Ask the Expert: I Had My Chase Visa Balances Forgiven, But I’m Already in a Debt Management Program. What Happens Now?

Question: I was lucky and had a Marriott Rewards Premier Visa card. That was one of the two cards that Chase Bank closed down last year. Chase just forgave all the balances for people like me. Good thing, too, because I owed around $2,900. 

But here’s where I might not be lucky. I signed up for a Debt Management Program only a couple months ago. So what happens now? Am I paying off a card that I don’t need to? Does the credit counselling agency I went to know about this Chase debt forgiveness? 

– Paul in Kingston, Ontario

Jeff Schwartz, Consolidated Credit Canada executive director, answers…

Don’t worry. The nonprofit administering your Debt Management Program already knows about Chase. In fact, they probably knew about this Chase debt forgiveness before you did.

Here at Consolidated Credit Canada, we received notification last month. Chase works closely with Consolidated Credit, so the big bank – which is North America’s largest – told us early so we could prepare.

We’ve already identified several of our clients who owed on their Chase cards, and we marked those accounts “paid in full.” Payments already in house were either moved to other account balances or refunded in the absence of other debt.

We also made a courtesy call to those clients. I sure hope other credit counselling agencies are doing the same right now, if just a little later than we did.

While I’m biased and believe Consolidated Credit Canada is the most responsive credit counselling agency, I know the fine people at all the other reputable ones. I can tell you this: If you’re unsure what your status is, simply call them. They’ll be happy to confirm you’re not losing any money, and they’ll put your mind at ease.

Of course, if you’re a Consolidated Credit Canada client, I urge you to call if you have any questions about Chase debt – or anything else. Getting out of debt is a wonderful feeling, but it can be stressful while you’re doing it. We want to make that as simple and easy as possible. So never hesitate to pick up the phone.