For people who could no longer afford there monthly debt obligation minimum payments? Yes, that would be an option very high on the list of reasonable solutions. However, settlement programs have requirements that dictate the length of the program which in turn effects what the minimum payment needs to be to bring the program to a successful conclusion, and even stay within regulatory guidelines.
So you may be saying. I thought settling ones debts was dangereous?
If you have less than 15,000 dollars of unsecured debt and you want to do a settlement program, you are in a category of the accelerated program, meaning yiou may have to do a 12 or 15 month program. By the time the fees are added in, the monthly payment can easily be over 325.00 dollars per month. Simply stated, that payment may be to high for you. So, what to do?
Well, the author of this article and American Debt Enders specialize in finding viable solutions to get you debt relief. If you are fortunate, the credit card debt or other unsecured debt may be spread over 4 or 5 cards. If it is, that is a good thing, because the lower each individual debt amount, the lower the chances of getting sued by a creditor. It is simply due to the law of diminishing returns. The lower the return to the debt collector, the less profit, and they are a business just like any other business. So that opens even wider the chances that you can successfully handle your own debt settlement program.
First, for resources you can avail yourself of to defend yourself in a creditor lawsuit if you are served a subpoena you should visit creditor lawsuit resources. If you have debts that are under one thousand dollars, the chances that you will be subpoenaed on any of those debts are greatly minimized.
So where to start. Figure out how much you can afford to put into a savings account each month. Put as much as you can into that account. This is going to be what you are going to use to settle the debts when the time comes. The real advantage to settling these debts yourself is that you are going to save a lot of money in fees, and this may allow you to get expedited settlements. Note: I would not recommend this approach if the debt load is very high, and you are expecting many subpoenas. They can come fast and furious in this case, and easily overwhelm you.
If the debts are with the original creditor when you start this self settlement program, it will take about six months for the debts to charge off and be purchased by a collector. Their original credit card issuer, will not settle with you, they are not in the business of loaning you say, 120,000 dollars only to get back 5,000 dollars, no matter how good you think your negotiating skills are.
Once the debt collectors have the debt, they will be looking for settlements. Do not jump at the first offer, and make sure you monitor the phone calls. Why? Because if they violate the FDCPA, then you can counter claim against them for one thousand dollars per occurrence. Again, you will find a great deal of more information about all things related to this topic on the ADE website.
So here is the bottom line. I could go on and on, probably write a book for you on this topic. But, the main thing is to keep it simple. If you would like to subscribe to this FREE credit counseling newsletter, simply visit: freecreditcounselingblog.com and leave your email address.
The ADE FREE DebtHelp Phone Numbers:
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Each of these numbers provides Free Counseling.
If you would like to speak to me, you can reach out to me using the contact information below. The talking is always free.
Yours Truly
Steven Ciantro
[email protected]
Consumer Advocate
American Debt Enders
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