I don't know that you wouldn't be approved. It's better than letting it all go to he- - in a handbasket. Esp. the smaller accounts. I could see letting BoA go, but def. pay off the rest first. Too messy otherwise for relatively small amounts of money.
I could kill my 31 year old self for the stupid things I've done to my credit. Don't make that mistake. And I know you won't because if you were, you wouldn't be thinking this so clearly and carefully. You'll do the right thing. Hopefully you'll get a better rate via installment loan to pay BoA off. I've heard of people taking their cards into the credit union in exchange for an installment loan - and/or closing the accounts, etc. It would help if you had an established relationship with a bank/CU to get that loan you need.
(SEE....you DO need credit 
).
@Anonymous wrote:Well I sell insurance now and make good money. No credit check required. My car is paid off and I plan on driving it for the next 5+ years, so no new auto loan needed. I rent an extremely nice apartment and have no plans within the next 5 years to have a mortgage.
Now things can change, so can I say with 100% certainty that I won't need credit in the next 5 years? No, but I do feel like more than the average person I am not going to require credit and honestly guys I have a huge desire to never need credit again. I am making good money now and it gets better every month. If I can keep this pace I can just buy a home cash when I need to.
You have a lot more confidence in the future than I do. 
(Especially since you've recently had a job loss.)
Anyway, the following is not being preachy, just an observation: there's not a d*** thing that I can do about other people's behavior, and I include corporations and other businesses in this. At times they're going to treat others badly, and they're going to treat me badly. No matter how hurt or angry their behavior makes me, I choose not to stoop to their level. This allows me to peer at my face in the mirror when I brush my teeth without feeling guilty.
If I owe someone something, and they crap all over me while I still owe them, I will pay them back, and I won't try to attach little zingers to the repayment, because I owe them, plain and simple. And then I never, ever, ever have anything to do with them, ever again, not because I'm still in a rage at them (holding on to anger doesn't damage them, but it does damage me), but because they have shown themselves to be non-trustworthy. Sort of a forgive, but don't forget. 
It's very easy to get emotional about credit, but in fact, it's a business relationship. If you let emotion into your business decisions, you will often make choices that wind up hurting you in the long run, in one way or another.
--oh, and whatever your decision is about whether to jump off the credit grid or not, I'd strongly advise building up at least six months' worth of expenses in an emergency fund, maybe even more. Expenses = rent, gas or commuting costs, food, clothing, insurance premiums and co-pays, cable, internet, phone, prescriptions, clothes --all the dreary realities of life.
You are apparently self-employed selling insurance, right? It's a scary world out there, and there isn't much of a safety net out there for anyone any more, other than (it appears) for banks.
I'd say no.
Yes, BoA is horrible about showing goodwill despite having received a nice chunk of the same from US taxpayers. That's not going to change.
Let's ignore any moral aspect to the debt being yours and look at it from another perspective: What if you're wrong about not needing any form of credit for the next 10 years and the unlikelihood of getting sued? You'd be 100% screwed, or more! If you will be able to pay cash for your next car, house and will not ever need a credit check for work or changing banks. You may get a job offer that requires background/credit checks. Do you really think a prospective employer would find "I didn't think I'd ever need credit again and decided... Screw 'em!" acceptable?
If there's a judgment and lien, that's a public record for 10 years.
Even cell phone companies check credit these days!
You're making good money now..... What if they garnish your wages?
What if the history that lead to the 90 day late repeats itself?
What if you get married and the apartment isn't big enough?
What if the response to your PFD offers is "No"?
What if the accounts report "Settled for less than full amount"?
What if you have to move?
Would it be OK if someone stiffed you for $15K?
There are just too many variables.
You could get lucky, though. Odder things have happened.
BoA is BoA, Man. They won't show me any love on lates from 2005, LOL! The account is so old they have no record of my SSN until transferring me up twice, but the lates still come back as verified if disputed.
Starting Score: 675
@Anonymous wrote:Well guys thanks for all the words of wisdom. My anger is going away a little. But what I think is complete BS is that the banks won't do anything for you until you do stop paying. When I fell 90 days behind they called me all the time and told me I needed to pay like $1200 or something. I had the money but I asked the guy on the phone if I were to make the payment would they not report it on my credit report. He said yes.
