- Shopping around for debt relief programs?
- Getting quotes from dissimilar debt hamlet companies?
- Filling out forms on the Internet, seeing for help with reputation card debt?
Tempted by Lower Payments?
Don't be fooled...
Do You Have Accounts With Any Of These Creditors:
Citibank, witness or Bank of America? (Are you sure?)
January 2010 Update: Target and Kohl's have both become very aggressive. Your agenda must account for the higher cost and possibility of lawsuits to be successful. Only work with professionals who wish 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 great Run!With so many citizen in a financial hardship these days, many unscrupulous, untrained or ignorant citizen are jumping onto the debt hamlet bandwagon... Unfortunately this could mean big trouble for you!
Did you know Citibank, witness and Bank of America are much more likely to file a lawsuit against you if you make the mistake of enrolling into a bad agenda 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, witness and Bank of America.
You may have accounts disguised as other creditors, but and are verily 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 coarse 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, witness or Bank of America, then debt hamlet 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 verily the very best time for you to get out of debt for as slight as possible, As Soon As Possible! A friend of mine recently had ,000.00 of his personal reputation card debt with Bank of America located for only 10% (,500.00).
Take benefit now if you've been affected by the cheaper and are struggling with serious debt.
What if you enrolled in one of these debt hamlet agenda who Did Not account for these "aggressive creditors" (like most debt hamlet clubs 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 hamlet 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 agenda 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 hamlet business with a long list of complaints... And your accounts will be too far gone for a legitimate debt hamlet business to do anyone for you that you could maybe afford. It commonly takes a large Lump Sum at that point, almost 65%+ of your total debt, to avoid bankruptcy or worse...Watch out for the "smoke and mirrors" most debt hamlet clubs are trying to pull these days.
There are verily thousands of debt hamlet firms who have jumped on the bandwagon in just the past consolidate 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 cheaper into the tailspin we've been in.
"Three Rules"...Make That, "Four Rules" To Avoid high-priced Debt hamlet Mistakes:
Rule #1. Only get quotes from a debt hamlet business who requires statements.
Watch out for high pressure sales citizen or slick-sters trying to sell you on the bottom monthly cost without even seeing at your exact situation. Steer clear of any business or sales person who attempts to enroll you into a agenda without surface everything included in the "Tasc accepted Disclosure.
Rule #2. Only work with a debt hamlet 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 hereafter with an unproven start up company? Stay away from start ups or clubs with a "business start date" listed on their Bbb report less than five years ago. Choose a business with a proven track report over time.
Rule #3. Only work with clubs with a clean Bbb Reliability Report.
Stay away from clubs 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 agenda to see to it you are taken care of and prosperous in your efforts to get out of debt.
Bottom Line: Learn what a "satisfactory record"* with the Bbb means and wish it from any business you think 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 hamlet clubs 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 clubs just for being in the debt hamlet industry, even with no history of complaints or problems with consumers.
There is currently no criteria recognized by the Bbb to distinguish good clubs from bad, other than the distance of time in business and the whole of complaints.
* The Bbb's credibility has come under mass-scrutiny. The Bbb is not a government organization, but underground entities who have amassed major influence 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 performance or aid to customers. Maintaining a good reputation and trust with clients since 2002, commonly 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 entire eight-year history).
Rule #4. Only work with a debt hamlet 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 relationship will not be affected by this hereafter regulation. For this reason, you should only think working with a legitimate debt hamlet law firm to avoid hereafter regulation affecting your financial future.
In 2009, the Ftc began cracking down on the debt hamlet business due to the many unscrupulous, fly-by-night clubs sprouting up in up-to-date years who have taken benefit of consumers for quick profits.
Additionally, with an attorney representing you there are critical advantages in dealing with creditor calls or potential lawsuits far beyond that which a non-attorney based company. With a top debt hamlet law firm you may often regain great results, lower settlements and greater savings.
Make No Mistake, Debt hamlet *May* Be the Best option For You (By Far), If You're Facing Financial Hardship...
...But *only* if it's a quality agenda that will work for you, in Your exact Situation, and offered by a trusted representative of the small handful of reputable debt hamlet companies.
Of course, receiving personal aid and expert knowledge are also nice, especially in the sea of ignorance and desperation swarming the Tv, radio and Internet these days..
Remember: You Can settle reputation Card Debt YourselfBeing in the debt hamlet business myself for over seven years, working with most of the major players and watching bad clubs come and go, I Saw The Need For This Debt hamlet Warning First Hand.While there are many benefits to having a pro negotiator or debt hamlet lawyers do it for you, you can also settle reputation card debt yourself.
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 agenda to help citizen like you make your best choice, and avoid these high-priced mistakes and the devastating consequences that follow.
Debt hamlet Warning! (Plus 3 Rules to Avoid Trouble)