Tips to deal with a collection agency and settle credit card debt

When you're unable to pay your credit card bills on time, the card issuer may sell your account to a third party collection agency. The agency will call you or send letters asking you to clear your unpaid credit card debt. Some of the tips that can help you deal with a collection agency are:
• Ask for debt validation: When a collection agency calls you to pay your old debt on credit card, you must not make any payment before verifying if you really owe the debt to them. You should ask the agency to validate your debt.
• Know about your rights: You can protect yourself from harassing phone calls, abusive language and threats of the collectors by knowing the rights guaranteed to you under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
• Find out the SOL on your state: You must find out the statute of limitation (SOL) on your state. It lays down the time limit within which creditors and collectors can file a lawsuit to make you pay for a debt. If your debt account crosses the SOL, you cannot be sued.

• Check how long you've had the debt: If you've had the debt for more than 7 years, you are no longer obligated to pay and it will be erased from your credit report as well.
• Settle your debt: If your debt account has not crossed the SOL or you wish to repay your unpaid credit card debt for any other reason, you must try to negotiate a settlement with the collection agency.
• Record conversations: You should keep records of all your conversations with the collection agency. In some of the states, you need to take the other party's permission before recording a conversation. So, if required, take prior permission.

You must also get the agreement for settling your unpaid credit card debt signed by the collection agency before sending in payments to them. However, if you are not able to negotiate a settlement with the agency, you must immediately seek help of a debt relief company. In this way, you will be able to pay off debt and also protect yourself from legal hassles.

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KP: unpaid credit card debt.
URL: http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/credit-card.html

When the going gets tough

Inflation is down, it is at the lowest it has been for a while and the Reserve Bank target range of 3-6 percent is looking increasingly close. The policy on inflation has been one of targeting interest rates. The Repo rate is 7.5%, this is the rate at which the Reserve Bank lends to the commercial banks at. They then tack on a profit margin and lend to the consumer. This is the Prime rate and it is 11% although this can be negotiated especially with a homeloan. So inflation is looking better but what else can you do to survive the recession?

• Re-negotiate your homeloan rate
• Get a balance transfer credit card
• Find a better value medical aid

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. There are many places where you can save yourself a bit of cash. Your homeloan could be re-negotiated to take advantage of lower interest rates and save you on what you have to pay out every month. A balance transfer credit card enables you to pay off your credit card debt at a lower rate, sometimes saving you up to half of your interest bill on your existing cards. The thing with a balance transfer card though is that all new purchases get charged at the regular higher rate of interest, so you can't spend anything on them. As a vehicle for paying off your credit card debt they are great as long as you can curb the swipe impulse.

Medical aid is seen as a must have purchase and many people spend a significant part of their income on medical aid, but the medical aid market is quite competitive with the medical aid providers constantly looking for new customers. This means that if you compare medical aid schemes you can often find major savings that will help you get going and free your personal finances up. Interest rates may not come down again anytime soon, so do what you can now to shave a few savings from your existing payments. Get a better bond, pay your credit card off cheaper and find a medical aid that gives you the security without the price.

Household spending down

With the continuing global financial crisis times are getting tighter and this is filtering through into reduced levels of household spending. A Dispatch report tells us that household spending fell in the first quarter of 2009 by 4.9%, according to the latest Reserve Bank Data. This means households are getting worried by the recession. So if cash is getting tight what can you do?

• Plan a budget
• Compare your credit cards
• Compare your bank account charges

If every little bit is now needed as household spending drops, then you need to be aware of all of your expenditure so that you can spend what you have in the most efficient manner. Planning a budget will enable you to do this so that you know exactly what you have to spend and what it needs to be spent on. Get a cheaper deal on your credit card or pay it off with a balance transfer card. A balance transfer card gives you a low rate of interest to pay off your credit card debt, but new purchases will be charged at the regular higher interest rate.

Bank charges are expensive and can add up, a recent survey we conducted showed that 42% pay more than R200 a month in bank charges! This can be cut down on by using our bank account charges tool to find the best fit bank account for your particular spending profile. With the global recession expected to continue for the foreseeable future, make sure that you cut out all unnecessary expenditure, especially on your bank charges. Small savings can add up and these can translate into that nice bottle of red that you thought you would have to forego.