What is the credit rating damage for negotiating down CC with lenders

[jp3]

I have a few credit cards with balances and am contemplating negotiating down and paying off one of the cards balances.

Does anyone have a sense of the damage to a credit report for getting the credit card company to accept less than all their owed and closing the account ??

[tripods68]

As I express on previous thread. I had a situation like this about 7 years ago, when I applied for an auto loan. My credit union wouldn't approved me until I settled the negative on my credit. They pulled my credit report and explained to me the process. After calling the collection agency, they told me it was a credit card annual fee unpaid that trigger this whole thing that I was unaware because I moved to a new address. I never got the original bill. My lender finally approved me the loan after settling with the collection agency. It was $75 annual fee that became $250.00 bill. I settled for $150.00 instead. Two years later, I applied for another car loan (I sold my old car) and was approved immediately.

[mrpaseo]

There are three types of "Marks" on your credit.

White: Good standing credit

Grey: Settled debt, both parties are happy but someone got screwed.

Black: Bankrupt, re-po, behind on your payments.

The white stays on for ten years, the black between 7 and 10, the grey can stay on forever. Will it damage your credit? It could, it depends on who you are trying to get credit from.

From what I learned, the company can/will report to your credit report peeps that the debt is still in a grey status, this will restart the clock.

Hope this helps,
R

[Inkstain82]

It is severe, almost or equally as bad as a completely defaulted debt, unless you can convince them as part of the agreement to not report it as settled.

[mrpaseo]

It is severe, almost or equally as bad as a completely defaulted debt, unless you can convince them as part of the agreement to not report it as settled.

If you decide to go forward, get EVERYTHING IN WRITING before you do anything and DO NOT give them access to your checking account (For your settled payment).

I agree it is severe and as I stated before, with the grey mark, all they have to do is every five years send out the "Grey list blast" to the credit agencies that say that the debt is still a "Settled debt", this blast will re-start the clock and it might NEVER be removed.

Ray