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MonchoVia

Where can a consumer access statistics on a debt settlement companies positive and negative settlement data??

Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:52 pm Subject:

Not all companies provide this information and those that do will likely only show you their best settlements, which is understandable. I believe the typical debt settlements are in the 35% to 40% range, although it's not unheard of for companies to negotiate less than that or sometimes settle for a higher percentage when a creditor starts legal action or is being difficult in other ways.

I did a quick search and found a few companies that publish settlement stats and actual letters:

http://www.debtshield.com/debtsettlementsolutions/settlementletters.ht ml and http://www.debtshield.com/debtsettlementsolutions/settlements.html (they include stats and scans of the actual settlement letters)

http://www.cleardebtsolution.com/debt-settlement-agreements.php (I like that they include the number of months it took to reach the settlement)

http://www.curadebt.com/settlements/default.asp (At first, I thought the links went to scans of the letters, but they don't... they just go to duplicates of the same page)

http://www.cleardebtresults.com/DebtSettlement/SettlementLetters/tabid /146/Default.aspx (scans, but no table of stats that I could find and you have to click a couple of times to see the actual letter)

http://www.debt-settlement-inc.com/Debt-Settlement-Letters.asp (appears to be a law firm)

Besides getting some answers on their performance, you should make sure the company is a member of TASC and/or USOBA (The Association of Settlement Companies and US Organization for Bankruptcy Alternatives). These two organizations work to maintain an ethical settlement industry, so membership in them would be high on my list.

I would trust stats that are backed up with scans of actual settlement letters over just stats by themselves. The information on these pages should give you an idea of what types of settlements different companies are securing for their clients (and therefore an idea of the industry stats/averages).

As far as "negative" results, if you want to see if the company has some negative reports, check with the BBB (http://www.bbb.org) to see if they receives a lot of complaints and if the company works to resolve the complaints they do receive.

I hope this helps.

Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 1:03 pm Subject:

jjanney is dead on correct. Be sure they are either members of TASC or USOBA and make sure they have good reputation with the BBB and you will be good to go.

In Debt · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 4:44 pm Subject: Setttlement Companies

I am not a debt settlement company but I settled my own debt by waiting until about 120 days - telling them my hardship and making a 35%-50% offer - I settled:

BOA 38%
Discover 50%
Chase 45%
Citi 38%

So you can do it yourself if you have funds available and have a true hardship.

Bman · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 7:30 am Subject: Question about negotiating own debts

Hi everyone, I do believe I can negotiate my own debts, but how do I pay off the debts each credit card company? Do you have to get a loan or make payments to each company?

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 7:39 am Subject:

Noramally, if you are trying to negotiate for a lower settlement amount, you need to have funds available to pay them in a lump sum payment. This means that you would need to save up until you have the funds available to offer as a settlement (or to accept their settlement offer if they give one). If you have the ability to obtain a loan, then I doubt that most credit card companies would consider that you have a true hardship.

Bman · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 7:45 am Subject: more

Thanks for the quick reply! So I would guess I will have to deal with a company like New Beginings or Century Negotiations since I owe so much money. I will need a 3 to 4 yr loan. I guess I will have to start making phone calls. I did talk to Fairhaven Law Group yesterday since I'm in CA, but I will stay clear of them since I've read their bad reviews. Any good places in CA??

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