The content is accurate at the time of publication and is subject to change.
Problems with credit history and credit cards are not anything out of the usual. If anything it has increased as more families have become delinquent in their payments due to various reasons. The economic recession did not help make things any better with so many people out of jobs and a stable jib being hard to come by people are finding it difficult to meet with their monthly credit card payments. Having credit card issues is not the problem but not doing anything about it is. If you think the calls will stop and the debt will go away you are still dreaming, you need to gather your bills and work at a plausible solution that will make things better.
First things first, you need to see how bad things are before you think of salvaging it. If you know where to begin you stand a better chance at recovering the situation than if you have no idea about it. Credit card unions are mainly three, Experian, Tran union and Equifax. If you gather reports from all three you will get the complete picture of where things stand. Then you need to gather your bills one at a time and cross verify the transactions. There have been many cases of errors and you have every right to question the bureau on a wrong report.
Once you have gathered your bills you need to start calling your creditors and work out a solution. Commit to a time within which you will close a certain percentage and ask them to work out a way that it will be mutually beneficial such as not reporting to the bureau and giving you some grace period. It will not be possible to write off the debt of course but you can at least discuss the interest percentage. Consider a balance transfer if things stand to be non negotiable.
If you wish to boost your credit score you will have to make the payments there is no other way around it. The sooner you get around to working on at least paying a minimum amount the better off you will be. If you have a high interest cash back card you may want to close it or transfer the balance to another low interest card. Until you can afford other more expensive cards and till your credit history improves it would be better if you refrain from making purchases on the credit cards that are already over burdened.
Once you have decided to close your debts there is no looking back. You need to make a commitment to spending less and maybe even deciding to use a secured credit card or a prepaid one if you cannot avoid spending on the card. That way you are not in danger of defaulting and losing out on the credit score. You will have to change some spending habits you are used to and cut down on expenses wherever possible. Talking to a debt counselor will also help in deciding on other steps and working through your debt.
