Some creditors may issue a 1099c for the amount of debt forgiven over $600. If this occurs, you may be able to file form 982 with your income tax return to offset any tax liability. To learn more about the impact of cancelled debt and how to offset potential tax liability, read publication 4681 on the IRS website.
No. Our program focuses on unsecured debt like credit cards, medical bills and personal loans. Loans that are secured by collateral such as your home or an automobile do not qualify for our program.
The short answer is yes. It is possible for you to contact your creditors directly and negotiate your own debts. However, our negotiators have years of experience and direct relationships with creditors and collection agencies. Unless you are a skilled negotiator and extremely knowledgeable about the credit and collection industry, you may not be able to negotiate agreements as favorable as the ones our negotiators may reach on your behalf.
By law, all debt resolution providers are required to use an independent third party payment processor to hold consumer funds while the consumer is enrolled in a debt resolution program. After enrolling in our debt resolution program, we will assist you in setting up a savings account with a licensed, third-party payment processor who will hold your savings funds and distribute all negotiated payments to your creditors in a timely manner. You are the owner of this account and you control all of the funds deposited and debited from the account.
No. We are not a credit repair company and we do not offer credit repair services. However, negative items remain on your credit report for up to 84 months (7 years), so the sooner you are able to resolve your debts, the sooner you will be able to rebuild your credit with new credit accounts and timely payments.
If you do not make timely minimum payments each month, or if you allow your credit cards to go into a charge-off status after six months of no payment, your credit score will be negatively impacted. This is true whether you enroll in a debt resolution program or not. The sooner you are able to resolve your delinquent accounts or negotiate a repayment plan for less than you owe, the sooner negative items will begin to not be factored into your credit score and the sooner you will be able to begin to rebuild your credit.
While each person’s situation is unique, and it is dependent on how much debt you enroll and how fast you can save, our clients are typically able to complete a debt resolution program in 24-48 months.
Our clients typically see their first account resolved in 4 to 7 months.
Americor will not enroll a creditor that we have not successfully negotiated with. Part of the enrollment process is to determine which of your creditors we can and can not enroll. Americor has been successful negotiating debts by most all credit card companies since 2009.
We never charge a fee until we are able to successfully resolve one of your accounts. When we receive an offer from one of your creditors, we will submit a written agreement to you for your review and approval. Our fees are then paid on a prorated basis once the settlement payment is made.
No. While we always strive to get the best possible results for our clients, many factors determine what we are able to resolve any given account for.
While we will contact your creditors and provide your authorization to have them speak with us regarding collection matters on your account, your creditors and collectors do have a legal right to contact you directly in an effort to collect an outstanding debt. While most creditors and collection agencies will honor your authorization to have them speak with us directly, you may still receive some collection calls. If that’s the case we have some helpful tools to help you stop those calls.
No. While this happens infrequently, your creditors do have a legal right to enforce their rights through litigation. Pursuing the collection of an outstanding debt is costly and time consuming for creditors, so if a lawsuit is filed on one of your accounts, it is usually done to force a settlement. In the event that this occurs, we have a dedicated team who specializes in negotiation with the law firm to try and resolve the account before it goes to court.
In some cases, our clients need to have one credit card available for emergencies and for business travel if their job requires them to do so for business. If you can maintain this card with a low or zero balance, it is possible to keep one credit card for these purposes and not enroll it in the program. But we don’t recommend this. Creditors can do what’s called a “wellness” check and may close that account. Remember the goal is to be free of credit card debt.
Not protecting your personal information can have a direct and critical impact on your life. The loss of PII can result in substantial harm, embarrassment, and inconvenience to you and may lead to identity theft or other fraudulent use of your personal information.
If you receive a suspicious email or text message, don’t respond, click any links, or open attachments. Don’t sign on to your account from a link in a suspicious message.
Phishing is the fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, and account details, typically through an email, text message, or even a phone call.
These messages may impersonate a company, charity, or government agency and often make up an urgent request to convince you to sign on to a fake site, open an email attachment containing malware, or respond with personal or account information. The information you provide can be used to commit identity theft or access your account to steal money.
Avoid downloading PII to portable devices (i.e., flash drive, external hard drive, etc.) to reduce the possibility that these devices are stolen.
Lock computers when you step away. Do not share passwords.
A “breach” is defined as loss of control, compromise, unauthorized acquisition, unauthorized access, or any similar term referring to situations where persons other than authorized users and for any reason other than authorized purpose have access or potential access to personally identifiable information, whether physical or electronic.