The first 90 days of your program will honestly be quite boring. After your first missed payment, you will receive some very nice notices in the mail that you missed your payment. As you miss your 2nd and 3rd payments, these notices will escalate in tone and will be combined with phone calls from your creditors. It is important to remember that all the correspondence coming from your creditor is computer generated. So if you happen to have a good conversation with a creditor and get a nasty letter 3 days later, it is just a coincidence.
During this program, you will be communicating regularly with your creditors. You will be calling original creditors twice per month. Be sure not to mention settlement or bankruptcy during this early period as your account may be flagged.
Before making your first call, write out and then memorize a short hardship story. This story should briefly tell the creditor why you have fallen behind on your accounts (loss of job, medical problems, business failure, etc.). This story should only be 2 or 3 sentences and you should memorize it so you don’t have to read it off a piece of paper and sound like a robot.
Use the script below for your calls during this period:
“Hi, I’m calling to discuss my account with you. I know you have been trying to reach me and I know that I am behind on my account, so I wanted to give you a courtesy call. I am facing a very difficult financial situation right now and I am unable to make my regular monthly payments. I am hoping to get things back on track with you soon and I will be in touch to keep you updated.”
After this, they will probably ask for more details. Give them the 2-3 sentence hardship story we talked about earlier. They will then begin to offer you various payment plans and options. Listen politely, then decline their offer(s) and repeat your story. It is important to sound like a broken record during this period and to NOT change your story.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Never call from a number you don’t want the creditors to have. They have equipment that can easily break through the number blocking service most phone companies offer. To be safe, we recommend only calling from the dedicated line you set up in the First Steps section.
