Credit Associates is a legitimate debt settlement company. It is a member of the American Fair Credit Council, whose members promise to follow a code of conduct in the industry. They negotiate a wide variety of unsecured debt, including credit card debt, medical debt, and business debt.

That depends on what your credit looks like when you enrolled in our program. In general, if you do not make payments to your creditors according to the terms of your agreement with them, your credit will suffer while you work through and recover from your financial difficulties.

To reach a debt forgiveness or 'settlement agreement', you must negotiate with your credit card company and decide on a sum that you're able to pay. This figure must be paid immediately as a lump sum or over time across multiple smaller payments. Any remaining debt will be forgiven.

Unfortunately, this can ultimately harm your credit report. Actually, there are many different reasons why you should never pay a collection agency. Your credit report shows each loan you have taken out in the past seven years, but it also covers your repayment history.

In addition to being a tremendous hassle, being pursued by a collection agency will likely have a negative impact on your credit reports. Read on to learn how debts are sold to third parties, what to do when a collection agency is trying to get you to pay and how to resolve the issue.

It is always better to pay off your debt in full if possible. While settling an account won't damage your credit as much as not paying at all, a status of "settled" on your credit report is still considered negative.

Credit card debt forgiveness is when some or all of a borrower's credit card debt is considered canceled and is no longer required to be paid. Credit card debt forgiveness is rare. Types of credit card debt forgiveness include a restructured debt settlement plan and bankruptcy.

The bottom line. At the end of the day, debt forgiveness can provide some major financial relief for those struggling with debt, but it can also lead to pricey tax bills. You'll want to carefully consider all of your debt management options to make sure debt forgiveness is the right option for your financial situation.

Debt forgiveness is when one of your lenders forgives or erases some or all of your debt. This debt could be from a credit card, a student loan, or an installment loan. Sometimes you can get a full debt forgiven, but more often, you'll get partial forgiveness.

If you don't pay a debt collector or collection agency, you'll likely face increasing efforts to collect the debt via phone calls, letters, or even social media contact. Not paying a debt in collections will also hurt your credit score. If you don't pay, the collection agency can sue you to try to collect the debt.

If you don't pay a debt, it can be sent to collections. If you continue not to pay, you'll hurt your credit score and you risk losing your property or having your wages or bank account garnished.

Most negative items should automatically fall off your credit reports seven years from the date of your first missed payment, at which point your credit scores may start rising. But if you are otherwise using credit responsibly, your score may rebound to its starting point within three months to six years.