if i'm having trouble making payments, i can understand asking for an interest reduction, but i cannot understand why i should ask a company to forgive my debt... thats just not right...

ok, so maybe its just better to file bk and they get nothing is that right? or how about say chpt 13 were they may get very little every month for the next 6 years or so? Its a tool that even the creditors love. Its better to get something now in one lump sum than to get nothing at all or very little over a long period of time.

I dont understand your thinking guest, if you think about it usually what you charged has already been paid, its the interest and fees all piled up that is making that account drag on. so believe me most of these companies are not out of out of pocket they just may be loosing a little of thier fees. or not making quite the profit that they feel they should be.

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my blog about saving money during a recession, And my personal story about Provanta's debt settlement program and how it worked for my family

Also, bear in mind there are certain creditors out there that will not settle no matter what. If you debt settlement company cannot produce a letter that the creditor has agreed to any settlement terms then you are probably sol.

In answer to your question, I did work with them and they were good to me.

I am a current client of FDR and would not recommend them to anyone. I am only still with them because I feel I have no other choice at this point. I joined a year ago with 85k in cc debt. I am paying them 1500/month and they have settled one $6,000.00 account $4,000.00. I was sued by one of my creditors and they told me they could not settle because I did not have enough money in my account. i had paid them over $14,000.000 but it all went to fees. I am now paying a judgement Payment every month that was "worked out" by FDR's legal department. This includes all late fees, attorney and court costs that added up to much more than the original debt. This is on top of the payment I am still making to FDR. I am now being sued by another creditor and getting the same scripted answers from FDR. I feel like I made a huge mistake and now have no other options but to stick with them.

Holy crap!!!! That's a lot of money wasted. If you paid $14,000 to them they took half of it. So you had $7000 to settle with. One account down but now you have $1000 or $2000 left over. Sorry to hear that. Really.

Do you know that they are not licensed to do business anywhere and they are being sued by numerous states?

Try bankruptcy.

I did not realize they were being sued and not licensed. When I signed up they seemed like a reputable company. I honestly dont know what I can do now. I really dont want to file bankruptcy and lose everything I own. My credit mess began when we made a few late payments and they raised our interest rates to the max legal rate. Our minimum payments more than doubled and we couldnt keep up. The credit card companys wouldnt work with us so we went the debt settlement route out of desperation. What a mistake. Prior to this I had a 760 credit rating.

Well in bankruptcy you don't lose everything. You list what bills you want to be included in the bankruptcy and which ones you don't. It's that simple. Yeah your Credit score will take a hit but in a few years you have a clean slate. Safe and legal.

If you can pay $1500 a month pay that directly to the credit card companies. Debt Settlement is for people who are way into default.

But one thing is for sure. Stop paying FDR. They are ripping you off.

Think about bankruptcy though. Look into it and see if it is right for you.

I am with this company now.. I just received a 1099 from a company they pay off.. Now i owe income tax on the amount the Freedom relief pay them off with... They didn't inform me of this part of it... Now I guess I will owe IRS, because I already mail in income tax

Cottonleggs , You need to speak to a tax adviser because you might be considered insolvent. There is a IRS form 982 that might exempt you from this tax.

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I have about $50,000 in cc debt. I've spoken with FDR and credit counseling. I would like to find out would would be my best bet. Of course, we are all in this situation, but I would really appreciate anyone's input on this. Credit counseling was just too much for me to afford. Any help would be appreciated.

joestl, have you read this whole post?? and you still are interested in fdr? I would seriously think about this some more. there is more complaints on this company on this posting than i would be confortable with. But hey, its your money.

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my blog about saving money during a recession, And my personal story about Provanta's debt settlement program and how it worked for my family

yes, i have read the entire post, some parts more than once. i understand what you are saying and i'm sure i'm preaching to the choir here, but this is pretty close to a life changing decision. i've heard so many bad things not only about fdr, but also about debt relief in general. then there is the stigma surrounding bankruptcy. i just want a hug, i guess.

what is the best option, not for me, but in general. can the court or creditors take my house or car in a bankruptcy? i have heard of people, not only in this post, saying that they have had the creditors come after them in court.

The word is right, you don't have the Freedom to use credit cards and then whine about the fact that you have them. i am working with freedom and most what is written here is "Fear" and Stupidity. I owe 40K plus and in 42 months the interest is included on what you pay. At 42 payments they give you clear credit card company's. You screw up your credit to go to them, get a deal and never use credit cards again. They were available to use their money without interest if you used it correctly. Lost Obama has said, the world is more stupid than anything. Get smart and get out of debt in 42 months. Quit Whining!

I will give you a hug!!!! I know its tough and nobody is WHINING GUEST! Making a decision about your financial situation is very important. I havent told anyone that settlement is not the way to go. I myself have used settlement and used a company.

Im just concerned about this particular company.

Im not real familiar with bankruptcy but what i do understand is chapter 13 you keep your assets but have to pay some of it back in payments and you must be timely or your creditors can come after you again. Chapter 7 if eligable you get wiped clean but you loose your stuff. I could be wrong though so take this with a grain of salt. like i said i dont know much about bk.

42 months is alot of time for settlement if you ask me, your chances of getting sued are pretty high. at the longest 36 months. I chose 2 years wich worked pretty well.

either way you must do something Time is pretty important so good luck!

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my blog about saving money during a recession, And my personal story about Provanta's debt settlement program and how it worked for my family

I have been in contact with this group. Hoping to get something saying they are reputable. I found under California Department of Corporations a DESIST AND REFRAIN ORDER for violations of 4 diffrent sections. This has me mistified on how they are staying in business. This is dated May 29, 2008. Yet I see some publications dated November the same year. Can anyone help me to understand if this has been clarified? Thanx