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Debt Settlement (cont)
And what about your other creditors? Well, they'll be waiting even longer to get
3 their money from the settlement company. The $6,000 debt will take 15 *more*
months to pay off, assuming your creditor waits that long and agrees to 50%.
And that $10,000 bill? You do the math.
On the other hand, if you signed up for a 3 year plan with the settlement company,
your debts would be paid off sooner. But, the question is, will your creditors wait
that long? Probably not.
The facts are, you can negotiate with your creditors yourself. Most will agree to
take a smaller monthly payment from you and stop all interest and fees from
accruing. And, of course, you'll save thousands of dollars in fees to a settlement
company.
Before signing up for any service, please be sure you check out the company
thoroughly. And don't let the words "non-profit" fool you either. A lot of debt
settlement companies claim to be non-profit.
Going back to the example above, if you pay them $15,000 over a 5 year time
frame and they settle your debts at half of what you owed, they'll make $5,000
from you. I'd call that a profit, especially since they might not have actually
helped you in any way.
Most companies will allow you to cancel your account and get a refund of what
you've paid, less the non-refundable admin fee and the monthly service fees. If
you feel you've been mislead about their program, don't hesitate to argue til the
cows come home. File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau or hire an
attorney if you feel you're getting nowhere.
You can visit the Better Business Bureau's website (http://www.bbb.org) and find
reports on hundreds of companies. Here's a small listing of companies that have
poor reputations with the BBB:
xxNational Consumer Debt Council LLC - Irvine, CA (A.K.A. NCDC, United
xxConsumer Law Group)
xxFinancial Rescue Services - Burbank, CA
xxDebt Legal Services - Anaheim, CA
xxAmerican Debt Relief - Los Angeles, CA (A.K.A. A M Debt, American Debts
xxRelief, Debt Relief)
Please be very cautious when choosing a debt help company and ask lots of
questions before agreeing to anything. If you find they're evading your questions,
run fast and run far. There are reputable companies out there, so keep looking
until you find one.
About the Author
Denise Hall is the owner of Home Business on a Budget which specializes in
tools and resources for your home business needs.
Visit http://www.home-business-on-a-budget.com today.
Subscribe to Home Business on a Budget Newsletter for weekly articles, tips,
information and resources:
To Subscribe mailto:hbb_newsletter@a1ebiz.com
If you would like to receive her new articles when they are written,
please mailto:denise_hall@freeautobot.com
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