Pay off all accounts?

[smithers1222]

I have about $2000.00 worth of cc debt that is all late and some are in collections. Should I just completely pay all of it off or is it better to pay them a certain amount? Can I negotiate to have late fees taken off or should I try to settle? Thank you!

[Njdre80]

Keep in mind each late and collection item will stay on your credit report for 7 years regardless if you pay or not. The items in collection you should contact them and do the following...offer to "pay for deletion" where they would remove the "collection" from your credit report. You can do this in a letter or phone call. If they do it, get it in writing. You can also try to negotiate a lower payment amount. 

Try to not let the other items go into collection. Pay anything to keep it from defaulting further. You can certainly try to negotiate fees off, but in the end, it going to collection would be worse then some fees. Depending on how large the fees are, how long you've defaulted, it will all play a part. 

After you get this in order, give it a few months and retrieve your credit report. Dispute any items that are incorrect. You can try to dispute correct items and if your lucky..they can be removed if the company doesn't respond in time to the dispute inquiry. 

Hope this helps and good luck. Going further if your unable to make a payment, or on time. Call them...they will work with you before marking you late...a negative strike on your credit for the next 7 years.. regardless if you pay. 

[LeeSL]

It is always good to pay the monthly fee, plus any interest.  There are a lot of cards out there that give you a year of 0 interest. Transferring it there can make sense in some situations. Calculate the amount plus any transfer fees, and see if you can afford that payment per month.  If you can, that should be paid off on time or earlier to save you fees and grief.   ALWAYS REMEMBER, the CC statement's minimum monthly fee, is not going to pay off your card in a year, Plus if you use the card for purchases, anything you buy will be paid off either subsequently to your 0 interest or as some share of your 0% balance + a piece of your new purchase balance. Best if you go the 0% route, to lock the card away and only pay it.