What can you do to pay off credit card debt that is in collections?

call them and see if they can make a payment plan with you..

Yes. Most of the time they will work with you. You can be set up on payment arrangements, they can lower your APR and reduce your monthly payments.. There’s a lot of programs they offer, just call and see what they can do to help. I had to do this too, and I found it was easier than I expected to pay my debt.. Of course, with reduced payments that I could afford. Good Luck!! =)

If you talk to them over the phone, they will presure you to pay everything at once, or in a couple of payments. For most people they can not do this. This is one of the many reasons you should NEVER talk to them over the phone, all communications should be done in writting.

However, before you offer payments you should do a couple of steps. The first is to request validation of the debt, when you do this they must provide you proof that you owe the debt. If they don’t validate the debt, they can not report it to your credit report or attempt any further collection activity.

Another thing is to know your timelines. The first time is the Statute of Limitations. If the Statute of Limitations has passed, they can no longer file suit against you to get the money. Depending on the state this is 2-6 years from the date of last delinquency. The second one is the time it can be reported on your credit report. This is 7 years from the date of the last delinquency. So if you are outside of the 7 years, it does not even show up on your report anymore.

So if you are still in the 7 years and want to pay it, send them a reasonable payment schedule. Generally if you offer to pay it off in a few months to a year depending on the total amount they may work with you. Also, you need to put in there that once you pay it in full they will remove the collection account.

Do not send them any money until you have received a written agreement from them stating the payment amount and that they will remove it once paid.