Do I need to hire a company?

Hello!
Many months ago I used a settlement company that cost me $3000. Although I learned a bit from that company, I have learned so much more just from reading posts on this site and asking questions. I am now completely on my own and I have settled with BofA (17%) AmEx (55%) and I am waiting to get the final okay from Chase (30%). You absolutely can do this yourself. I would strongly suggest that you google the company Zip Debt. It is a do-it-yourself program that is about $400 (I think) and just reading through the FAQs and blogs on the site is educational. The approach is exactly what you need to be successful. I wish I would have found that website before I shelled out $3K. Oh well live and learn.

Debt settlement can be a stressful journey but if you learn the ins and outs before you stop paying your creditors you will be in a very good position, and will know what to expect. Whatever you do, DO NOT tell your creditors that you are looking to get into a debt settlement program or are saving funds so that you can settle with them in the near future. That is a sure fire way to lead your account down the path of litigation.

You can do this. Typically a good rule of thumb is if you can save 50% of your total debt within 12-18 months, you are an excellent candidate for debt settlement.
Good luck!

This is a big debate amoung the community but we all do agree that you DONT need a company. But there are pros and cons to each of them. It is which is better that we all differ in opinion.

But when it comes down to it, it depends on the person. I will break down the big differences for you so you can make a decision based on you.

on your own:
1. CHEAPER by far.
2. your in control of the hole works, you negotiate, you save for yourself, you know were your accounts are and you know exactly what is going on with each account
3. your completely in control of the situation
4. But you are alone in it
5. you will need to know some legal stuff(all of which you can find on this site) So that you know what your talking about and be able to see through thier lies. They will say anything even threaten you illegally. If you know the facts you will know the bs they are trying to feed you and you can call them upon it.

company
1. pretty much hand the bills over to them they deal with it for you
2.Costs you fees
3. they try to elliminate the calls to your home(you will still get a few, but are told not to engage with them)
4. They do this every day they know the ins and outs and the laws
5. They set you up on a payment plan that they will require you to stick to. they will help you if you do get into a bind though.


This is just the tip of the iceburg there are more but you get the big points anyhow. Do it yourself or use a company is apersonal choice that will best fit your needs. The way you go about it will depend on what you are most comfortable with.

just keep in mind that if you do use a company do your research and homework to besure you are using a good company.

Love My Things makes a good point on that these companies do it day in and day out and understand the thresholds of creditors and collection agencies as to how low their settlements can be reached. More importantly I think is time - there does have to be some sort of commitment on your part to tackle, haggle and research the subject. However w/ all the said, thousands of people successfully do it on their own.

I started with almost $70,000 on credit cards and signed up with a debt settlement program because I felt overwhelmed and felt having a settlement company would make it "easier". In some respects it is easier to just pass on the collection letters and not deal with it directly. But I wish I would have found this site before I started this whole process.

I was with the debt settlement company from May-December paying $4,200 in fees to them during that time. I would have been paying fees through this Nov if I had not canceled for an additional $3,500 or so.

Bottom line they can take a little pressure off since they do the negotiations but in the end I still received many many collection calls, was sued twice and ended up with one judgment against me while in the program. So being in an actual program really didn't make it easier.

They settled 3 of my 13 accounts when I was in the program. I have two left to settle but I've done the rest. If I wouldn't have paid the $4,200 in fees to them I could have settled one and possibly both of my two remaining accounts!

I strongly suggest your research into doing it yourself. Remember, you can send your settlement offers through the mail so you don't have to get on the phone and be harassed if the CA's are giving you a hard time.

I'm also not sure if the debt settlement company I was with was very aggressive with sending out DV letters. Something I didn't really understand until I starting spending time on this site.

Anyway, you are in a better position than I was when I started. You have at least found this site before you make your decision!

Knowing what I do now I wouldn't use a debt settlement company. I'd try to save as much as I could, once accounts would get close to 150 days without payment I'd call the OC and try to work out as many settlements as I could.

For those that I couldn't work out I'd wait until they were charged off and went to CA's. Once with CA's I'd answer the phone when they call. Tell them to send the dunning letter they need to send within 5 days of first talking to me.

Once I receive that I'd send the DV letter. For those that validate I'd continue to work out settlements with the money I'd continue to be saving during this time.

You really can do it yourself and use the money you would pay in fees to put towards settlements. Good luck!

i think alot depends on the settlement company as to how they deal with the creditors. Like you said maybe if they avoid calls for to long or are rude, they may be more likely to get sued.

I was in a 2 year program and got sued at the end of the 2 years by citibank who completely would not settle even a little. But i had some very hard creditors to deal with. Discover,citibank,household,chase, you get the idea some of the bigger ones. and all of them settled and i got very little calls. None in the beginning and a pick up around month 6 and by the end of the year none again. So maybe it depends on if the settlement company keeps in constant contact with them