Debt consolidation vs debt settlement - Which is better for you?

that depends on which program you are looking at

hi nelly i am frm india.i dont find any debt consolidation company in india.can u help me.i owe debt for indian rupees 2 lakhs.

Hi,
I am a retired teacher (25years) I receive a pention each month of 2000 dollars and I rent a room in my house for 500 dollars a month. I was also self employed as an artist painting murals and signs as well as printing up ads for local business or groups in the area. But I am about to under go back surgery in the next week as I was injured in a car accident which has left me unable to do the work I was doing to suppliment my income. The surgery I am having done on my back is suppose to get me back to work and take away the constant pain. I do not have health insurance. I am unable to keep up with my bills because I am waiting on a settlement to pay for my huge medical expenses, which I have had to pay out of pocket for a lot of these expenses. I have depleted my savings and lived off my credit cards much more than I ever intended. If I can not work something out soon I will consider going bankrupt. Of course, I'd rather not do this. I own my home. I have about $20,000.00 in credit card debt that I need to get out from under. These card are not too far behind on payments I have kept up on them until the last month. I don't see me being able to pay them for at least six weeks. I will need that time to recover from surgery. Do you do debt Settlement? Are you a member of TASC?
What are your fees?

take out a second mortgage and consoolidate your credit card debt into one debt, and never ever use the "cc" word again exept when you are selling cc's for a part time job in which you are getting paid to use credit card sells as a second income in paying off the accumulated debts. You can use the cc word again when warning church members and people who respect you about the dangers of ccs, and the consequences of ccs.

Never touch a cc again!
Never vicitmize yourself with a cc again!
Never say that you will never have another cc...just vomit every time it crosses your mind.

Anthony, you're a pseudo-expert just trying to sell your field and services. First of all, your math is wrong. Using your example, $10,000 debt at 15% interest and payments of $350 every month means that debt is done in 28 months, with interest paid of $1,715. Real pros know how to use a financial calculator. Secondly, NO debt settlement company can guarantee a settlement nor can they prevent a client from being sued. You're making assumptions about scenarios that are based on goals, not fact. You CANNOT guarantee that a client will be "debt-free in 23 months" because you don't know what lender will settle for what, or if they will in fact settle at all. You and I both know you've had clients who were sued after they signed up with you. I can tell you for a fact that every banker will look at a CCC in a better light than a 120 day plus late, which is what will be posted if a debtor goes with a DS. You talk about clients being arrogant but the truth is they're rightfully worried about their financial well-being. Arrogance in this case comes from those who dismiss the concerns of people who are desperate and searching for real help.

Could you please explain what type of fee is involved when you use a Debt Relief agency?

I am just starting this process and would like to know what steps that I have to take in order to start clearing out my debt? I want to buy a house. At this point, I can barely rent an apartment!

i just had a person call me with 60k of debt claiming consolidation will take care of the debt at 500 a month for 10 years. this is very crazy to me, for the next 10 years of some ones life they will be paying 500 a month. and that doesnt included fees.
with debt settlement they will save you not only money off the original balance but it will be a fraction of the time, more like 2-4 years depending if you come up with extra funds or not for awesome settlements.
People need to find an HONEST AFFORDABLE place to help with debt.
i dont believe all people are qualified for debt settlement but most are, to avoid BK! especially the fact that BK will still make you pay your debts eventually, whats the point ?
debt consolidation has a 90% failure rate because usually the outcome is for the companies.

WTF im sorry about my language but HONESTLY this is the worst point of advise you can come upon, if you have an already good mortgage that you can live upon working at mcdonalds DO NOT mess with that, leave it be PLEASE. dont refi, dont doing anything with your home. your home is your place to stay and hopefully to keep.
my girlfriend had a mortgage that was 1k a month with a 30 year fixed on a very very nice house, she refied it to pull the money out to not only pay off her debt but to buy a new rental which didnt work. needless to say her mortgage is now 3k a month and she can not pay the mortgage.
Please leave your Mortgages alone.

when inquiring about a settlement, how much can one settle for if the is BALANCE of 1,143. 23

I would start out small and offer a 10% settlement. All they can say is no. Keep in mind the collection agencies buy your debt for a fraction of the cost, sometimes as low as 5 cents on the dollar, but typically closer to 15 to 20 cents on the dollar. They want to double their money in most cases unless the statute of limitations is nearing that 7 year mark because at that point you can have it removed.

Start small and work your way up, thats the best way to go about it

How old is the debt? Is it still with the original creditor or is it in collections. This will depend on what they would be willing to take. If you have the money available, and you wanted to just be done with it, be prepared to offer around .40 ctd. You can continue to wait it out and offer smaller amounts but it most likely will take a while. If the debt is fairly fresh - the creditor can wait. It's not a huge recovery for them. When you do reach a settlement agreement, get it in writing first - make sure it states the original creditor, the account number - the current balance and the settlement amount - have the letter state that upon receipt of the payment, the account will be considered satisfied. DO NOT give then ACH authorization for the payment - you can do a check by phone (if it is a one time payment) or send it out in certified funds. Do not make any "token payments" while you are negotiating. Hope this helps....

Johna - I think your main priority right now is to recover from surgery and see where you stand. Although you own a house - it doesn't mean that you would lose it in a BK. It depends on the State you live in. You are also most likely, going to have some big bills from your surgery and physical therapy. Explain to your cc companies about the surgery and if you can't make the payments right now, you can't make the payments. You are going to need money to settle your debts (either on your own or though a company) so you will need to have steady income coming in before you could start any program or self saving. Let me know what happens after surgery and I can give you some ideas. Good luck

Why haven't you just googled the Debt management guys? Their calls are free and their attorneys have a great relationship with TASC and USOBA. They do more than just debt settlement. Some of their debt management plans have 0% rates.

any individual could still contact their creditor directly and get the 0% payback - they offer this directly all the time, all you have to do is ask. If you are having a financial hardship and can no longer make your required payments, and you are already behind on your payments (about 180 days or so) - the banks will offer a couple of different programs (in general) - they will offer you a settlement of about .60 to .40ctd (which you can negotiate down if you have the funds available) - if you can't settle; then you could work out a 0% payment plan (interest and penalties would stop and you would pay the entire balance) but, they will usually require that you pay this over no more than a 60 month period or they could offer you a freeze for a 12 month period. The banks will always start with offers that makes them the most money. SO - If you want to stop the calls and get some breathing room while you are working on saving your money so you can eventually settle - help prevent the debt from going to collections or to litigation - ask the creditor if they would be willing to freeze the balance and allow payments over a 60 month period. You can always go back and settle for less when you have the ability to. This strategy isn't the end all cure all - it's just one that you can employ if you feel that is would help your situation out.