Stopping credit cards from going to collections by: Gerri
Teresa,
Unless you can get on a payment plan that satisfies the credit card company and keeps the debt out of collections, you won't be able to stop them from charging off your account. It's not just that the credit card company is being uncooperative (though they may be), but they are required by banking regulations to charge off bad debts after a certain period of delinquency for the health of the financial institution.
All is not lost if your account goes to collections, however. Payoffs on collection accounts are often negotiated for less than the full balance. And once it goes to collections, it doesn't really matter whether you pay the full balance or settle it for less than the full balance, at least as far as your credit scores are concerned.