Debt Settlement WARNING! (Plus 3 Rules to Avoid Trouble)

Added: (Thu Sep 02 2010)

Pressbox (Press Release) - Shopping around for debt relief programs?
Getting quotes from different debt settlement companies?
Filling out forms on the Internet, looking for help with credit card debt?
Tempted by Lower Payments?

Don't be fooled...

DO YOU HAVE ACCOUNTS WITH ANY OF THESE CREDITORS:

Citibank, Discover or Bank of America? (Are you sure?)

JANUARY 2010 UPDATE: Target and Kohl's have both become highly aggressive. Your program must account for the higher cost and possibility of lawsuits to be successful. Only work with professionals who require creditor information 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 better RUN!
With so many people in a financial hardship these days, many unscrupulous, untrained or ignorant people are jumping onto the debt settlement bandwagon... unfortunately this could mean big trouble for you!
Did you know Citibank, Discover 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, Discover 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, Discover 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 account 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 indeed the very best time for you to get out of debt for as little as possible, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! A friend of mine recently had $75,000.00 of his personal credit card debt with Bank of America settled for only 10% ($7,500.00).

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 account for these "aggressive creditors" (like most debt settlement companies 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 company with a long list of complaints... and your accounts will be too far gone for a legitimate debt settlement company to do anything for you that you could possibly afford. It usually takes a large LUMP SUM at that point, roughly 65%+ of your total debt, to avoid bankruptcy or worse...
Watch out for the "smoke and mirrors" most debt settlement companies are trying to pull these days.
There are literally thousands of debt settlement firms who have jumped on the bandwagon in just the past couple of years. Most of them have come from failed sub-prime mortgage companies, who were behind the slew of bad loans that helped through our economy into the tailspin we've been in.

"Three Rules"...Make That, "Four Rules" To Avoid Costly Debt Settlement Mistakes:

RULE #1. Only get quotes from a debt settlement company who requires statements.

Watch out for high pressure sales people or slick-sters trying to sell you on the lowest monthly payment without even looking at your specific situation. Steer clear of any company or sales person who attempts to enroll you into a program without covering everything included in the "TASC Standard Disclosure.

RULE #2. Only work with a debt settlement company 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 future with an unproven start up company? Stay away from start ups or companies with a "business start date" listed on their BBB Report less than five years ago. Choose a company with a proven track record over time.

RULE #3. Only work with companies with a clean BBB Reliability Report.

Stay away from companies 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 successful in your efforts to get out of debt.