Stop Think and Listen when Repairing Credit
One of the best tools for repairing credit is to stop, think,
and listen. If you are in debt, you need to stop and think about
your situation and stay alert to the activities on your credit
report. In this article, we are going to examine disadvantages
and advantages available to you as the debtor. Let's take a look
at what can happen when you have bad credit as well as what you
can do to protect your self from the creditors and collection
agencies.
If you are obligated to pay child support, college tuitions,
income tax, the IRS can take your money. This means each year
that you miss payments are at default the IRS will deduct your
entire tax refund to repay the debt. The IRS is obligated to
contact you before deducting any fees from your tax refunds. If
you miss payments on Insurance Policies and you have conditions
stipulated on that policy you may be at risk of loosing your
property. If you have late bills on utilities, under law, (in
most states) the utility providers cannot cut your heat during
particular months stated in the law regardless of nonpayment's.
Most states are required to give you a written notice before
they can disconnect your service. This will give you time to
find the funds to pay toward your utilities. Likewise, some
insurance policies will allow you a grace period toward your
insurance. Anytime you are allowed time it is time to stop,
think and listen. If you take the time to review your bills and
funds and come to the conclusion you do not have enough to pay
the entire amount of the bill, you might get away with minimal
balance temporarily. Paying something toward your bill is better
than avoiding your obligations.
Another point you want to keep in mind is that when creditors
write off a debt you may be required to pay taxes on the bill.
Once a creditor writes off a debt it is sent to the IRS for
review and if they choose to do so, you will still pay on that
bill at the end of the year. So the best bet is when you get the
first letter in the mail asking you to pay your bill is to write
the lender or creditor and explain your situation politely and
ask for an extension on payments. The truth is most creditors
that lend or extend you credit hope that you are a returning
customer and only suffering temporarily.
If you can keep the creditors on your side this is your best
solution for avoiding complications. Another suggestion is to
send in minimal payments on current bills that are overdue. Your
next bill will be steep but if you keep sending minimal payments
until you are caught up, your name will not go in a credit
bureau. If creditors recommend that you send payment immediately
to avoid hassles, disregard the creditor.
The creditor is doing nothing more but adding more expense to
your debt. If you have a bill and have money to make payment
tell the creditor that you will send the money through regular
mail immediately. Do not waste money on services that will
charge you to send a bill. If you contact the creditors and they
simply deny you the opportunity to extend your debt or ask for
proof of your situation, it is time to make contact with a Debt
Counselor. The Debt Counselor will work on your behalf to
resolve the issue.
Do not argue or use foul language when you are addressing your
debts, since this will only add more problems. If you have a
bill, more than the time allowed for pay it is important that
you DO NOT contact the creditors or collection agencies. This is
only letting the agencies know that you realize you owe the
debt.
By acknowledging, the debt will open up a new debt. Collection
agencies and creditors pose a threat to millions of people each
day, so the key to solving the problem is finding a solution to
the problem. Stop, think and listen before you act.