Debt Settlement Frequently Asked Questions

Debt Settlement FAQs, Debt Negotiation FAQs, Debt Resolution FAQs

 

Our debt settlement, or debt negotiation, program is designed to resolve your debt for less than you owe, as quickly as possible. First, we provide a free debt consultation to review various options you have for managing debt, including interest rate reduction – credit counseling, bankruptcy, and consolidation loans, and help you decided if debt relief and our program is right for you. If you decide that it is, we help you design a program that fits your monthly budget.

During the debt relief process, you usually voluntarily choose to stop paying your creditors and instead start saving money in a dedicated savings account. Once enough money is saved into this account, we negotiate discounts.

Our company has been successful settling, negotiating, and resolving millions of dollars in debt since 1999. We don’t charge upfront fees and you only pay us when a debt is settled for less.

Someone who has some type of hardship, Such as: a reduction in income, job loss, illness, disability, divorce, fixed income, etc. 

Someone who has past due credit cards with high rates and has difficulty making payments.

Someone with a debt problem they cannot resolve.

Someone who can be committed to an aggressive program and wishes to get out of debt and pay creditors what they can afford due to their hardship.

Someone who can deal with annoying creditor calls and is open to being educated on collection tactics and what can be done to deal with them.

Someone who is not considering making a major purchase within the next few years, such as a house.

Someone that cant, or wont, file for bankruptcy. 

Most likely, yes. Any time you are behind, with or without a program, you will receive calls. However, many creditors are accommodating. Additionally, calls may reduce after the original creditor receives a detailed hardship letter from you. It is important to review the section on how to handle creditor calls in the Welcome Package you receive as a new client to help to minimize creditor harassment. You must remember that collectors are paid a bonus or commission on what they collect and are known to say almost anything to scare you into making interest payments. Consumers have rights against abusive collection tactics.

Please be sure to see your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act & Debt Collection Laws for your State

Sure, but it can be a full time job and is not an overnight process! You will have to manage collection calls and deal with experts trained to collect. Be careful what you say, it will be used against you. Bargaining back and forth can takes days to months. 

Many people choose to use a professional, like Debt Settlement Group, because we understand the secrets behind debt buying and collection processes.  People also choose a professional so we can hold their hand during a stressful time.

Our negotiators pay some of the larger collection agencies thousands of dollars per month. They develop relationships with collectors. We also are able to settle in bulk. These are just some of the ways a professional obtains great deals.

Debt Settlement or Debt Negotiations effect on your credit score will depend on your current credit status before starting any settlement program. Very few people with debt problems have perfect credit and debt settlement is meant to be a hardship program. If you are experiencing hardship and cant afford your payments, then your credit has already been damaged by delinquent payments, collections, high debt-to-income ratios, or high debt-to-credit-limits. If you are no longer able to obtain, or use credit, this indicates that your credit has been damaged in some way.

Debt Settlement and debt negotiation programs do not make monthly payments to your creditors. The only program that does is the Interest Rate Reduction Program. By not making minimum monthly payments to your creditors, you will fall behind on your bills, if you aren’t already, and as you know being delinquent is not good for your credit. This is the same with, or without, a debt settlement debt negotiation program. By using any debt settlement program, your credit score will probably get worse before it gets better; however, many view this as a minor price to pay for being given a substantial discount and not having to file for bankruptcy!

The first settlement is typically finalized in month 3 to 6 of a client’s program, this varies, and depends on your monthly program payment, the delinquency of accounts you have enrolled in the program, and the amount of debt enrolled. In some instances, it could take more than 6 months before the first settlement is reached.

Settlement Offers are made once you have accumulated about 40% of the balance of one creditor, although you may begin to receive Settlement Offers from 0 to 7 months into the program.

The amount of time you are in the program is based on the amount of debt enrolled, the amount you have agreed to deposit into your dedicated account each month, and the consistency of those monthly payments. Our average program graduate takes approximately 24-60 months to complete.

Creditors may add and increase interest charges, late fees and penalties until creditors write off the account or accept a settlement. This happens with, or without, any program when you are not making on-time minimum payments and will be estimated into your program calculations

When you are late on payments and or not making on-time minimum payments, Creditors may attempt to collect by taking legal action, with or without using any program. While we at Debt Settlement Group are not lawyers or licensed to practice law, we want to make sure that if any enrolled accounts go into litigation, the debt can still be negotiated.

Debt Settlement Group is committed to minimizing their effects, expediting the settlements of your accounts, and we offer a legal expense plan that will hire you an attorney in the event any such action occurs.

Your savings account is an FDIC insured bank account that you control. You own the funds in your account.

Should you decide to cancel your program, you can do so at any time without penalty. You may terminate your Agreement by providing us with written notice of termination, which may be electronic. Any funds that may remain in your Savings Account, minus fees for service already provided, shall be returned to you.