Repaying Credit Card Question?

I have 4 credit cards...1 is maxed out...The others have very small amounts on them ($60-$300). I haven%26#039;t paid any of these in quite some time (about a year)...First the called and sent letters, now nothing. No calls or letters. But I want to start to repay and pay off this debt. How would I go about contacting them? A letter? A call? I don%26#039;t have any of my account information because I shredded the cards and letters up. What do I do? I can pay this off, it will take some time for the 1 card that is maxed out but the other 3 I can pay off whenever they want.

Repaying Credit Card Question?

Congratulations on pulling your head out of the sand. Credit is so much more important these days, and not just for getting loans. Landlords, future employers and even auto insurance companies decide whether they%26#039;ll do business with you, and at what price, by sniffing your credit.

Yours is ... not so good right now. The good news is that it%26#039;s not going to be pretty or easy, but you can do this.

First, since you don%26#039;t have the account information, go to www.annualcreditreport.com and pull your credit report from each of the three big credit bureaus -- TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. Those reports will have your credit account data, and will also tell you just how bad the damage is.

Then, armed with your account numbers, call the credit card issuers, starting with the maxed out card. That%26#039;s because paying down the maxed out card first will do you the most good, fastest, on your credit score.

Ask for a supervisor. Ask for a repayment plan, one that you are sure you can live with. They may have charged off the account and sold it to a debt collector. You may have to contact them.

Some people might advise you to offer less than you owe. You can do that, but you%26#039;ll be damaging your credit even more severely than it%26#039;s damaged now. Nothing makes lenders more ticked off than not getting what they were promised. If you do that, your credit will be even worse, and you%26#039;ll have a much harder time getting a car loan or another credit card.

It%26#039;s going to be uglier than you think. The amount you maxed out now has late fees upon late fees tacked on, plus they jacked your interest rate up to the max.

But know that paying off the debt will do a lot to restore your credit, and that%26#039;s something important.

Good luck.

Repaying Credit Card Question?

get a copy of your credit report, the information as to account numbers and contacts will be on it, including phone numbers and addresses of the accounts that you owe. contact them and offer 50cents on the dollar, these accounts have been charged off and your credit ruined, be sure you get a pay by date, and something in writing saying they will report to the credit bureaus that account has been paid in full, be sure to pay what ever they agree to accept by the pay by date. keep everything you get in writing for proof and then check your credit report 60-90 days after paying it off to be sure they have reported to all 3 bureaus that the account has been settled.