Like many other people around the world, I found myself in need of relief from my credit card debt not too long ago. This is my story of how I was able to find help with debt reduction.
My troubles all started when I got into a car accident about 2 years ago. My car was totaled and I had some pretty massive medical bills, but the worst part was that I was out of work for almost a full month.
Due to the mounting medical costs and big drop in income, I was unable to make my credit card payments in full for two months. This was the first time I had missed a payment on anything, and I had most of the accounts for ten years or more!
Of course, my creditors were not very sympathetic. I was charged late fees, and my interest rates were raised to ridiculously high rates! I had no idea what to do at this point.
As I went back to work and paid down my hospital bills, I would have been able to resume making my old credit card payments. But at this point, I owed late fees and past due balances, and my minimum payments skyrocketed! My creditors wanted hundreds of dollars each as a minimum payment to get caught back up!
It seemed pretty crazy to me that, even though my financial situation had returned to normal and I had been a good customer for several years, the creditors were so unwilling to work with me. I seriously started considering just ignoring the bills or even filing for bankruptcy!
Luckily, my wife pointed me towards an article called Debt Reduction Programs – Pros And Cons (this is not the actual article, but it is a more updated one). Fortunately, I learned more about my options.
After reading the article, I had a new sense of hope and the desperation had finally cleared my mind. I immediately jumped up, picked up the phone, and called up my credit card companies one by one.
I did not let the rude, unhappy customer service people deter me from my goal. I explained my situation and in some cases asked to speak to a supervisor. In the end, I got pretty much the results I was hoping for.
One of my creditors actually waived my late fees and dropped my interest rate to previous levels. I have to admit, I was shocked when I heard that news. 2 of my other creditors put me in a hardship plan, where my interest, fees, and payments were reduced for 6 months.
My final credit card company was a bit more difficult, but finally they agreed that if I made 3 straight payments of $150, they would drop my interest back down and consider me current on my account.
I was relieved from my stress and finally found relief from my debt!