US Bank debt settlement and hardship payment plan policies.
I have my checking account, savings account and 2 credit cards with US bank. I cannot keep up payments on both credit cards and the one with the highest balance is late almost 2 months now. I have had payment programs offered to me over the phone that I could possibly swing but not sure if I can keep that going. I have been cut to 4 days a week at work.
Will US Bank settle one account while I am current with another credit card?
—Hope
US bank and Elan Financial do offer pretty fair hardship payment plans on personal loans and credit cards. What was the interest rate reduced to when you went through the financial questions they asked in order to qualify you for the lower monthly payment program? You need to be confident you can consistently make the lower payment. If it is a squeeze to commit to the new lower interest credit card payment, it may not be in your best interest to accept the lower monthly payment option, and instead look to settle your credit cards with US Bank for less than you owe.
If you do accept the payment plan, be sure to ask about re-aging the account where they will bring it current on your credit report which can be a benefit to your credit score compared to late payments that show on your credit reports in perpetuity. You can generally only re-age the account once and usually only within the first 90 days of delinquency. You may need to have made several months payment on the new plan before the reaging occurs.
Your other credit card with US bank with current payments is a lower balance, but what is the interest rate on that one? Is it higher than say 15%? What if you were able to get both accounts into their lower monthly payment plan?
Settling credit card debt with US bank or Elan Financial.
It is generally best to settle credit card debts with the original bank issuing the card. Your concern for having checking and savings accounts at the same place is real. They can see those accounts, the balances, and even the way you spend money.
- What are the balances and interest rates on the two US bank credit cards?
- What amount do you keep in your savings account?
- What are your expectations for settling the credit card account?
- What amount of money can you realistically come up with in the next four months in order to settle the account before it is placed with an outside debt collector after charge off?
- If unable to come up with enough money to settle prior to charge off, what amount of time will it take you to gather the money needed to fund and complete the settlements?
- How tight is your monthly cash flow? Have you considered bankruptcy? Do you know if you qualify for chapter 7 bankruptcy?
Having said that, yes CRN can either guide you through getting the best credit card debt settlement savings with US bank, or get a good settlement for you if you request a professional do the negotiations. There are some things you should be aware of and some adjustments you may need to make.
I would encourage you to consider consulting with a professional in the network so that you can get into the details about debt settlement that you need to know before committing to any debt relief plan. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, choose option 2.
You are also welcome to post answers to my questions in a comment reply below. I can provide more specific feedback if you do.
Any reader with questions or concerns about settling a debt with US Bank or Elan Financial, or getting set up with a reduced payment plan, can post in the comments below for feedback.
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About Michael BoveeMichael started CRN in 2004 with a mission to provide people in need with detailed debt and credit help and education. Michael has participated as an expert panelist in federal consumer protection rule making, collaborated on state law changes governing debt consolidation, has worked as an expert witness in court matters related to the debt relief industry, and is a regular contributor to several personal finance websites.
I have a us bank credit card that was charged off. I had been working with a debt collection agency but they have not followed through. I need to contact us bank for a settlement of this $3533 ASAP. I sat on hold the entire day yesterday. I need it right away and plan to pay lump sum.
Who was the collection agency?
I am getting married and maxed out my credit card. I have never missed a monthly payment but I know I won’t make the next couple monthly payments if they stay as high as they are. I can afford a couple hundred in terms of monthly payments but not the thousand for next month. Can I negotiate a set payment monthly with a no spending on the card until debt is paid off?
What is the total balance you owe on your US Bank credit card? What is the interest rate?
Hi. Michael, I just started dealing With alltran the recover service for elan financial, an d they ask for my last 4 numbers of my social I said not given It on phone. Should they have my number that quick ?I dont feel it is right, also wheni spoke the first time they ask for whole balance , lol I said ive struggle and might start makeing low payments when I call back nextweek, they were very nice , next time is it to early to bring up settlement and a small % or hold off a while and start with real small payment if they dont ask , thanks.
They already have your social security number. They are making sure you are the correct person to speak with about the account.
If you are prepared to go as high as 40%, which is where many Elan accounts end up when settling, start lower and let them counter. You can call back later and make another counter. Put a different way, do not try to get everything done in one phone call.
