<prompt> Human: Ive had a 0 credit card that has accumulated debt while my savings account has accumulated a matching balance. The thought just crossed my mind that I may be able to settle with the card company for less than my balance if I pay in one lump sum. In other words I have 15,000 in a bank account waiting to pay off a 15,000 balance on my credit card, and Im thinking of seeing if the company will clear my balance if I pay 14000. Is this worth trying, and is there anything I have to worry about as far as my credit report with doing this?  <response>: Credit card companies typically wont settle for less than the full amount unless youre behind in payment and the account has gone into collections. Most of the time, the debt has been written off and sold to a third party collections agency for pennies on the dollar, and its the collection agencies that are willing to settle because theyre hoping to make a profit on their purchase. Since they didnt purchase the debt at full value, they can settle for less than the full amount and still make money.Of course by then, your credit is trashed. So this is a very bad idea if you can pay. 