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.

One of the best debt settlement companies, CreditAssociates can negotiate with your creditors to reduce the amount you owe and lower your monthly payments. However, you'll have to pay a fee for each debt settled, and there's no guarantee of success.

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.

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.

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.

Selling or transferring debt from one creditor or collector to another can happen without your permission. However, it typically doesn't happen without your knowledge. By law, a consumer must receive written notice (known as a debt validation letter) within five days of the collector's initial attempt to contact you.

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.

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.

But the harsh truth lies somewhere short of "totally erased" and "no consequences." To be clear, debt forgiveness does exist, and it's possible to settle your debt for less than what you owe. But to get it totally erased is rare, and it usually requires an extreme measure, such as bankruptcy.

Unpaid credit card debt doesn't go away after seven years, but it's possible that no one can make you pay it. Debt is legally yours forever, but state laws on collecting debt limit what creditors can legally do.

Even if you accidentally miss a payment, it can have financial repercussions and damage your credit score for years. Not only can it make it difficult to get approved for housing or a loan, but you may also face late fees, interest increases and legal actions from the card issuers.