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So You Missed a Payment...
There are three reasons that you might have missed a payment on your credit card: either you can’t afford to pay, the payment didn’t get there in time or you just plain forgot. I sympathise: paying credit card bills is a surprisingly difficult thing to do reliably and consistently. Sooner or later, something is bound to go wrong.
Whatever happened, though, there’s one thing you need to do, and quickly – get on the phone.
Phone and Grovel.
Apologise like you’ve never apologised before. Don’t panic, stay calm, but make it clear to whoever you get through to that you’re very sorry, and things like this never happen to you. If you just forgot, then tell the truth about what happened – and if you can’t afford to pay, then you should say that too.
You will be surprised at how lenient credit card companies usually are if you phone and apologise – after all, the sensible ones want to keep you paying interest to them for a long time to come, so it’s not really in their interest to punish you.
Remember to be very grateful when they let you off, and tell them it won’t happen again. Whatever you do, don’t get angry or frustrated. It’s you that’s in the wrong here!
You have to think and act like you’re a model customer, and be willing to transfer your balance elsewhere as a punishment for them if they won’t let you off this one mistake. Transferring your entire balance to another card will make them sit up, take notice, and start making you much better offers than you ever got before.
Try to Keep It Off Your Credit Report.
You need to do everything you can to persuade them not to add your late payment to your credit report, at least if you want to apply for any credit in the next few years. Remember that any late payment could be a black mark against your name for as long as ten years.
On the other hand, if the worst happens and it does get onto your credit report, don’t worry about it too much. As long as there’s only one late payment, it doesn’t matter too much, especially once a year or so has gone by. It’s the people who consistently pay late who get the truly terrible credit ratings.
In the Future, Always Post Early.
This goes especially for the people whose payments didn’t make it in time, but it’s good advice anyway – it saves you trying to find money at the last minute. It is a bad idea to wait until the day before the deadline to make your credit card payment, as there are just too many things that can go wrong.
Also, it’s generally a bad idea to let bills of any kind stack up until you get around to them, because bills aren’t fun, and you just won’t. Pay your bills on the day you get them, and you’ll live a much less stressful life.
We recommend the following credit card and debt resources. They are highly reputable and will help you in choosing the best available solution for you, as well as in finding the best credit cards around.
Credit Card Resources
CreditAxis guarantees anyone a bad credit loan or credit card approval through their directory of little-known lenders. They also offer a unique credit repair kit and a do-it-yourself bankruptcy filing kit. Their information is applicable to residents of the U.S., Canada, and the UK.
LowerMyBills is a comprehensive service that helps consumers lower all their monthly bills, all in one spot. They offer a broad range of savings opportunities, with a special focus on home loans. LowerMyBills has established itself as leader in the online comparison shopping marketplace.
Debt consolidation is one of the hottest offers online today and DebtAdvocates.cc (from Intermark Media) is the first in the industry to give consumers the choice to either consolidate or eliminate their debt - based on their financial situation.
Credit Card Debt Strategies
The strategies on this site are based on various reports and the
financial experience of respected authorities.
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Moving Debt Between Cards Can Save You Money.
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Stop Paying the Minimum.
Credit cards are there to put you in debt and keep you in debt. When they do it, they have one tool at their disposal that is more effective than all the others. It's called the minimum payment.
Don't Save When You Have Debt.
Yes, it feels better to save, but ... there are almost no savings accounts that offer interest rates as high as the ones credit cards charge.
Pay it Back Strategically.
When you're paying back debts, a little strategy can make a difference of hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The best strategy is simple, but effective.
Should I get a Consolidation Loan?
A consolidation loan is a loan that you can use to pay off all your debts, meaning that you can pay them off for less money without having to worry about lots of different bills.
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