I do see some Elan accounts get lower the 40%, and you should certainly aim for a better result, but I also encourage being as prepared as possible. And you can certainly bring up the subject if they do not.
Hi michael , I finally got my Elan financial account in collections I believe. . So should I call them back or answer phone right away or should I wait? What percent of an offer should I start out with? The number that is calling me is 855-832-0321. Could you check that number? Would 25% be a good offer to start with or should I let them call and tell them I will see if I can borrow a certain amount
It is okay to reach out proactively. There are different strategies you can use to let them bring up settlement, or for you to lead with tiny monthly payments and then get to a lump sum settlement dialogue. For some, it boils down to how prepared you are to fund a deal.
How much are you able to pull together to settle now? If you are ready to pay the settlement you reach today, and once the topic of a settlement is opened up, I would start with a 2o-ish percent offer and see what they counter with. You may have to have several calls, and also may need to wait until they have had the account for a bit longer.
That number is for Alltran, which is formerly United Recovery. I consider them decent to work out a deal with. Forty percent settlements are pretty typical with Elan accounts Alltran is collecting. I do see some lower than that too.
I owe over 17k to an Elan card. I am about 10 months past due on payments. They are only offering a 14k settlement or 1k per month for a year. Does Elan ever settle for less? I have been able to settle other cards at 26 percent.
My account was charged off end of July. I’ve been waiting for a collection agency to contact me, but haven’t heard anything. In order to avoid a judgement, I called Elan to see which collection agency had my account and they said it was Elan. Will they eventually send it to another collection agency that I might settle at better rate before it goes to a judgment?
It may cycle out to a debt collection agency in the next month or so. You can often get a better deal then. But you may look highly collectable and not be sure about how to disabuse them of that notion.
You can do better than that. If you want help let me know.
I am having a medical hardship and I am on disability, my income has decreased 70%. I called us bank whom I have a credit card with and they said that they did not have a hardship program available.Is there anything I can do?
Are you current with your payments to USbank?
Michael,
I have credit cards that are about $30,000 dollars with us bank and am paying $816.00 a month. I can’t afford to pay them. Can you help?
Absolutely Sandy. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, option 2, or scroll up to the very top of the page and click request consult and fill out the form (it comes directly to me). I will go over all of your options with you.
Hi, I am trying to settle my Emigrant Bank credit card which is owned/handled by Elan Financial. I am dealing with Elan. I have settled successfully on my other 6 credit cards over the past 3 months. Elan had said that they don’t do settlements until 6 months have passed from the last time the card was used. I have now reached that point and still they don’t have any settlement options for me. They don’t know why. There is nothing about my account indicating it won’t settle, but it isn’t an option at this point.
My account will charge off March 31. My credit has already been hammered by the late payments and settlements on the other 6 cards, but I am trying to avoid charge off because I feel like that will be even worse to have on my credit.
I am going to try again before the end of the month to settle with them, but otherwise I am not sure what to do.
They suggested I make a $90 payment to keep it from charging off and maybe in a month or two they will be able to settle. No guarantee though.
Or should I just go ahead and let it charge off and try to settle afterwards?
I’m trying to keep my credit from having even worse marks from charge off, but financially I have to settle this card. They offered me a hardship lower payment plan, but I can’t afford it. I can borrow money from family for a settlement, but no interest on their part yet.
Thanks for your help.
Scott
I would let it charge off and settle with the first collection agency that gets the account. If you had 6 accounts go negative, this one charging off and being settled shortly after, is not a meaningful event.
Call me if you want, and I can dig a little deeper into why Elan has no options to settle on their computer screen when you call in. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, option 2 rings to me.
Hi Michael,
Thanks so much for the advice. That makes sense and that is what I will do.
I read in some of your other information that accounts not open long can be hard to settle. This one for me was only open a little over one year before I hit my bad circumstance that made me stop paying and put me in the situation of needing to settle. So maybe Elan won’t settle because it was too new, but they haven’t said that.
So unless they agree to settle at the last minute I will let it charge off the end of this month.
Thank you so much for your help and all the really good information on your site that was incredibly helpful to me in settling my other 6 credit cards.
Sometimes internal collectors for banks only know what is on their screen, and not the foundation for the reasoning behind what is appearing to them.
