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Sun, 06/21/2009 - 23:02
Re: Help with BOA & CHASE
Dear all,
Thanks for your prior input and support. I actually did have some success with negotiating my situation with Citi. Now I have a somewhat even more challenging issue to resolve with my two highest interest and highest balance cards, BOA and CHASE. I have had preliminary chats with both about asking to either reduce my interest rates or lower my monthly payments or both.
I prefaced this by indicating that I am in a bit of a financial challenge with a reduction in my overall earnings over the last three years of close to $20,000 due to the downturn in the economy. I asked both if they have any protocols set up to help their customers in these types of circumstances.
Both were seemingly helpful, but the formats that are being offered are set up so that you have to close your account and they will reduce the interest, but the account stays closed till payed in full.
At the outset it sounds pretty reasonable, as I don't actually use either card for purchases. I have a couple of lower interest cards that I use only for emergency gas or food purchases.
My main question is this: By my requesting that my account be closed in order to work on a payment plan; am I going to do further damage to my credit score?
I have been sitting in the 685-699 range for several months and then took a hit three months ago when I asked my mortgage company to submit an application for an equity line of credit. I think at the time, it dinked Experian as much as 15 points. Which is 15 points I really didn't have or want to spare.
Am I better off just leaving my accounts open, bitting the bullet and just trying to keep making payments until I can get approved for some form of a Refi or equity line of credit to pay down or off some of these cards?
I need to make calls to both CHASE and BOA within the next 24 Hr. so I keep from running into late payment status with them.
Does anyone have any sound practical or innovative ideas about approaching these companies at this time?
Thanks, Janak
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Janak, you could try Myvesta. I've seen them recommended in an article at MSN Money.
Another excellent source of advice and assistance is Myvesta, formerly Debt Counselors of America, a nonprofit financial crisis center. (See link at left.) Myvesta offers individualized counseling, a debt management service, advice on avoiding bankruptcy and foreclosure, and even counseling for families buried in debt. This is another source you can trust completely. Of course, all the counseling and advice in the world is useless without your own personal determination to deal with your debt.
You can contact them online. You'll see it under Free Help>Ask A Question.
We are here to help you for free. If you have debt help question you would like to submit, use the form below. Your email address will be kept an absolute secret.
I would explain the urgency of the matter too.
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Janak, sorry I missed your thread. How did you get on with them? Is the situation any better now?
Welcome back Janak. :) It's good to hear you made some progress with them. I don't know on the credit score side how that would affect it. Reading this, you may be better keeping it open. This guy said closing his cleared ones affected his score badly.
http://bettercreditblog.org/2007/11/18/my-forth-mistake-closed-credit-cards/
I would ask them directly and specifically what it will do. See if they offer any reassurances.