In short, you can’t. But wait, didn’t banks receive $25 billion? Yep, they did, but not to lend! Christmas came early for some banks with government infusion. What banks are doing is to buy out smaller banks. It is easier to use government money right now to use that money for something else that loan which cannot be resold to Wall Street.

With approaching global recession banks are staying away from lending. They are simply sitting on the $25 billion loans and doing nothing.

The Treasury wants banks to acquire each other as they want not to only stabilize the industry, but to reshape it as well. If banks are buying each other, where are the money to make loans? Treasury is adding more and more money to further encourage banks to buy each other and it put tax breaks, worth billions, to banking industry with one purpose, to encourage bank mergers.

To evidence this, PNC announced purchase of National City, while JP Morgan got Washington Mutual.

With government infusion banks just received money, but there are no guidelines as what percentage can be used to make new loans. Government is hoping that banks will start to lend again. And they are not doing anything.

Banks did not fix what they supposed to. Treasury is using bailout money to turn banking system into profit for the Treasury. Not American people so they can get loans. Those banks that were given $25 billion loans were selected by Treasury and encouraged to buy our smaller banks. Apparently those big banks, such as Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and others.

Big banks never needed that $25 billion bailout money. Those banks were sitting on a pile of cash, just not lending.

With money companies struggling and need of capital, which is not available, banks rather put their money elsewhere. Someone was not looking to help consumers, but rather to enrich themselves.

John Weise represents RateTake Mortgage Loan marketplace. RateTake matches consumers with multiple lenders offering low mortgage rate quotes. RateTake also operates Bill Debt Help portal.

The fact that you have taken the trouble to visit the creditor in order to try to come to some arrangement will also count in your favour, both with the creditor, and later with the court if the matter ends up going for arbitration. You will also be producing an opportunity to present your arguments in far greater detail than would otherwise be possible, and of showing whatever documentary support for your arguments that you may have, and will be able to respond to objections as they arise and hopefully to deal with these in turn.

Of course, you will need to concentrate on projecting the right impression, and should spend some time before the visit in preparing the arguments you intend to use. As ever, the most promising line to take is that although you cannot settle the debt right away, and no amount of pressure is going to make you do so, you firmly intend to repay the debt if you are given sufficient time.

Your line of argument is likely to be far more acceptable if you are in a position to offer some slight increase in any payments you may be making, or if you can begin making some small payment if you have not previously made any. If the debt is of some age, and you judge that the creditor would like nothing more than to get the matter over with, this may be a suitable opportunity to offer to settle the debt for less than the amount outstanding (see Reduced Offer of Settlement later in this guide).

Whatever the outcome of such a visit, you have little to lose other than your transport costs. The fact that a creditor even agrees to such a meeting shows that there is some room for manoeuvre, and even if the meeting seems less than productive at the time, is likely that the creditor will be slower to take any drastic action against you than he might previously have been.

This article is an excerpt from The Complete Guide to Debt. Visit My Debt Free Life.co.uk for more information on getting out of debt as well as Debt Consolidation Loans and ways to get your creditors to legally write off your debt!