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My experience with debt settlement--A must read!!!!

Date: Fri, 08/04/2006 - 22:32

Submitted by anonymous
on Fri, 08/04/2006 - 22:32

Posts: 202330 Credits: [Donate]

Total Replies: 13


Hey everybody. I am so happy to be writing this to you with all my debt problems almost behind me!!! I have been a stalker :) forever and I am finally on my way to having my debt resolved. I started off with almost 75k because of a long a tiring divorce that left me pissed off and broke. What else is new, right? In any case, I had contacted a bunch of debt consolidation companies and even talked to a bankruptcy attorney. I'm so glad that my friend persuaded me to do something else. I looked around for a while and found something called debt settlement. I wasn't sure what it was or how it could help, so I read a lot and contacted at least 10 companies. To be honest, one of them was so rude that I was about to give up my search all together. My income is good and most of them told me that I could settle my debt anywhere from 42-48 months with a payment of $1,000 per month :shock: . Even though my income is okay, I have 2 kids and a huge mortgage that drowns my check every month. I then heard a radio commercial for a company called forgetadebt.com that claimed to have a way to settle debt using a new approach. As versed as I was in settlement, I figured i'd give them a call and ask them a few questions about the success rate, the pay-off amount, their fees, and even the collection calls! Instead of negotiating with the creditors, they claimed that they would file a report that would present my financial abilitity (or inability :roll: in my case) to the different banks I had. It seemed like a logical approach and they sent the report to them and then to me within the first month or so. What actually me persuaded from going with one of the other settlement companies was the fact that they would take money without pretty much doing any work. I was happy to hear that these guys would work for me from day one, even though I still wasn't sure about the total percentage I would pay. They told me that I should tell them what I could reasonably afford after all my expenses were deducted from my income, which ended being $705. That seemed like an incredibly low number and I was surprised that it was almost $300 less than what the other comapnies were quoting me. I could not believe it was even possible. But then my counselor told me that I cannot do something that I don't have and that the number was perfectly feasible for my income. But wouldn't I have to pay them for 70 months then?????? if my payment was so much lower. He said that I would NOT have to pay for more than 45 months in this case. I was so delighted to hear this that I almost jumped out of my seat!!! This is exactly what I needed because it was on my budget and not some crazy average that other comapnies were telling me about. He also told me that I may expect calls, but that they have procedures to reduce the calls with certain banks because they act right away. He also told me that they would only enroll me in the program if I really wanted to pay my banks back. I told him that I absolutely did, but that I couldn't do the payments they asked of me. He said that he understood and that he would be my representative for the entire program in submitting reports and answering creditor inquiries. I was also happy to hear that they would send me information to establish a third-party bank account in which to store my monthly payments. This was actually a handy feature because I could call, check online, or even receive statements from the bank storing my money. He also made it clear to me that the majority of their fees would not be taken before the settlements had been accepted by me and the money been paid to the creditors through my authorization. I liked that they got their share during the course of the program only when my debt actually went down and not when my debt was going up!

Progress so far:
I cannot be happier with the results of the accounts we have settled thus far. Two accounts, Citibank and Discover Card, and have been paid in full and we are close to getting something from a collection agency finalized. What's funny is that even though I knew ahead of time of what to expect, I was still surprised when the banks actually settled. What I feared the most was the collection calls that I figured would happen all them time. Either I was lucky or touched by God, but I really didn;t have many calls at all. My counselor told me that this was probably because the banks have begun to change their policies to make things easier for legitimate settlement companies. He also told me that they would send a schedule of times when the creditors should expect payments from me and that I could stay on top of that schedule and inform them of any changes in my finances that may affect that schedule. He said that it is important that I stay proactive and make sure that everything is going to schedule. I really haven't even spoken to them recently, except when he called me to check-up on my budget for July and if I had any questions about were my banks were saying. It was nice to hear from somebody that actually cared without me calling them a million times to get answers. This had been a wonderful experience for me thus far, but I still have to finish what I have set out to do. I hope my experience can help everybody make the right decision about any debt program they choose. Forgetadebt.com has helped me, but who know, maybe there are other caring and smart people that do this. If you get anything out of this LOOOONNNNGGGG post, it is that perseverance and patience will help God lead us to the right decision. Thanks guys!!!!!

