Reaging a past-due account means your creditor sets the
account due date back to current. Let's say you are 5 months
behind on your credit card bill and your creditor agrees to reage your account
thus wiping out those 5 months! Sounds great and it is possible to have your
accounts re-aged but not all creditors are willing to do so, and they must
follow federal guidelines when deciding whether or not to reage your accounts.
Creditors may only re-age your account once in a 12-month period and twice in a
five-year period for open-ended accounts (credit cards, charge cards, store
cards etc.).
To be considered for re-aging:
- You must demonstrate a renewed willingness and ability to
pay;
- Your credit card account should be at least 9 months
old;
- You need to make at least three consecutive minimum monthly
payments;
Creditors DO NOT have to reage past due accounts. Some
creditors never re-age accounts, some will only reage an account one time and
other creditors follow the federal guidelines that allow once in a 12-month
period or twice every five years. It simply depends on the creditor's reaging
policy.
Some creditors will re-age past due accounts if you agree to
enter a debt-workout program or debt-management plan. Once enrolled in a
debt-management program, creditors typically charge lower interest rates, stop
charging late fees and re-age the account, bring it current. Be careful! Only
sign up with a debt management company that you can trust. There are thousands
of credit-counseling and debt-consolidation companies looking to make a quick
buck by preying on stressed-out, financially vulnerable consumers. Some
companies are guilty of shoddy service and sky-high fees and others are huge
scams.
If you've fallen behind on your bills, especially credit cards,
don't panic. You may have several good options available to you. Your success
starts by assessing your current situation and finding a trusted service
provider that is licensed in your state.
How iDebtAssistance.com
Works:
Don't ask for re-aging if you will not be able to keep
up with the payments. In other words, don't waste your reaging
opportunity! It's better to wait until you can truly keep up the payments
before approaching your creditors and asking them to re-age your account.
When asking creditors to reage your accounts, be sure to get it in
writing! If your creditor won't put the details of your re-aging
program in writing, do it yourself. Keep a record of the conversation and send
a copy of it to your creditor (keep a copy for yourself).
