Chosen by Asker

Stay away from any "debt consolidation" company that promises to cut your debt in half through debt settlement....This is a risky tactic of deliberately ceasing all payments to creditors and forcing your accounts into default to attempt settlements. You pay a monthly fee to a debt consolidator....this entire fee goes towards building a settlement account and to the consolidator's fees to “settle” your accounts in the future. Your credit card companies will deliberately not be paid so that all the accounts will default/charge-off so that they can attempt settlements at around 50%. If you are current on your accounts, this process will ruin your credit rating for sure. Debt settlement is like a roll off the dice with your finances...You can never predict how your creditors will respond to the deliberate defaulting of your accounts...they might settle at 50%...or they might serve you a summons, take you to court...and if they win, you could be looking at wage garnishment. Many people who sign up with “debt consolidation” firms incorrectly assume that they have the power to force your creditors to accept settlements...they don’t. Your creditors have the right to refuse settlements and take you to court. ------------------------ The only real non-profit firms are credit counseling services....they negotiate lower interest rates and payments but they do NOT negotiate settlements/reductions in debt.

by CatDad

5 months ago

Asker's Rating: 

Why do you need a company to do this for you? Just call all of them and try to reduce your rates and payments, then make the minimum on all except the one with the lowest balance. Put EVERY extra penny into that until you pay it off, then apply what you were paying that debt to the next smallest balance until it is paid off. First, REDUCE your spending. Get rid of cable, cell phones, car payments, etc. Start living on LESS than you make.

by bearr41- 5 months ago

im using heritage debt relief, they don't show on your credit report as any sort of relief agency, and also the thing i was impressed with is you don't give them any money the monthly "payment" you put to the side and they negotiate with the cc companies then you write the check from the "payment" money, also part of the negotiations that they do is the cc companies report to the credit bureau as "paid in full/zero balance" not "settled for less/or didn't fulfill balance"

by Kristen- 5 months ago

The only non profit one is CCCS. They will talk with your creditors, get the interest rate lowered or taken off and get you on a plan that has your debt wiped out in a certain period of time. Google CCCS and then your town, or a large town near where you live to find the local chapter.

by 1939- 5 months ago