Jamie


hey yall. mike, we have settled on the first few accounts for under the 41.8% percent that we had initially discussed. I new that some would go for less than others in the beginning, but I think they were around 32% or so. I'm not sure if we're going to get a higher amount in the future, but my counselor told me that lower amounts in the first half of the program should be expected and higher amounts later as well. As far as paying taxes, I spoke to a tax consultant that had me being insolvent to almost the value of my debt (credit cards, mortgage, etc.). I'd be surprised if I have to pay anything as far as taxes on the debt are concerned she said. By the way, i've been in the program for 10 months now and i'll keep you guys updated as other accounts get settled.


lrhall41

Submitted by on Sat, 08/05/2006 - 08:01

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Hi Jamie, what a great story. Thanks for sharing. I'm in a similar situation....tough divorce, three kids, huge mortgage, about $90K of credit debt, good income, and looking for a way out to start fresh. I have talked with a few settlement companies and have just been really concerned about getting taken into court by the creditors. Have you talked with Superior Debt Services or Credit Solutions? Just curious as these are the two companies I have been talking with. I don't want to make any mistakes....can't afford to....literally. Thanks, Al


lrhall41

Submitted by Slapshot066 on Sun, 08/06/2006 - 09:34

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Hi there Slapshot. It sounds like you're facing some of the same things I was as well. I'm praying that everything works out for you. To answer your question, I only talked to Credit Solutions through a recommendation from a co-worker who had talked to them and felt it may be right for me. I thought they seemed nice when explaining the program, but when I told them that I needed to think about it, they called me more than a dozen times in the next few days. I was a little hesisitant about how they charged their fees, but they claimed that it was within the 'market' price. This really made me uncomfortable because I did not want to pay a good chunk to them without them settling my accounts. If they didn't settle, I would have more credit card debt and be out a lot of money to them. That didn't sound right for me b/c I have two kids and there's no way that I can make a gamble like that at this point and risk further problems. I can feel your worries aboout lawsuits because I was scared of the same thing since the creditors don't get paid for some time. in my case it was a risk I was willing to take because I had just refinanced and my counselor reassured me that there was little that they could do to me because I was genuine about my situation. He also told me that contacting them right away and sending them the report would help the situation. In the case of them taking me to court, God forbid, I will at least have proof that I did my best to pay them back. All of these various things made me very comfortable with my counselor and their settlement process. I don't have any experience with Superior Debt, but from what other people have said here, they are supposed to be good at negotiating with the creditors. I spoke to 5 or 6 companies that do the same thing and I just didn't think that the stress and anxiety :( associated with not knowing anything until much later was worth it.


lrhall41

Submitted by on Sun, 08/06/2006 - 12:48

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Wow!!! My kid scored a home runner, his first one ever! Yay!!! :D I can't believe how long it's been since I've gone to the ballpark and really enjoyed the game without worrying about how I would pay for the food this week. I just can't explain how much pressue has been taken from my shoulders. I hope everything work out for you as well Al because it sounds like you're just in the same boat I was almost a year ago. I promise you that things will get better :!: I was also worried about lawsuits, but my counselor reassured me that acting with the reports right away would help and that I also had evidence for court if ever needed it. I don't about superior debt, but when I spoke to credit solutions, i didn't like the fact that their fees were so high and that they were going to charge me regardless of whether the accounts were being settled. when i told them this, the guy left me at least 3 messages telling me that the price was reasonable. Even if the cost was 'reasonable,' why would they be charging every month even if my accounts weren't settled? I have enough worries and i just didn't feel comfortable with their approach. If the banks didn't settle, I would be comletely out of luck. Even doing it with FAD was a risk for me because i had never done anything like it before, but at least they acted right away and would charge me for the actual settlement after it was completed and my banks been paid. I liked that they were knowledgeable about how banks work and actually wanted to get the banks on my side. The last thing I need in my age is more probkems and it seemed like they were best able to handle them for me. My suggestion for you Al is to use a company that makes sense to you and knows what they're doing. Look around and i'm sure that as my son says, you'll find the glove that fits your hand :) Jamie


