Settlement programs the inside story

Rini_K and others like her...

First off...you want to stay out of financial trouble, pay your bills. It's that easy!!!

As to Century Negotiations, I have been in the finance/debt settlement industry for several years. They are reputable, they do work, and they'll obtain results for you. I strongly recommend, however, that you do these 3 things: 1)Research anything thoroughly before making a decision. 2)READ YOUR CONTRACT - so many individuals do NOT read the very contract that they are signing and then simply "cannot understand" why a program or service is not working the way that they thought it would be - Save some on the stupidity level and read the piece of paper you're affixing your John Hancock to. 3)Do not set unrealistic expectations.

Most likely, it took you several years to get into the size of debt that you find yourself in. And the size of this debt can vary from one individual to the other. It can take several months or years to get out of it. Yes, it can seem like you aren't getting anywhere or that the credit card companies are contacting you quite a bit. They are collectors. THAT'S WHAT THEY DO!!! Familiarize yourself with the Fair Debt Collection Protection Act. Then you'll know what the credit card companies and/or collection agencies can and cannot do. A lot of what they state over the phone ARE SCARE TACTICS. Convey those conversations back to your settlement company. Work with them. Don't just assign your debt to them and think that your responsibility towards it is over. Although, also keep in mind that you are under NO obligation to take those calls in the first place. Realize that being in a debt settlement company has NO bearing on your credit card interest rate, what the creditor can/can't do in terms of obtaining satisfaction for a debt, etc. Yes, the creditors can pursue the collection act aggressively. Yes, they can sue you. As I stated, I have been in the debt settlement business for several years. Creditors do NOT sue after several weeks. Typically suit is NOT filed except as a last resort, usually after an account has reached a severely delinquent charge-off period. It costs your original creditors money as well to flie suit as they must retain a legal entity in order to do so. The debt settlement company can still negotiate on that debt for you if suit or arbitration has been filed. Even if a judgment is obtained, most of these companies can still negotiate the debt for you. In my experience, too many clients rely largely on the "assign it and forget it" tactic. You put yourself in the situation in the first place. Step up and take some responsibility towards resolving it. Do not blame the settlement company because you waited until your debt was severely delinquent before attempting to find a solution.

In addition, I strongly urge you to remember that 9 times out of 10 the individual that is signing you up on the program is a SALESPERSON!!! They are not negotiatiors, they are not customer service reps, etc. Most salespeople will promise you the kitchen sink, the moon, and the whole caboodle. It is these individuals who widely give bad names to debt settlement companies because clients joining are so gung-ho about a "quick fix" that they fail to realize that they are going through the sales pitch.

Oh, and if any of the words are too large for you to comprehend, I suggest that you first consult a dictionary and assist yourself. Do not blame the computer for speaking in a language above you...

collector - Total Bull. Quit scaring people unneedlessly. Yes, there are disreputable companies, but if it's unsecured debt you can't lose your assets - that's why it's called UNSECURED.

well the only bad thing that we found out when settling was the tax that you have to pay when you do your taxes for that year.

I should also say that when we tried to do a debt settlement with a agency we did the math and we were better off trying to settle with the company. They didnt tell us that the amount that we did not pay to the Credit card companies we would have to claim on our taxes as income I found that out on my own when went to work for a accoutant. But we only settled with one credit card before we found out that we had to pay taxes on what we did not pay them for.

Legal Eagle- you bring some valid points up, such as checking out any agency. But I need to tell you that personal attacks will not be tolerated on the Forums.

There is no need to put another down, if what you are saying is the truth..

Legal Eagle - Spare us your judgmentalism. People's reasons for getting into financial problems aren't usually issues of moral weakness or integrity, so the "just pay your bills, it's that simple" comment was overly simplistic. If that makes you feel better, I hope you never have a catastrophic medical illness, are out of work through no fault of your own for any length of time, are victims of a scam, go through a divorce, etc., etc. Your remarks at the end were totally innapropriate. Who are you to judge people you know nothing about??

What a hot topic!

We too have gone through debt settlement and like the post before, used Sifxpert and would highly recommend him to anyone. I looked at several companies before deciding to go this route. I liked the fact that he understood that our money couldn't be going to fees--we needed it for settling our accounts. I had one company tell me that they could drag this out for five years. That's not true; we would have been sued for sure had we tried that and I know now that they had to have known that. We are still in the program but are just months from settling tens of thousands of dollars. The relief is enormous.

As far as paying taxes on what was written off: there's more to that than is here. Are you insolvent? Do you have more debt than assets? If you are and fill out the right paperwork to prove it, you won't have to pay taxes. Do the research! It's worth your time.

Hey all...I'm a suit negotiator with a debt settlement company and Legal Eagle makes a very valid point which Brian in Oregon is inccorect about. Even though card card debt (and bank loans, etc) are known as "unsecured debt", your creditors can sue you.