There are times that these policies can extend to collection agencies, but that is not common at all. Post an update if you run into snags dealing your Elan account once it is with an agenc.
Hello,
First off, reading this blog has made me more confident to pay my Credit Card debts.
I own two credit cards with US Bank, both are maxed but I’m more concerned with repaying back the more larger on which is at $5200+ with intrest rates adding up and it’s been several months since I’ve made a payment. Currently, I’m in my third year in college; full time, so I’m limited to the amount of hrs I can work. Honestly, I’ve been too afraid to try to pay the large amount which is why the amount is growing so much, but I am responsible so I need to handle it. I estimate my next semester monthly income to be about $500 a month (w/o expenses), but I still would like to begin to pay this debt off.
Any suggestions for me to take this cliff of debt?
Call the hot line and have a conversation with one of the nonprofit counselors at 800-939-8357, then press option 1. It is a free call and you can get an exact quote for what your monthly payments to US bank can be reduced to. Let me know how that goes.
Earlier this year, my US Bank account was accidentally overdrawn by about several hundred dollars after making a purchase. (I assumed the charge would only go through if I had money in the account), but for some reason they allowed the transaction. I was unable to payoff the entire amount at that time and started getting calls from the bank. I explained the situation to them and asked if I could setup a repayment plan perhaps and they said the account wasn’t eligible. They also warned me that my account would be automatically closed if I couldn’t make the payment in the next x amount of days. I told them I couldn’t come up with the money that quickly, so there didn’t seem like anything could do except let the account close and try to pay them off later. This was probably about 6 months ago. Now the account has been closed and I sort of forgot about about it until I recently started getting calls from a debt collection agency about it.
I would assume that means the amount has been charged off and sold to the collection agency? I’m not sure, but they did mention over the phone that the debt was to US Bank.
I pulled my credit report from TransUnion and nothing related to the the account has shown up. (TransUnion report doesn’t seem to show any of my other bank accounts either however.)
Should I pull my other credit reports to take a look?
When they called, the agency said I owed $810.71. I told them I couldn’t afford to pay that much all at once. They offered me a settlement of $567.49, in 3 payments – $189.16 over the next 3 months. I thought it was a good offered but felt I needed time to think about it and do research on the impact, so I told them I would like the offer and the terms sent to me in writing to review, and I said I’d contact them afterward.
I am concerned about the impact on my credit report, but it’s already pretty terrible at this point. I am carrying a lot of credit card debt as well that I probably need help with (I am a couple months past due on 1 card, and almost 6 month on a 2nd), so the savings from settling for less is obviously appealing.
My question is, how should I handle the situation?
Not all debts are sold, and based on what you shared so far I am of the opinion yours is still owned by US bank.
I would take a look at your other credit reports to confirm is US bank is showing as a derogatory.
That is a decent offer to settle on a balance this size. Who is the debt collection agency for US Bank?
I would not be overly concerned about your credit reports with the multiple accounts you are behind with. Your credit can bounce back after you resolve the debts. Settling is one way (a more affordable and often faster way) to resolve debts so that your credit can begin to heal.
Did the agency for US bank agree to send you the settlement offer in writing? Do you have that to cross reference with the details I suggest you look for in my post about settlement documentation?
It looks like you’re correct. U.S. Bank is still referred to as the creditor. The collection agency’s name is Monarch Recovery Management. I have the offer in writing with all the pertinent information as mentioned in the post you referred me to (thank you for the read). So I guess I will call them back and setup the payments with them then,.
That takes care of that, but I am still really not sure what my best option for the rest of my credit card accounts is. I was about to call the card companies back (Chase and U.S. Bank) about possible hardship programs and the like, but I also got an offer from a debt settlement company offering to help me settle.
I’ve put in a separate request for a consult here but don’t think I’ve heard back yet.
We do the same work as many debt settlement companies out there. We are half the cost or less of most firms. You are welcome to call me for a consult about your remaining debts if you like. I can be reached at 800-939-8357, choose option 2.
Thank you, that is something I will definitely consider. I was wondering, at this point, do you think there is any benefit to offering to pay off the balance in full over a longer term rather than accepting the settlement amount? My credit rating is already pretty terrible and the savings from settling would be helpful making payments towards those.
