Tax refund and paying off a credit card, can I pay principle only?

[JasonBourneOfCredit]

Got $800 balance to Cap1 and I was hoping to maybe pay principle only with my refund to more effectively get it paid off. Maybe pay less interest that way? Or would the old fashioned "just pay what they want" be the way to go?

Also I owe $680 to Wells Fargo for a bed. 30%!!! interest rate. Want to pay off with tax refund. Is there any negotiating here since I paid their ridiculous interest rate? Is there any thing I can do other than pay the entire balance? Can blame me for trying!

thanks!

[JasonBourneOfCredit]

Some help on this please?

[inara220]

I'm a little confused... is there 8K in principle plus some other amount of interest?  Or does the 8K include a portion of interest so you are wondering if they will "settle" for 6K (or whatever is principle)

I just used my tax return, my work bonus, and an unexpected gift from a family member to pay off 7 different credit balances.  Most of these places offer a "payoff" amount that is your balance as of last statement and any interest that has accrued since.  I paid the full amount due because I wanted no chance of any negatives (settled balance) showing up on my credit report.

[JasonBourneOfCredit]

Ok. just to be clear, we are talking hundreds, not k's. Thought maybe I had a typo.

And I think you're saying just pay it off in total without trying to negotiate the balance down?

[Anonymous]

Credit card balances are not amortized like a mortgage or installment loan, so there is no 'this amount goes on the principle and this amount goes on interest" when a payment is made. Interest is applied to the carried balance, minus payments made and that becomes the 'new' principle for the next month.

I would pay off Wells Fargo completely if possible.

[Anonymous]

And no, you're not likely to be able to negotiate the balance down, although depending on how its written (simple interest loan, compound or amortized loan), the payoff amount may differ somewhat from the 'current balance'.

[inara220]

Whoops!  Sorry my bad on the thousands instead of hundreds.

I would pay off the entire balance.  If you aren't late on any of your payments I don't think they'll really negotiate the balance down, they might negotiate your interest rate down though.

[JasonBourneOfCredit]

I actually was late on one payment (December - 30days). Do you think I can get them to remove that? I'll try anything.

[gdale6]

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@JasonBourneOfCredit wrote:

I actually was late on one payment (December - 30days). Do you think I can get them to remove that? I'll try anything.

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I would suggest paying them off in full then send them a GW letter asking that the late be commuted. Here is the GW Letter thread:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/GW-letter-Q-amp-A-Examples-and-GW-Success-Sto...

[JasonBourneOfCredit]

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@gdale6 wrote:

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@JasonBourneOfCredit wrote:

I actually was late on one payment (December - 30days). Do you think I can get them to remove that? I'll try anything.

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I would suggest paying them off in full then send them a GW letter asking that the late be commuted. Here is the GW Letter thread:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/GW-letter-Q-amp-A-Examples-and-GW-Success-Sto...

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Ok. Does Wells Fargo have a good track record for responding positively to GW letters?