Typically this is a last resort, when the process of "normal collection" has not worked. It is, however, a very serious matter. About 99.9% of the time, your debt settlement company's legal dept can resolve this files for you. It is important to know that if an account goes without any resolution, that several things can occur. Now, these things (enforcements of judgment) are dependent upon which state you reside in. For example, Texas and Florida are "debt friendly" states. It takes quite a lot to enforce a judgment in these states. Other states, such as New York and Ohio, however, are very aggressive about debt collection. If you find yourself having suit filed against you or an arbitration complaint, consult the laws in your state regarding enforcements (wage garnishment, bank levy/attachment, property lien, fifa, etc.) Not all are do-able in all states, but if you find yourself in that situation, do the research!!! You'll save yourself a boat load of worry and anxiety if you research everything up front!!! Feel free to post other questions you may have about the collection/resolution process. I check this forum out periodically and being in the business, I'm happy to pass my knowledge on if it helps another.

Suit Negotiator - thanks for those tips. You sound like you know your stuff. Please contribute more tips for those of us in need

hi Suit Negotiator. I just signed with Credit One debt solutions. I live in VA and have 8 credit cards all less than 30 days past due. I am doing a settlement and was wondering how the settlement co decides which credit card co gets their money first. What does the cc co thats last to be paid do in the mean time? My plan is for 3 yrss. thanks!

Hi stray cat-if you've just started the debt settlement program, then the funds available are probably limited. Most likely, your settlement co is starting with the smallest 1 first. From there, it could go in many directions. Negotiations and settlements are dependent upon how aggressive your creditors are. For example, Cap One, Bank of America, Disc, HSBC...those are all more aggressive. As your funds accumulate, you'll find that settlements go 1 of 2 ways: 1)How aggressive your creditor is being in wanting their money and/or 2)What is the best deal that your settlement co can get for you. For example, if you have a BOA card around $4500 and your settlement company can settle it for $2000 and the funds are available to do as a lump sum or even in parts, they will take that settlement for you...even if there is a smaller acct on the program.

Let me know if you have other questions and best of luck!!

thanks Suit Negotiator! That info really helps. I actually got my first call since not making cc pymts. It was from HSBC and I told them I was trying to avoid BK and was doing a debt settlement. She immediately offered a 60% settlement. I didnt accept it since I was tld not to accept anything without going through the debt settlement co first. I was very surprised how nice the lady was and how quickly she offered a settlement.

'Guest: I am not quite sure where you got your information, but, as a former customer of CNI, your money is put into a kind of "escrow" account. Noteworld holds your money for a $50 monthly fee. Yes, you do pay CNI up front for doing all the work and Noteworld gets their cut too. But did you really expect them to do it for free? They settled two cc''s for me, well under the balance of each but the last CC was unwilling to settle under any terms. In a matter of two years they had 5 different attorneys or collection companies so it made negotiation very difficult. I had to drop out of the program when papers were filed for court. I now have an attorney working on the case. Wish me luck!')

I'm sure there may be a few reputable settlement companies out there, but trying to wade thru all off the scams to find them just doesn't seem worth it.

I got burned by two, which I had thoroughly checked out. I even checked the second company out with their state's AG office, BBB, etc., and they a good record, but still turned out to be just like the rest, and only now are the complaints starting to surface.

Anyway, it is possible to settle debts on your own. I was made to believe that only debt negotiators could successfully accomplish this, but later learned that isn't true. Sure, there may be some creditors who state they will not settle, so you just tell them you are moving on to another creditor who will. They want some money, so they are usually more willing to talk.

I was able to settle 2 of my debts for less than the settlement company quoted me they negotiated settlements for, so I felt really stupid for even wasting my time and money going the settlement route to begin with.

Hi Medusa-
Shame an account went legal - those creditors can be rough. CNI may not have attorneys on staff, but they can negotiate those legal accounts for you. As to the NoteWorld fee - that amount differs dependent upon the company you first signed up with. For example, were you a Pacific Debt client or Federal debt relief client? Those are different companies that "sell" a debt settlement program and then direct their clients to CNI to negotiate the debts. That's where a lot of the miscommunication comes from - because those initial companies only sell you the program. They do none of the actual negotiating or servicing of the account. I've heard a wide range of information that they provide - seems like they try to sell you everything and the kitchen sink to get you to sign up.

Anyways, good luck with everything!

hi everyone,
i signed up with global solution network llc and century negotiations inc almost one year ago. they promised me to pay off my credit cards (i have 2) in two years. i would have to pay $320 every months for two years.
a few weeks ago one of my credit cards started to call trying to collect dept. i told them that i am working with century negotiations inc. so to make my story short, century negotiations had never contacted my credit cards. so i called them to find out what was going on. they told me that they are collecting my payments so when they will have enough then they will contact my creditors to make a deal. honestly, i could do it myself. the representative told me that it, actually, might take more than two years to pay off my cards. and when i read contract more carefully it said that "cni makes no predictions, promises, or representations as to the outcome of fits services.....to reduce or eliminate client's dept... result may vary." however, when we talked they told me that in 2 years my credit cards will be paid off.
meanwhile, this will be the second year i will not see my tax return. i would already pay off my credit card by myself.
i have 3 credit cards (about $7,000 together). i stopped paying them because my daughter was diagnosed with cancer and couldn't handle it.
please help me, anybody! i need an advise. i don't know what to do.