• Credit card holders should keep all relevant paperwork in front of them when they contact their lender. This includes their most recent bill along with a copy of past due notices. If the bank has offered a settlement, the settlement notice should be included, as it will undoubtedly be referred to during the conversation.
• The borrower will also be better off if they come up with an amount for which they are willing to settle. This can include both a lump sum settlement as well as reduced monthly settlements. The rationale behind these amounts should be at the user’s ready, however, in case the bank requests to know how the borrower arrived at the figures.
• The length of time the account has been overdue will determine the openness of a bank’s collection department toward a settlement. If the account has been in default for several months, the borrower should expect to fight long and hard to reach an agreement. If it has only been a month or two, the bank will be friendlier toward the suggestion of a settlement, even if they do not agree to it in the end. Regardless of how the bank reacts, the card user must stand firm.
• When speaking with a collections representative, who refuses to entertain a settlement, borrowers must take great pains not to get frustrated or let their annoyance show. Instead, they are better off asking to speak to the representative’s supervisor. If the representative refuses to transfer the call, the borrower may have no option other than to end the call, making sure to be courteous as they do so.
• It can improve the odds of successfully reaching a settlement if the borrower pushes for the removal of fees and penalties from the account, rather than a reduction or halving of the actual principal. Most often, the amount remaining after late fees, annual fees, overdraft fees, transaction fees, etc., is more manageable. This should always be the goal; never to eliminate the debt completely.

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