"Do It Yourself"

bluestar bluebeach,

Simply google the words do it yourself debt settlement and you will have enough information to read about.

Welcome to the Community :D If you will look toward the top of the page, under the green headings-there is a section for the Do It Yourself. Alot of others here have done this and will be happy to help you along the wasy..Good Luck..karen

You can achieve debt settlement with your unsecured debt yourself, but in my opinion most people are better off concentrating their efforts on positive actions that will improve their financial situation. It is true that you get more of what you conetrate on. In addition, you may not be able to negotiate the best possible settlement yourslef if you don't know the laws in your state and have the experiience needed. The fee that you pay to an attorney supervised debt settlement company could be well worth your peace of mind and your ultimate outcome. If you still want to do it yourself, many companies will offer free advice and you should familiarize yourself with the Fair Credit Billing, the Fair Credit Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

If you hire a settlement co. you will still have the risk of being sued and you will have to pay them 15% of your debt. I can make a lot of phone calls for that amount of money. It will take some time and you will need to do certain things, but all the info is right here if you spend the time on it. Nobody cares more about your money than you and you will know exactly what is going on.

At times (most of it, to be exact), I just want to 'get things over with' and REALLY think about going through a Debt Consolidation Co. I've called a few. Everything sounds good until they tell me (..at just about the end of the call, I'll add..) there is sime kind of "fee" I would have to pay, ON TOP of the payments. So,...........this leans me MORE toward trying to do things myself. "Where to start?"..I think is the most difficult question.

Dear sdchargers, T
There are debt settlement companies that do not charge a fee on top of your monthly payment. Be careful of companies that advertise a low rate, but add monthly maintenance fees and other fees, it is often much more then it first appears when you add it all up. A flat percentage rate is the most straight forward.

Also, there is a big difference between debt settlement and debt consolidation. Debt settlement reduces your principal debt., Debt consolidation only reduces your interest rate and possibly late fees. So, the amount you must pay back with debt consolidation is much more then with debt settlement. Both adversly affect your credit, but since debt consolidation is a much longer program it also affects your credit for a much longer time period. Debt settlement is only for people who can not pay back their debts as agreed, due to their financial circumstances. It is not for everyone...and is not for people who just want to save money.

Too bad you're only here to drum up business, Stewart

Ultimately you/we need to take responsibility and rely on ourselves, even if we hire a company to work and/or negotiate on our behalf.
So even if you feel confident you have done enough research and know what you are doing to move forward, definitely call several companies and grill them on what they can specifically do and what the specific costs are.

Might seem obvious, but sometimes its hard to think clearly and sequentially when you are under pressure.

I had a bankruptcy some years ago and I spoke to several lawyers, and got a different opinion and a different rate from almost every one of them.

After you call enough of these companies, it will be a lot clearer what the best options are and which companies would actually be of value in the process.

I've been living solely with prepaid credit cards for over a year. I found that creating an actual, written budget, and being able to communicate with my wife about money more pragmatically, has made the situation a lot easier to manage. :-)

The specifics of reducing your current obligations aside, once that is done, you need to already have a plan in place to move forward without repeating the same mistakes.

I'm just sharing my experiences relative to my bankruptcy and credit situation (or lack there of afterwards). That (the planning and budgeting) is what has made the biggest difference.

you little spade calling devil you....

watch it there.i'm the only devil here,and stewart was warned repeatedly about the solicitations.

Well, whether or not this is "solicitating", the few words are true. We DO need to focus.......sometimes our 'heads' aren't together' because of everything we're going through. It can be overwhelming at times.

Do it yourself. It is NOT hard. You must take control of this area of your life. This is the first step in creating a new relationship with your finances. By taking control over your money, you will become empowered to change your future by avoiding the mistakes that we all have made.

To think that by hiring someone to 'do this for me' would be easier and less painful, demonstrates the problem that exists in the first place...an unhealthy relationship with money. It is an attitude, I am doing this myself, for myself, because my future with money is important to me...especially if I am going to have any!

I do agree with a lot of what MN has said, but there are many more positive ways you can learn to handle your finances better. Enrolling in a quality debt settlement program is not a cop out. It is taking the first step to become debt free and you still need to be involved in what is happening with your accounts. We encourage this and provide online access to each of your acoounts showing the progress and status. Recognizing that having a company who is highly experienced in negotiating your debts can save you from many misktakes people often make. I beleive that your time is better spent on concentrating your efforts in improving your income and reaching your goals. The more you concentrate on positive things the better your life will be....The Power of Attraction

Stewart, how can you agree with me when we are giving totally opposite advice?

% based fees are unfair and abusive. The work of settling a $5,000 account is the same as the $50,000 account. Exactly the same...yet you guys charge a 10X higher fee...10 Times higher! Simply because they "save" more, not because you do any more work.

I appreciate any contribution to this website, but it seems to me that the important contributions come from regular everyday folks going through these difficult times rather than a Debt Settlement firm prospecting for leads.

If that is not correct, please inform me...

I'm not sure who you are MN, but you are incorrect. The work to settle an account that has $50,000. in debt is much more then $5,000 in debt. You seem angry and that is not helpful to anyone. I always state the facts and if that upsets you I apologize. I believe in helping people and do not claim that debt settlement is right for everyone. On the contrary, everyone's situation is different and what may be right for one person could be completely wrong for another. When we have a client, who after analyzing their situation, is not a good candidate for debt settlement, we are very upfront about it. We do not want people to enroll in a program that is not right for them.

