johnson law vs care one
Date: Sat, 03/14/2009 - 16:58
Hi Decapuaj, No creditor that I have ever heard of will stop
Hi Decapuaj,
No creditor that I have ever heard of will stop interest from accumulating unless you are in a hardship program with them (the original creditor, not the collection agency) and their hardship program offers an interest rate freeze. They may offer you a good settlement that in effect erases all accrued interest and other charges, but they will still continue to apply them until the account is paid off to their satisfaction. And Debt Management, which is a negotiation for lowered interest rate, is only applicable to accounts that are paid up and on time. The hardship program also usually requires that you be on time with your payments.
No settlement company can stop a creditor from taking you to court, in fact the creditor may be more willing to expedite that process if you hire a debt settlement company. I don't know of *any* that would help you through the process nor represent you in court. They will most likely just drop the ball and leave you hanging.
Basically, all a settlement company can do is make a collection agency cease and desist contact with you, write letters, negotiate settlements, and pay off the settlement. All for a handsome fee. And all you can easily do on your own, keeping that handsome fee and applying it to your debts. All you need is some tight budgeting and some self control enough to stash aside as much money as possible to make any settlement payments with.
But yeah, good settlements are generally in a lump sum, or 3 payments at most - rarely, but sometimes more payments.
Care One has an A rating with the BBB, even though they have had quite a few complaints (68 since 2002), the BBB felt that they were addressed properly.
However, Johnson Law Group has an F rating, even though they have half the complaints (34) they have only been around for 2 years.
Hope this helps,
chrys
I am using CareOne. They pull out of my checking and distribute
I am using CareOne. They pull out of my checking and distribute. I have not used them for settling accounts. I think they are doing fine. I have no complaints. The cost 2 me for services is $30 monthly.
