I need advice on how to solve my prob. I was a student living in the US (went there for college) and was careful with my money. As I got closer to graduation I leaned towards going back home and not staying in the US and working. This decision led me to making a stupid mistake of going crazy with my spending. I ended up using a lot of money on my credit cards. It was a crazy decision and I regret it sincerely.
While on a visit to the US, I got a hold of my credit reports and it shows that I have in excess of 8K while my estimate is that it is closer to 5K. I do have the money to pay back what I used (I would like to stay away from interest for religious reasons, Yes I know what I did was wrong. I am trying to correct it now may Allah forgive me. aameen)
I have no friends that I can turn to in the US in this matter (none that I would trust to such a degree and the relatives I have I would rather not turn to them either for this purpose)
I want to know
How do I go abt finding out what the actual amount is that I owe them (not the charged off amount which includes interest) ?
How do I make one payment and get it over with?
Although I do not see myself returning to the US in the near future it might be a possibility should I care abt my credit score?
Is my approach religiously right (I know it was religiously wrong of me to use that money ) but I would like to die without owing anyone anything.
All advice and help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. and May Allah guide us to do the right things at all times. aamen.
I'm not sure whether it's possible to only pay the principal... and not the interest.
The best course of action would be to engage a debt consolidation service and get them to negotiate your repayment on your behalf. Typically, they can reduce the interest charged... but I'm not sure to what extent they'd be able to do so.
Of course they will charge you for their services, but given that you're out of the country and need to delegate this to a trustworthy agency, this might be a good option to pursue.
Try calling the credit card company , and negotiate a deal with them , tell them you want to pay off the debt right now but they have to cut you a deal. Normally they oblige. If they do not then go to plan B which is outlined by Lucid Chaotic above this post.
Yes, the credit companies have sold off their 'asset' to the collection agencies.
The SOL is I think till next year, I know it won't appear on my credit history after that but I still owe this money.
Can I send it money order against my debt to the credit card company or the collection agencies.
Should I call the collection agencies and tell them how much I am willing to pay them, pay them and get it over with (but from what I have read it doesn't get over they activate the debt...is that true)
Pls help.... I really want this burden to be lifted from my shoulders.
^ First you need to find out which collection agency has bought this asset (your loan) then you can negotiate payment with them, I doubt if the credit card company will tell you that. You may check with credit rating agenciess if they know about it (highly doubt).
how many years has it been? there is some fine print but 7 years later they dont matter anyways.
secondly, find out who owns the loan now, call em, tell them u want to resolve it, and pay it.
you can strike a deal and can pay a portion of it, however, there are tax implications and it would appear that there was a chargeoff involved.
but if u want to do the 'right' thing then realize that the interest, late charges etc etc are all valid charges, as firenze noted get your credit report, find out who owns the loan, contact them and arrange for payment.
a friend of mine got stuck with 32 K loan cause his wife charged all that amount on his credit card (cash withdrawl) and gave it to her parents ..
anyhoo, he got into your situation where he "disappeared" as he had no means to pay that loan .. about 4-5 yrs later, he got in touch with them and wanted to pay his loan (because of moral/religious reason) .. he told them that though he wants to pay, but he does not have 32K plus accumulated interest plus late fee. If i remember correctly, they settled down with half of what he actually owed them so he in fact ended up paying even less than the principal amount
Does this service tell you about which collection agency holds your loan, or in simple words who should it be payable to since the “asset” has been sold off to collection agency.