lrhall41

Submitted by on Sun, 08/06/2006 - 13:35

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Hi,Jamie thanks for sharing. Pls update us with your progress if possible. I also considering DS but not sure which co to choose too many of them online. I have heard abt Debtxpert.com fr this forum but the co. rating is F on the bbb.org and forgetadebt is not a member of bbb.org. Both of them do not have any logo for accredited or member of any association in their wesite.
Anyway did your cr cards have to be default when u start the DS, did u pay the fee upfront or spread? i couldn't find the answer in their FAQ website. And what kind of report u mentioned that u prepared in case the creditor sue? Thanks a lot !!


lrhall41

Submitted by cutiebear112 on Thu, 01/03/2008 - 10:47

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I have to disagree with the above post. I thought I could handle debt settlement on my own but once it came down to settlements, I manged to settle 3 accounts for reasonable amounts. My problem was chase. I had a 25k account and another for 18. I took the advice that after 150 days delinquent I could settle for approx 35-40%. To my surprise, I called thinking the accounts were ready to settle but the rep referred me to a litigation dept. I consider myself a fairly intelligent person and did my reading on how to overcome this obstacle. I even spoke directly with a negotiator who I am certain gave the best advice possible but still no luck. I was looking at a settlement of 80% which would have wiped me out leaving 5 accounts still to settle but since I liquidated everything I had, I was thinking bankruptcy was my only option. I then contacted a negotiator I read about here on the forums who went over the accounts I settled and evaluated my situation. His plan was to stop the settlements I had done on my own which was a debt with Bank of America for $47,000.00 which I settled for 35%. He managed to settle the account again for 15% which freed up about $10000.00 extra. I settled for $16,450.00 and the negotiator settled for $7050.00 and since I made 1 installment already, it was actually applied to the settlement. That was great but still I had a fair amount left to settle which an 80% settlement with Chase would have still drained me and left 3 accounts to settle total $35000.00. After only 3 days, the Chase settlement went from 80% to 40%. He settled the remaining accounts I had left, I paid his fees and still had $12000.00 to put back into my 401k.

So, I am sorry to say that without having first hand knowledge and well established contacts with the banks you are dealing with then you simply will not have the same success. I will say that anyone can settle an account indeed as some of the settlements I had done were initiated by the banks. They all settle but for different amounts. I know for someone with $20,000.00 dollars in debt there is not a great deal to lose when the difference in a 40% settlement and an 80% settlement on a $5000.00 account is not the same as a $47000.00 account. From the beginning, I thought to myself that if I am quoted 40% settlements from a negotiator, and I settle for 50-55% on every account, then I would come out on top not having to pay a fee to a company to handle for me. What happened in my case was a miracle because if I chose a different company, I know I would not have had the same results. I am sure many people are doing settlements on their own and having great success. I am sure those who chose against working with a company did so out of fear of being ripped off or getting sued which is exactly the reason I opted against it but if you are smart and read the forums you will find out who the good and the bad ones are if hiring someone is necessary. I would post the name of the company I used but apparently it is against forum rules.


lrhall41

Submitted by on Sun, 02/17/2008 - 22:48

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I have diffrent experience on Sifxpert. He is my current settling agent. He is very hard to reach by phone. But he is reasonably accesible by email. He settled my Chase account which was on the way to litigation for 35%. In past, I posted some negative things about him because his lack of communication and clerical mistakes, but at the end, he deliverd what he promised of...pre-charge off Settlements of Advanta, Bo America and Chase. And Amex and Citi on the way to settle. I am on his program for just more than 2 month now, but I am down from 130K to 70k and 40k on the way to settle. I sleep better becase him and phone rings don't depress and scare me any more.

Scott


lrhall41

Submitted by on Mon, 04/07/2008 - 06:52

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