Debt relief service

Amongst the many things you need to be leery about when signing up with debt a settlement service, one of the largest problems, is the actual program term. Since the program term will determine, not only the total amount you end up paying, but it also will determine your monthly payment.

Some companies will stretch their monthly term to 48 or 60 months, we have even heard of a company that offers an 80 month term.

You have to be careful with those types of companies. Since programs like that will most-likely get the client sued by the creditor, and they are most likely a scam debt settlement service. The company plans on the client being sued and take their fees from you long before it happens.

A debt settlement or debt negotiation program should not be over 36 months. And if you have under $70,000 in debt your program term should much shorter.

Since the faster the creditor gets paid, the less negatives can happen against you. First negative being, less late payments on your credit report and second being, less chance of being sued by your creditor.

Can you be sued? Yes, and don’t let any company tell you otherwise.

Is it likely you will be sued for a judgment and income garnishments? It will all depend on your situation, and whether it is “cost efficient” for the creditor.

So if your term is short like 12 to 30 months, your minimizing the risk, by paying them back faster. Plus it gets you out of debt faster too!!

The best way to go, is a term under 36 months with “No Pre-Payment Penalty” then you are in control of the term and you can pay more when you can afford to and the minimum payment other months. This way you are still assured the program in done in under 3 years but it could be much faster depending on your settlement amount and how much you pay each month.

By: Jeff T Forman

If you’re buried deep in credit card debt, you probably shouldn’t be asking if debt settlement affects your credit score. Instead, you may want to consider if you should really care what your score is. Think about your situation very seriously for a moment. You’re losing sleep and can barely make the minimum payments due on your credit cards. This situation is making you nervous and you can’t shake the sick feeling in the pit of your stomach because you’re always thinking about the money you owe and how you’ll be able to pay it back. Should you be worried? Probably, because this is a legitimate concern, and one that has the potential to remain for several years if you continue making minimum payments.

Now, jump over to the other side for a moment. Let’s say you’ve struggled and sacrificed to make your credit card payments each and every month. Because of this, your credit score is relatively high. So what? Is it worth feeling stressed out just to have a good credit rating? If you should enter a debt settlement program and your credit score is lower than you’d like it to be for a year or two, would you be awake at night thinking about your credit rating? It’s doubtful. If you’re like most people you’ll probably be so relieved to be debt-free, your credit score will be about as significant as your neighbor’s sister’s dog’s puppies.

Entering into a debt settlement program may or may not affect your credit score, depending on what your current situation is. Chances are, if you’ve made some late payments already and/or your credit cards are carrying high balances, your score is probably not as high as you may think it is. Negotiating reduced settlements with your creditors, through debt settlement, however, can save you thousands of dollars, help you avoid bankruptcy and finally get you to the point of being debt-free and stress-free in less than two years – very possibly even sooner.

If you should decide that debt settlement is your best option, be sure to hire a company you trust. If the first representative with whom you speak sounds like a salesperson and not really interested in your concerns regarding your current financial situation, there’s a good chance you’re not going to get the customer service you desire and deserve once you become a client with this particular firm. While going through the process of debt settlement, you’ll want assurance that your questions and/or concerns will be addressed promptly by the company you’ve chosen.

In summary, you should probably take a good look at what matters most to you – a lifestyle free of debt and concern, or a high credit score. When it comes right down to it, the choice really is yours, so be sure to make the decision you’re most comfortable with.

By: Marie Megge

More often than not, in pursuit of our dreams to accumulate wealth, we get caught in debt traps. This is more so in an environment where it is easy to get loans and credit. All credit is provided to us on the basis of our capacity to work and earn in the process. Little do we realize that accomplishment of any dream requires hard work and nothing but hard work. There is no substitute to it.

The irony is that many of us tend to forget this adage and ultimately get in to a tangle from which it is hard to get out. The saddest part is that even those who work hard and earn a decent living, get carried away in the mad pursuit of their dreams and get caught in a debt trap. Credit cards tempt you and charging anything to them seems easy by promising to pay later, not realizing that the interest charged on late payments borders on usury. The difficult part starts when, once late in a payment, the credit starts snowballing every month due to the exorbitant rates of interest.

In such an unfortunate situation debt management advice is the only way to keep bankruptcy at bay. Debt management advice has become more and more common these days as many Americans are fast succumbing to the temptations of easy loans and offers from credit card companies.

It is prudent if you do some research before seeking advice from the numerous companies offering debt management advice. There are companies that offer debt management advice for a fee and some of them operate on no-profit no-loss basis. Some of them have developed special relationships with creditors and can help in reducing your debt faster.

Once you are caught in a debt trap, the bill collectors start annoying you, day in and day out, with phone calls. Such repeated phone calls are so demoralizing that they may result in frustration and depression. The first thing the companies offering debt management advice will do is to provide temporary relief by arranging to stop these annoying phone calls.

A good company will help, not only in decimating your debt but also provide debt management advice and guidance about how to manage your finances in future, lest you get caught in debt all over again. Such guidance for the future can prove to be of great help in shape of knowledge on how to reduce your credit card interest rates. Apart from that a good debt management professional will also give tips on how to manage to get lower interest loans.

You need not be one of those in debt simply because the number of Americans struggling with debt is on the rise.

By: Scotie Keithlow