Debt Settlement - length before law suits, HELP!

Hello All,

I'm seriously considering debt settlement, but I would have to go over 3yrs. How do they keep things going for that length of time w/o charge-offs.

Is it simply that you've hired the settlement company that they know at some point they'll get something out of you?

I'm trying to figure out if this is feasible or not. I'd hate to get 2 years into a plan and then be forced into ch13 because of a law suit.

HELP!

You can be sued if you are doing settlement on your own, as well, so it's not the fault of the settlement company. The way it works, is as your funds build up in your settlement acccount, the accounts are settled one by one as they are negotiated. Some creditors will become impatient. I received a summons from Advanta nine months into my program and the settlement company couldn't help me because my funds at that time were committed to paying off two Bank of America accounts. HOWEVER, the summons came with an alternative, a pretty good settlement offer. I took it, but had to do it outside of the program and had to borrow money from a relative to make the two payments required. I think you have less chance of being sued if you have a lesser amount of creditors you are dealing with (I have nine) and trying to juggle. Also, you most definitely WILL have charge-offs in a 3-year program. The accounts will be sent to collection agencies, and many of them are not nice. Others are willing to work with you when they do find out you are in a settlement program, because they know that they will get their funds within that 36-month period instead of waiting for years. It all depends on each creditor. A lot of people never receive ANY lawsuits, and some get several. If you do get a summons though, they almost always offer an alternative settlement, if you communicate with them. debt settlements are definitely not for the faint-hearted. But it is a great alternative to bankruptcy if you have no other options.

What do you do if/when it goes to court? nervous out of my wits!!