If you're delinquent on your credit card bills, you might consider debt arbitration, also called credit card debt settlement or debt negotiation. However, settling your credit card debt in this way can have serious consequences. And, there are many scams out there. Learn how to reduce your credit card debt.
What is credit card debt arbitration/debt settlement?
Michael Smith, the president of SafeGuard Credit Counseling explains, it's when you agree to pay back part of what you owe to a credit card company. "Consumers can negotiate that debt down, sometimes more than 50 percent," he says, for example, from $10,000 to $5,000.
How do you do it?
Smith explains payback terms can vary, "Most of the time, consumers need to have a lump sum, or creditors won't negotiate. Other times, you can set up a payment plan." He says in some cases, people negotiate their own deals with a credit card company. In other cases, you can pay a debt settlement company to call off collection agencies and set up the credit card debt arbitration/debt settlement for you.
Charles Delbaum, with the National Consumer Law Center, says credit card companies are approving "more settlements these days given our financial times." But he says some credit card companies will not work with debt settlement companies.
Why would a credit card company agree to debt arbitration/debt settlement?
Smith says after a certain period of time, credit card companies have to sell their bad debt. Often, he says they'll only get five cents for every dollar. If the credit card company can get the consumer to pay 50 cents on the dollar, through credit card debt arbitration, the card companies will lose less money.
