Internet's first get-out-of-debt community - 196,000 members

07-04-2008, 08:28 AM

With the way things are I just cannot even swing the min payments anymore. My job has taken a hit and me and the wife are working night and day and just not making it. I was 2 days late on my Chase and they jacked the interest to 23% and I owe them 30k. I have gone back and fourth with them and they refuse to do anything. I owe a total of 65k in debit and at this rate it will take me 20 years to pay it off. I have a 700 credit score never late but my debit to income ratio is smoked. I tired a home equity loan but the market is bad and was declined again because my debit to ratio. At this point I see no light but to enter into a debit settlement program, I understand my credit will take a hit on the on-set but I really see no choice. I have called a few consolidation companies and was declined. The program is 36 months long, it will free us up a little and I will be debit free providing the credit card companies settle in 3 years. Does anyone have feedback on debtapp.com

pemperandgartle · 07-04-2008, 12:32 PM

TJ Tommy,

Chase is probably one of the easiest companies to settle with,at about 4 to 5 months of delinquency they will settle with you for about 40 to 50 cents on the dollar. Now, the catch here is to come up with about 15k in that time span, and not being able to obtain the equity loann it places you in a bad situation. If you enter this account into a debt settlement program you will have to pay a retainer fee, commission fee and who knows what else. Do yourself a favor get a loan how ever possible and three to four months from now you will be thanking me for the information IÂ´m giving you. Chase will settle with the client, do it!!!

Regarding the other 35k in debt, that depends who you owe the debt to. All creditors are different and have different guidelines, other companies that will offer similar settlements to clients like Chase are MBNA/BoFA, WAMU, HSBC, no need to enter these accounts in a debt settlement program you would just be giving your money away! The absolute hardest company to settle with for a client or a debt settlement company is CitiBank and all its subsidiaries. Good luck!!!!

Creditors

alias1958 · 07-04-2008, 02:19 PM

Unlike most people, I am actually finding Chase to be one of our more difficult creditors. We are not 90 days past due yet, and they are already scheduled to move my husband's account from pre-litigation to litigation next week, at which point they say they will evaluate it for a possible lawsuit. From what I've read on this site, we seem to be the exception with them though, so you might be ok trying to settle with them.

I haven't heard of debtapp.com, but before you sign up with them, be sure to check them out with the BBB. You could also try typing their name in the search box on this site and see if anything comes up.

Good luck!

mobile0311 · 07-04-2008, 03:09 PM

FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE & RESOURCE EDUCATION, INC. or debtapp.com has a pretty good reputation. They are members of the BBB but not members of TASC or USOBA. I would shop around with some other settlement companies that are members of TASC or USOBA. Here are a few I know have a excellent reputation . New Beginnings debt settlement LLC , Century Negotiations and Superior debt relief. They are all members of the BBB and TASC or USOBA. There are certainly other other good companies out there but this at least give you a starting point to shop around. I hope this helps .

07-05-2008, 06:49 AM

Thank you

Getting a loan is not a option, I have tried and tried. I really have no choice but to go through debit settlement. I know it seems like there is always a option, but I have tried with my bank and many others, my debit to ratio is so far out of line they will not even loan me the pen to fill out the application lol. I also sat on the phone with credit cards for days, they are not moving. My main thing was to see if this company was real and not a fraud.

07-05-2008, 12:25 PM

I am exactly in your same boat. I had an excellent credit score, but more debt than I could handle because of a business I had to close. I went with a debt settlement program also, and am six months into it and so far, so good. Your credit score will take a hit, but the thought of being debt free in only three years, and able to repair your credit after that, is a great light at the end of the tunnel.

vista.lee · 07-05-2008, 09:58 PM

http://www.bbbsoutheastflorida.org/B...anyID=27004468

New Beginnings debt settlement, LLC is pretty good and has a A- rating.

spatterson_40 · 07-06-2008, 07:42 AM

I too found that Chase was very difficult to deal with. They did not mess around. I was very close to going to court after only a few months I was served. I was able to set up a payment plan though to keep it out of the courts.

Anyways, if you do decide to go with a company to help you, just make sure you really research them and make sure they will do what they tell you they will do. I used one and got taken for a few thousands dollars. I would hate to see anyone else do the same.

07-06-2008, 11:07 AM

Guys please inbox me how to avoid rip-offs. I heard that we should ask everything they promise in writing but what are the important points?

07-07-2008, 09:29 AM

I want to include my credit cards but need to hold out 2 in case I have a emergency. My other question is, I have 3 American express cards. Blue, One and Gold. I am putting the Blue and One through the program, will amex shut off my gold card even if it is current and paid. The reason I ask is, I tried to use Blue and even though I have $2500.00 worth of credit, they told me my one card was 2 days late and they are all tied together. So I had to pay one in order to get access to the money left on Blue. I have done some research and feel comfortable with detapp.com. They seem to be stand up so far. It just sucks this is going down, however I am int he car business and the car business with fuel and rising costs, I have taken a major hit. Like I am making 2k a month less and just cannot keep the house and car payments going at this rate.

alias1958 · 07-07-2008, 09:41 AM

TJ, yes I'm pretty sure that American Express will cut off all of your cards if you are late on any. I had one account that was late with them and one account that had a zero balance, and one of their collection letters to me stated that if I did not bring my one account current, then all accounts would be closed to further activity.

Also, if you have a balance on your two cards that you want to hold out, I don't think you will be allowed to do that. I'm meeting with a BK attorney this week, so I'm not absolutely positive, but my understanding is that ALL debts must be listed in the BK. Also, even if you don't have a balance and you try to keep the cards, I have read that many creditors will still close your account once they find out about your BK (they routinely pull your credit report to monitor their "risk".

spatterson_40 · 07-07-2008, 12:59 PM

I would agree, when you default on one card all cards are treated as if they were defaulted on in most cases. Good luck to you. I have not heard anything about detapp.com but have you done a search on this site to see if anyone else has had any reviews on them.

alias1958 · 07-09-2008, 09:27 AM

Thomas Hanks posts are spam. Ignore them.

07-09-2008, 05:43 PM

I figured that, I did the search on detapp and checked the bbb they seem to be good. So we will see, I signed up last week and I am waiting for the welcome package. At this point, I have no choice, it sucks I worked my entire life for my credit score and now I am going to take a hit, I have learned a great lesson, if I do not have it cash, I should not be buying it.

alias1958 · 07-09-2008, 05:47 PM

Yes, that has been a hard-learned lesson for me also!

spatterson_40 · 07-10-2008, 03:52 AM

You are not alone in that lesson. I think the majority of people here, including myself, had to learn the hard way. Heck even Dave Ramsey had to learn that way too. Just remember (when you get out of the mess, and you will) how stressful it was and never go back there again. I promise not to get on my soapbox but we have all been told that the more stuff you have the more important you are. That is just not true. Good luck and keep us posted.