Credit Card Bill Past Due? Here’s Some Great Advice!

Ignoring a problem only makes it bigger. This is particularly true for your past-due credit card bills. When consumers face financial difficulties, many stop paying their credit card dues and hope that their problems will go away. This never works. What they instead should do is face the issue at hand and tackle it in the best way possible. Given below are a few options that you can pursue if you ever fall behind on your credit card payments.

1. Pay off the entire amount: If you’re just a few days late, you may receive a polite phone call or letter from your issuer reminding you to pay your dues. However, as time goes by, the credit card company’s attempts to recover the due amount may become more and more frantic. If you are more than 90 days late, it can have a negative impact on your credit score as well. The swiftest way to put an end to all this is to pay the entire amount immediately. Unfortunately, this figure could be quite high as it may include late fees and interest charges as well.
2. Try to catch up on payments: If you feel that the amount is too big to pay at one go, try negotiating with your creditor. The issuer may agree to spread the payments over 2-3 months. Even if they are unwilling to comply, you should still try to make extra payments each month until the entire balance is paid off. Nevertheless, make sure you accomplish this before 180 days are up, else your account may be sent to collections.
3. Request a pay-for-delete: In you find that you can pay off the dues within the time limit agreed upon with your creditor, ask if they would be willing to remove the delinquencies from your account in return. If this is the first instance when you’ve fallen behind on payments, the issuer may concede to your request.
4. Opt for consolidation: This means that you reshuffle your existing debt into a new format that makes it easier for you to pay. For example, you could consider a balance transfer deal. Certain credit cards are available in the market that offer a 0% interest rate for a limited period. You could shift your balance to such a card and pay it off before the introductory period expires.
5. Settle Your Dues: If you can’t afford to pay off the entire amount, ask your creditor if he is willing to receive a lower lump sum payment to settle your account in full satisfaction. Nevertheless, be aware that should you opt for this method, the account will be marked as settled in your credit report.
6. Bankruptcy and Credit Counselling: If you are past due on too many accounts, it may be difficult for you to get out of the situation without filing for bankruptcy. As a last resort, try and talk to a court-approved credit counselor to figure out if there’s any way for you to pay off your debts. Some agents can put in place a debt management plan through which the creditor may lower your interest rate and payment amounts. But for this to work, you may first need to catch up on your past-due minimum payments.

One of the reasons why people get into financial difficulties is because they use credit cards that charge very high rates of interest. In such cases, even one late or missed payment can result in exorbitant interest charges, which in turn have a snowballing effect on debt. Luckily, certain credit cards are available which charge no interest for a certain period. At Fund&Grow, we utilize such offers to enable consumers with good credit to obtain as much as $250,000 of unsecured credit at 0% interest for a period of 6, 12 or 18 months. This amount can be used for anything – from financing a small business to providing a down payment on a property. So if you need such funds, call us at (800) 996-0270, and we will help you out right away!