With the information you have shared I see no benefit to your credit by making payments over time versus paying a lower lump sum settlement.
i have a supposed debt from u.s.bank, it was charged off. i never received any collections, notification, now, kaplan &assoc, atty. at law office called me and said i can pay $320.00, to end the court proceedings, or litigation, but i need to pay it over the phone with my debit card and then they will send me…possibly a release statement. this to be done without any paperwork prior. is this legal? should i just pay and hope debt s cleared? jean
It sounds like you are skeptical the debt is yours. Did you ever have an account with US Bank? If so, what type? Is it possible you closed an account and did not know about some auto draft that was paid afterward, or some fees left unpaid?
Are you aware of any court proceedings or having been sued? Check your court house for any filing against you. This part of what you shared, combined with not being aware of a debt, raises concerns of a debt collection scam.
I would not pay a thing until I have clarity about the debt. Follow the tips and feedback I give in that linked scam article.
It is legal to ask for payment of the debt without providing paperwork in many instances, but debt collectors threatening to sue when they will not, or conning people into thinking they were already sued, is illegal.
I have debt of about $900.00 with US Bank, my minimum payment is close to $600 now, I am several months late and have no income as I’m still looking for a job. Is there a way I can reach a settlement. I cannot afford the large payment, Help would be greatly appreciated.
My debt is on a us bank credit card
You should be bale to settle with US bank for less than half of the balance owed. The best time to negotiate with US Bank is going to be when your account is more than 150 days late (5 months), but not quite 6 months late.
Is there a number for US Bank to call regarding removing late payments from credit Bureaus, They have reversed the late payment fees, i need them to remove from my credit report quickly. I am closing on my house in 3 weeks
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The same US bank customer service telephone number you called to get the late payment penalties removed is who you will end up talking to about any 30 day late pays showing on your credit reports.
It is not common to get banks to remove those.
We have a US Bank credit card with over 16k on it that we’ve been trying to close ever since payments became unreal (350/month). We’ve been getting the stiff run around and we were finally told that the only way we could settle our debt with that company was to be delinquent. So we have now become delinquent (2 months, we’ve had the card almost 10 years) and finally qualify for their program… they want $317/month for 5 years (this adds an additional 2k to our debt!). Something we still can’t afford! They won’t budge and told us it’s the best we can do. I’m at my wits end and have no idea what to do. Please help!
You will generally not be able to settle with USbank for the best savings until you are between 5 and 6 months late. I usually target 40% as a realistic settlement rate, but deals can be done for less.
You are welcome to call in for a consult at 800-939-8357 and choose option 2, or simply reply to the email you get these comment notifications from with the phone number and times you are available.
Is there a number to contact usbank for lowered monthly payments?
The number on the back of your credit card, or that you see listed for billing questions on your monthly statement will work. You can also call my hotline and see what type of lower monthly credit card payment you qualify for with USbank, and other accounts too, 800-939-8357, press option 1 to talk with a counselor.
Are you current or late with payments ti USbank? If you are late with payments, by how many months?
Hi there,
I am trying to settle my c.card with USBank and the lady on the phone said they do not settle credit card debt. I find this hard to believe, especially after reading your article. Is there a specific number at USBank I should call?
Thanks!
Andrew
andrew – USbank does indeed settle credit card debts and other loans for less than the balance owed. Your account does need to be late in payments, and by several months, before the option is more openly discussed. How many months of payments have you missed?
Hi,
I have a credit card with US Bank with a balance of $5700. I have been late for the past three months now. I attempted to settle with them however they told me they do not settle for less than 85%. I offered 20% but it was rejected with no counteroffer. Does US Bank go as low as 25%? Any feedback would be appreciated…
EG – The timing for settling credit card debt with USbank directly is similar to how settlements are done with most major banks. As your account nears charge off will be the opportune time to settle at the lowest amount available. They do settle for lower than 50%, and sometimes as low as 25% (though I am seeing less success at getting agreements this low). Each account can be treated slightly differently. If your account is really new, or had a large amount of purchase activity or use prior to payments being stopped, could mean your savings from settling will not be as good.
Read more about debt settlement and timing and which accounts to target for settlement.
Thank you for the response. I’ve had this card with them for over 10 years and have not used it for the past 4 years. I am hoping that it counts for something.