Shopping around for debt relief programs? Getting quotes from dissimilar debt settlement companies? Filling out forms on the Internet, finding for help with reputation card debt?
Tempted by Lower Payments?
LOWES SETTLEMENT
Don't be fooled...
Do You Have Accounts With Any Of These Creditors:
Citibank, contemplate or Bank of America? (Are you sure?)
January 2010 Update: Target and Kohl's have both become very aggressive. Your program must list for the higher cost and possibility of lawsuits to be successful. Only work with professionals who need creditor facts from current statements for quotes, and pass the tests below...
Buyer Beware:
If you receive quotes from anyone who does Not ask you who your creditors are, you great Run!With so many citizen in a financial hardship these days, many unscrupulous, untrained or ignorant citizen are jumping onto the debt settlement bandwagon... Unfortunately this could mean big problem for you!
Did you know Citibank, contemplate and Bank of America are much more likely to file a lawsuit against you if you make the mistake of enrolling into a bad program over 24-30 months. Or, in some cases, even if it's longer than 12 months?
It all depends on how much debt you have with "aggressive creditors" like Citibank, contemplate and Bank of America.
You may have accounts disguised as other creditors, but and are actually owned by these same nasty creditors, like...
* At&T Universal (Citibank)
* Most gas cards (Exxon, Bp, Citgo, Chevron... All Citibank)
* Sears (Citibank)
* Sometimes Lowes & Sams (Discover)
* Fia (Bank of America)
* Plus many more common names you might know all too well, but didn't know were ticking time bombs in your financial plan.
In fact, if you have too much debt with Citibank, contemplate or Bank of America, then debt settlement Might Not Work for you at all!
January 2010 Update: Citibank has recently become much easier to deal with, settling list for much less and backing off on legal action. In fact, many creditors are softening. I believe this is due to the economy. Creditors want something instead of nothing, Asap. This is Good News for you!
These rough economic times are actually the very best time for you to get out of debt for as exiguous as possible, As Soon As Possible! A friend of mine recently had ,000.00 of his personal reputation card debt with Bank of America settled for only 10% (,500.00).
Take advantage now if you've been affected by the economy and are struggling with serious debt.
What if you enrolled in one of these debt settlement program who Did Not list for these "aggressive creditors" (like most debt settlement fellowships offer today)?
If you're like one of the many clients I've attempted to help when they came to me after dropping out of one of the many bad debt settlement programs like this, then you too would just get ripped off and left to deal with nasty creditors on your own. You'd be a year or two into a program that was destined to fail from the start, with a Lot more debt (higher balances due to interest and fees piling up), "a whole bunch of nothing" for a lot of money paid in fees to an unresponsive debt settlement business with a long list of complaints... And your accounts will be too far gone for a legitimate debt settlement business to do anyone for you that you could possibly afford. It regularly takes a large Lump Sum at that point, practically 65%+ of your total debt, to avoid bankruptcy or worse...Watch out for the "smoke and mirrors" most debt settlement fellowships are trying to pull these days.
There are actually thousands of debt settlement firms who have jumped on the bandwagon in just the past merge of years. Most of them have come from failed sub-prime mortgage companies, who were behind the slew of bad loans that helped straight through our economy into the tailspin we've been in.
"Three Rules"...Make That, "Four Rules" To Avoid precious Debt Settlement Mistakes:
Rule #1. Only get quotes from a debt settlement business who requires statements.
Watch out for high pressure sales citizen or slick-sters trying to sell you on the lowest monthly payment without even finding at your definite situation. Steer clear of any business or sales someone who attempts to enroll you into a program without exterior all included in the "Tasc thorough Disclosure.
Rule #2. Only work with a debt settlement business who has been in business over 5 years.
If 90% of businesses fail in the first five years, why would you ever trust your financial time to come with an unproven start up company? Stay away from start ups or fellowships with a "business start date" listed on their Bbb record less than five years ago. Select a business with a proven track record over time.
Rule #3. Only work with fellowships with a clean Bbb Reliability Report.
Stay away from fellowships with a long list of complaints... Especially "unresolved" complaints. This is a sure sign they over-promise and deliver poor results, probably getting their clients sued unnecessarily. You need a company, and a consultant, who will be there for ou throughout your program to see to it you are taken care of and flourishing in your efforts to get out of debt.
Bottom Line: Learn what a "satisfactory record"* with the Bbb means and need it from any business you reconsider trusting with your financial future.
*January 2010 Update: Because of the many unscrupulous operators in the industry, as mentioned mentioned above, the Bbb rescinded Membership for many debt settlement fellowships in most areas of the country. It's a case of a few bad apples spoiling the barrel. Few parts of the country still allow membership. In expanding to this, the Bbb has issued "D" ratings to fellowships just for being in the debt settlement industry, even with no history of complaints or problems with consumers.
There is currently no criteria recognized by the Bbb to distinguish good fellowships from bad, other than the length of time in business and the estimate of complaints.
* The Bbb's credibility has come under mass-scrutiny. The Bbb is not a government organization, but secret entities who have amassed major affect over buyer buying decisions, but have become unfair and corrupt in their own business dealings.
FreedomDebt.com, for example, was an Accredited Member of the Bbb until summer 2008 when the company's membership was rescinded because of the business the business is related with in the state of Texas. This, the Bbb assured, had nothing to do with the company, its doing or service to customers. Maintaining a good reputation and trust with clients since 2002, regularly invited back to news programs and talk shows for live Tv interviews all over the country, FreedomDebt.com (Debt Freedom, Inc.) services many thousands of clients nationwide, and still maintains an outstanding track record with the Bbb (only two resolved complaints in the company's whole eight-year history).
Rule #4. Only work with a debt settlement law firm under a licensed attorney instead of a non-attorney based company.
This is because attorney's are governed by the Bar Association, not the Ftc like non-attorney based companies. Pending Ftc regulation is a threat to all non-attorney based comapnies, whereas law firms regulated by the Bar association will not be affected by this time to come regulation. For this reason, you should only reconsider working with a legitimate debt settlement law firm to avoid time to come regulation affecting your financial future.
In 2009, the Ftc began cracking down on the debt settlement business due to the many unscrupulous, fly-by-night fellowships sprouting up in modern years who have taken advantage of consumers for quick profits.
Additionally, with an attorney representing you there are requisite advantages in dealing with creditor calls or potential lawsuits far beyond that which a non-attorney based company. With a top debt settlement law firm you may often obtain great results, lower settlements and greater savings.
Make No Mistake, Debt Settlement *May* Be the Best option For You (By Far), If You're Facing Financial Hardship...
...But *only* if it's a capability program that will work for you, in Your definite Situation, and offered by a trusted representative of the small handful of reputable debt settlement companies.
Of course, receiving personal service and scholar knowledge are also nice, especially in the sea of ignorance and desperation swarming the Tv, radio and Internet these days..
Remember: You Can decide reputation Card Debt Yourself
While there are many benefits to having a pro negotiator or debt settlement lawyers do it for you, you can also settle reputation card debt yourself.Being in the debt settlement business myself for over seven years, working with most of the major players and watching bad fellowships come and go, I Saw The Need For This Debt Settlement Warning First Hand.
My experiences not only inspired me to write this article, but has also driven me to spend the past two years developing and creating a financial schooling program to help citizen like you make your best choice, and avoid these precious mistakes and the devastating consequences that follow.
Debt settlement Warning! (Plus 3 Rules to Avoid Trouble) LOWES SETTLEMENT
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