Clearly he lied.
Which ticks me off because if I call them today after paying it on time for 9 months and ask for the lates to be taken off or a reduction in the interest rate they tell me to.
So by that rational if I do stop paying the card they will once again start hounding me and being desperate to get their money. So maybe I should do that again except this time be like "look, it's 12 grand. I know you want it, and you guys know I can pay it based on my income and payment history over 7 freaking years! So with that being said lets meet in the middle since you lied to me back in December about not reporting the lates. I will give you another opportunity today to make the same promise, send it to me in writing, and I will pay the full $12k today!"
See guys I have the 12k. I could pay them in full right now, but am I so wrong for wanting something out of it? After 7 years and god knows how much I have paid them in interest the only thing I am asking for is they remove the negative reporting on my credit. Which is what they said they would do but didn't. This is why I am so angry. If I just bend over and pay them monthly or off in full I still have the 90 day late on my credit for 7 years, they have the money, and I have nothing but a REALLY bad mark on my credit.
Sorry, that is a bit too unbalanced for me. Yes I screwed up, life happens, but I am willing to pay the price. That price in my opinion should be the debt and years worth on interest. I will part with my money. But to hell with BofA if they want to take it all and still keep that 90 day late on there.
This isn't as bad as you might think it is. I was out of work in 2008. I had many more accounts go late than you. I had 7 accounts go late and several of them went 120 days with a couple 150 day lates. My scores rebounded fairly quickly. They went from around 500 to 700 in two years. They've improved a bit more over the last year. That single 90 day late isn't going to crush your scores forever. A big part of what is hurting your score right now is likely those balances on all those accounts. Once those balances are paid down and your utilization is back under control, you'll have a better idea of how much the 90 day late is dinging you. Even then, it will fade over time. I would guess that it will fade more quickly than you could accomplish this scheme of defaulting and then negotiating PFDs.
And if that is what you are concerned about, your credit score, then that is what you should do, pay your debts and let the 90 day late age. You can always try for a goodwill adjustment after you pay it off, but BofA can be difficult in that regard.
If what you're interested in is sticking it to them by paying them less than the amount owed, I'm not even sure why people are entertaining the idea of purposeful default then PFD. This seems very similar to credit repair advise given on other boards that advise people how to dispute and remove valid information from their credit reports which is prohibited on this site.
You were 90 days late right and you haven't suggested that any portion of the debt is invalid. It's quite a large balance to go 90 days late on. It's not a crazy decision for BofA to have closed down the account. You have several other balances on several other accounts as well. Not sure if you had those at the same time, but if so, it makes for a more compelling argument for BofA to suspend charging privileges so that the balance didn't increase further.
When I started working again, I had success negotiating interest rate reductions with some of the banks while I was paying. BofA was actually one of the better ones. We negotiated my rate down to 6%. I didn't have success with others. Capital One stuck it to me for a long time. This is one of many reasons I have no interest doing business with Cap One again, and why I moved all of my checking and savings to BofA. That is what you should do. You should pay down your debt and then decide who you want to continue doing business with based on how you were treated. And as far as the interest rate with BofA, you have the $12K. The interest rate is immaterial if you just pay the balance.
As far as reading success stories from people who say the banks won't sue you, I'd be very careful relying on that information. Most people who default on all of their accounts do so because they don't have a choice. Banks don't go after those people because they don't have any money. You're a different case. You have the money. You're a much easier target to get sued.
@Anonymous wrote:Well guys I paid off all my other credit card debts and the only thing I have is the BOA card. So what I would like to do is continue to show BOA my committment to paying off the card and sending $1000 each month. I will also continue to send goodwill letters weekly and I hope that they will see me asa loyal customer that deserves their forgiveness. I mean it's a closed account with a high interest rate but I am dedicated to paying it off. I would think there aren't many of their customers doing the same right now.
+1
And my fingers are crossed for ya, but BofA has a terrible track record in treating consumers (and taxpayers) the way that they were so generously treated.
Good luck!