Sometimes there are valid reasons for not being able to pay your credit card debts–or at least not being able to pay them right now. If life has thrown a financial obstacle your way, you may be stuck with more credit card debt than you can afford to pay. Rather than dealing with repeated letters, phone calls, or other debt collection tactics, there are things you can do to get on the good side of your creditors (or stop them from hounding you if their behaviour becomes an issue of harassment). Here are three of the options available to you for getting your bill collectors off your back:

1. Try to setup new payment arrangements.

Sometimes things happen that may temporarily influence your ability to repay your regular bills. Maybe you lost a job and are out of work for a while. Perhaps you’re faced with sudden medical bills. Even though you can’t make your monthly payments in full right now, you don’t want that affecting your credit and relationship with your creditors for years to come.

If you’re receiving collection calls or letters, don’t let the situation get worse. Contact your credit card company (usually best in writing) with documented proof of your current and temporary financial troubles. Explain that you want to pay your bills, but you are unable to meet the full monthly payments.

Try to negotiate for lower monthly payments (it shows a good faith effort to pay something each month) for a limited time. You’ll need to have a good idea of when you can resume normal payments. You may also have to pay more monthly later than your normal bills now to make up that difference. But if your situation really is temporary, then your debt problems can be as well.

2. Try to reach a settlement.

This tip is for consumers in credit card debt that they cannot pay off in full, even with temporary relief. Occasionally a credit card company will be willing to negotiate a settlement amount–you pay an agreed upon amount that’s less than the total balance due, but then the full debt will be considered satisfied.

“Why would a bank do that?” you might be thinking. Basically, there are situations where they realise they probably aren’t going to be paid in full. In those cases, they might prefer getting something rather than nothing.

They aren’t going to negotiate just because you want to pay off the debt for a lesser amount. You’ll need to convince them that you wouldn’t be able to pay in full. For example, you may have to provide proof that you’ve lost your job (especially if it’s a job loss due to a new disability, where it’s unlikely you’ll secure future employment to recover the lost income).

3. File a complaint.

There are debt collection guidelines that creditors should abide by. That includes only calling you during reasonable hours (which, unless you notify them otherwise, usually means between 7:30am and 9:00pm on weekdays, and 9:00am to 9:00pm on weekends as per the guidelines released by the ACCC and ASIC).

The guidelines also stipulate that creditors shouldn’t become abusive or subject you to harassment. If you’re trying to get your creditors off your back because of this kind of abusive behaviour, file an official complaint in writing. If they are found guilty of harassment, coercion, or other legal issues the creditor may face heavy fines.

While no one wants to be in a situation where creditors are constantly trying to collect from them, it does sometimes happen–even to good people. By knowing your rights and being proactive (showing creditors that you’re willing to work with them to get the debt paid in one way or another), you can eliminate the stress of the debt collection process while you get your financial house back in order.