Credit Help Center

If you ignore paying off some debts, you’re quickly going to find out that the company you were going to pay in the first place is more than likely going to hand it off to a third party.

Now, this is where the fun is going to start, where they are going to harass you by phone, e-mail and so much more.   Now, if you’re looking to just pay them in full, or maybe you want to send them a few bucks, there are some things that you should know first.

Call up and ask for a lower bill

Don’t pay in full just yet.  What you will want to do is call up, and ask them for their best offer.  Let’s say that you owe them $3,000.  Call them up, and say that you have $,500 in the bank.  Will you be willing to accept this, in exchange for a final payoff?  I usually start at 50-60% off, and what you will find is that most companies will accept.

Now, if the company accepts, make sure that you tell them to send you a bill with that final total, stating that this is the final payoff.  ALWAYS make sure that you get this in writing.  If you don’t, it could come back to haunt you.

You will also find out that you can send them a written request as well, if you don’t want to call them up.  What you can do with a letter is just write to them stating that you want to pay $xxxx instead of $xxxx.

Get the bill deleted

If you’re going to pay in full, make sure that you get the item deleted from your credit report.  Many people don’t know this, but they won’t cancel it off your credit report.  Make sure that you get them to delete the item off your credit report, so that it doesn’t hurt you in the future.

Keep in mind that most companies won’t need do this, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.  If they won’t remove it, get them to state that you have paid in full.  By doing this, it will show on your report that it has been paid in full, rather than nothing.

What if they don’t do this?

If they don’t remove, or state what they haven’t done, what you’re going to want to do is contact the credit bureaus.  Make sure that you save that proof, so that you can show them evidence on what the company was going to do for you.

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