As mentioned, stopping payments to creditors is usually a condition of enrolling in a debt negotiation plan. If you’re still making payments, your creditors have no incentive to accept an offer for less than what’s owed.
Payment history accounts for 35% of your FICO credit score, so enrolling in a plan with National Debt Relief could negatively impact your credit rating. The extent of that impact, however, depends on whether you’re still current on your bills or not.
If you’re already several months behind, then a few more late payments might not make much of a difference to your credit score since it’s likely taken a big hit already. While late payments can remain on your credit reports for up to seven years, the impact on your score lessens over time.
On the other hand, if you’re still current on bills, even one late payment could cost you significant points. In that scenario, you might want to consider other options, such as a debt management plan or debt consolidation, which can have less of a negative impact on credit scores.
Source link
