credit card.

When hubby lost his job we had finances issue to the point that i was delayed on my ONLY credit card payments.

Anyway it came to the point that we had a settlement (that they will not charged it off )provided i will make payments at certain amount every month which i agreed and been paying every single month on time to avoid late fees and whatever charges, (never missed a payment ).

Anyway i went to get pre approved of a car loan supposedly and found out that that debt i had in that credit card was charged off(without us knowing it as we been paying it every single month as agreed).

So hubby called the credit card company to make an offer for a pay off but they told us that they will not accept our pay off offer ( they want us to pay the certain amount they want).We already paid the principal amount( the monthly payment we did) of the debt.its just the charges they added on it .

Anyway i can still get a car loan (good thing) but still don't know what to do to convince the credit company to at least straighten it out so not to affect my credit that bad.

My question is:

1. Is there anyway we can talk or ask assistance to whom to straighten this out?

2. It is an unsecured loan and wud it really affect my credit history that bad? I am really trying to help build my credit and this was my only credit i had.

I would appreciate any info.

[CHarvey80 72]

If you stop giving them the money then talk to them 6-8 months down the road they will be more then happy to work with you on paying it off at a reduced amount. Since it is already charged off it can't hurt your credit anymore then it already has.

Stop giving them the monthly amount, loosens them up so they are willing to work with you.

I went through cleaning up a large sum on my credit for 3 years. If they didn't want to work with me they just went to the bottom of the pile and when I got back to them they were usually more then happy to give me what I wanted.

Like anything else it's all a game. They will bully you if they think they can.

[StephAnn2012 50]

Hi, The problem you face is that you used a credit card to charge things - then didn't pay it off. When you don't pay on time - they report you to the credit bureau as a one time 30 - one time 60 etc. - This alone destroys your fragile credit rating. It affects your credit for 7 years or longer. My advice is to make sure you pay cash for everything for now - (that should be easy since your only credit card is gone now) - Learn to live within your means. Building credit is overrated if you choose to pay cash for things and only buy what you can afford.

Don't go and finance this car - get something you can afford and work your way up. Until you have some money in savings, you should never borrow. You never know when you or your husband could lose your income again.

[danver 15]

Hi, The problem you face is that you used a credit card to charge things - then didn't pay it off. When you don't pay on time - they report you to the credit bureau as a one time 30 - one time 60 etc. - This alone destroys your fragile credit rating. It affects your credit for 7 years or longer. My advice is to make sure you pay cash for everything for now - (that should be easy since your only credit card is gone now) - Learn to live within your means. Building credit is overrated if you choose to pay cash for things and only buy what you can afford.

Don't go and finance this car - get something you can afford and work your way up. Until you have some money in savings, you should never borrow. You never know when you or your husband could lose your income again.

Very well said,,, but if u have read my post carefully my intention of getting the card is to build my credit when i first got here. We never ever used credit to buy stuff , and if we did we always make sure it's paid on time. we always save and pay cash for larger amounts. And u are right we'llnever know what the future holds? so when hubby had the accident and lost his job then that was the time we had issues paying it on time. If all i want to do is buy things on credit and spend more than what we can afford then i should not have only 1 credit card.

And even if we had delayed payments when hubby lost his job( we only used it for impt. stuff not shopping) we still managed to pay it on time after the agreed settlement/

And yes if i get a car loan that is thru salary deduction. My husband has been out of work for 4 yrs now and we live thru my income alone. And if i do get a car loan that is for sure affordable for us to pay.

btw, credit here is important too coz if u don't have credit hstory then u don't exist. You will know what am talking about once u live here.

Edited February 23, 2013 by danver

[danver 15]

If you stop giving them the money then talk to them 6-8 months down the road they will be more then happy to work with you on paying it off at a reduced amount. Since it is already charged off it can't hurt your credit anymore then it already has.

Stop giving them the monthly amount, loosens them up so they are willing to work with you.

I went through cleaning up a large sum on my credit for 3 years. If they didn't want to work with me they just went to the bottom of the pile and when I got back to them they were usually more then happy to give me what I wanted.

Like anything else it's all a game. They will bully you if they think they can.

that's what we are planning to do coz it does not benefit me giving them my monthly payment and they will not work it out.

[rlogan 2,036]

The problem is that this monthly debt with the credit card company, if unpaid, also affects your credit rating. If you stop paying it then they can report that to credit agencies regardless of the disposition of the original debt. Anytime you make an agreement and do not follow through with it, your credit suffers.

I have to agree with StephAnn2012. What you have to do is get this debt discharged instead of borrowing more. Buy the car you can afford.