Fewer Consumers Seeking Credit Card Debt Relief
While the fallout from the financial meltdown had many Americans seeking credit card debt relief, a recent report from Moody's shows fewer people are falling behind on their payments.
The Moody's report found that in April there was a decrease in U.S. credit card charge offs when compared to the same time in 2009. Only 10.91 percent of credit card-using consumers were reported as having charge-offs. The decreasing number of people having the money they owe written off as bad debt is a sign that the nation's economy is improving.
Jeff Hibbs, analyst for Moody's, said that "April's improved charge-off rate, combined with our base-case expectation for the unemployment rate to plateau at 10.1 percent in the second half of the year and steadily improving delinquencies, support the long-awaited call that credit card charge-offs have indeed reached an inflection point."
Credit card delinquency rates also fell during April for the sixth month straight, Moody's said. It came in at 5.54 percent, which is the lowest it has been since November 2008.
If a consumer believes they may become delinquent on their credit card payments, they should contact the credit card company and work out an alternative payment plan.
New government regulations in place for consumers in need of debt relief for credit cards and other unsecured debts.