I have 15 years of experience in the banking and mortgage industry. I enjoy what I do and I believe that my knowledge and experience is helpful to people on this site.

just my 2 cents, i had many accounts and my smallest account was the worst account, and the hardest to negotiate. it was a 1,000 account i was in a debt settlment program for 2 years they had no luck whatsoever. after it was over i tried to negotiate it myself it was all or nothin for them till i ended up in court. I was told i could still negotiate it even though there was a lein on my home and they still would not budge. all i asked was they drop all the late fees and charges i would pay the full amount of when i went into the program and it was a no go. they were willing to wait for the hole amount. i garuntee we worked harder on that small account than any other and never got anywere anyway. just my 2 cents

Dude, Stewy, guest w/post at 1:53 pm, whoever you are,

Your full of it and have been shillin for your company since you got here. Your posting to shill, and make a buck.
mn is posting from the heart based on personal experience, as is love my things and many others here.

What you bring to the table is shilling.
The average fee in the industry is 15% of the debt submitted at the time of enrollment.

Please oh please enlighten me, and all of the readers, as to how you, or your company works harder on settling a 5k account and charging 750.00 vs settling a 50k account and it being soooo much harder that you have to charge 7500.00

I look forward to your response.


Mileage may vary

Guest, are you speaking for Stewart? I believe that the case could be made that hiring a traditional DS co would be the wrong move for anyone and everyone. Here's why, the FEE! There is no way anyone can justify the fee structure. How can someone who is thousands of dollars or tens of thousands of dollars in debt...afford a fee that is thousands of dollars? They don't have any money, it's JUST MORE DEBT! They are broke, yet agreeing to pay thousands more is the right answer?

Nope, this is not surgery or a courtroom...the people you're hiring have no special education to perform this service...none! Tell me why they should charge more per hour than virtually any other profession? I know for 100% certainty that if I can settle my debt, anyone who can dial a phone can settle their own debt. Not to mention the fact that if a DS co is hired...it actually INCREASES the chance of a lawsuit!

If there are companies or law firms out there that charge reasonable flat rates, and I know there are some, that is good! If your company is one that charges a reasonable flat rate, you should be commended! More of that is what's needed, some standards and sanity.

You are correct on one thing perhaps, settling a 5K vs settling a 50K may not be equal amounts of work...settling the 50K account is EASIER!

i do agree that the ds companies should be regulated and be more upfront as to thier costs and fees. frankly i have heard horror stories of such companies. But that does not mean they are all bad and frankly speaking i could not afford to pay anyone a dollar at the time. but the company i used charged a % of what was saved by me and did not take thier fees until that creditor was paid first. things may have changed scince then but at the time that was the case and usually thier fees was only 1 month payment. say for example my payment every month was 455.00 to go into my savings and after the creditor was paid that was usually the average of what they got paid. so i had 1 month here n there were that payment didnt go twards savings which at the time i felt was worth it. Now from what i remember i had 1 very large account that they got a percent of that took almost 2 months but even with that payment i still saved a butt load of money. so i wasnt complaining.

but there surely should be some more regulation to them and they should have to make ALL thier fees clear and upfront so people have a informed decision as to what these companies charge.

DEBT SETTLEMENT COMPANIES ARE POINTLESS. Here's every reason why-

1. You can't afford to pay your bills. Why are you creating another one? One that you get nothing out of!??! You really don't need to pay someone to pay your bills. STOP SPENDING MONEY.

2. If you want creditors to stop calling you, all you have to do is send a letter to their compnay telling them to cease and desist all communications with you except in writing. google "cease and desist". Poof- that problem's solved. Until, of course, the debt goes to the next collection agency. Then you have to send them a cease and desist as well.

3. You can't afford to pay your debts. If you're paying a debt settlement company- guess what, you're still not paying on your debts- at all. It's the same as if you were saving the money up yourself in a savings account- other than the fact that no one is stealing half of it from you. 2-3 years is the average time frame of when you stop paying your debts to when you're going to litigation for them- especially if they're over $10,000- so paying all of those "up-front fees" is only sealing your fate and stealing your time. (BTW, these are numbers I've googled, I don't claim to have personally tested these theories)

4. Settling your debt with a creditor can be as easy as faxing over one piece of paper. I work at a collection agency, and I had an 18 year-old girl fax me over a piece of paper with a paragraph explaining how she got into the debt and that she's trying to get it taken care of, and a settlement offer. She offered an amount that was a little low (why NOT start low!?) and I got a counteroffer from my manager that same day. I called her back, we agreed for an amount in the middle (60% of total debt) and POOF!, she paid the settlement. 1 piece of paper, folks. And trust me, when I get a slimeball debt settlement company rep on the phone that's trying to be underhanded, I won't settle with him for the ridiculous amount of 15%, I'll just hang up the phone. I deal with people that are trying to take care of their lives, not sharks. If a debt collector is calling you a shark- you're real scum.

5. debt settlement companies tell you not to pick up the phone when debt collectors call. Well, as soon as a cardmember says "I've been instructed not to talk to you, but here is my debt settle. co's number.." I just hang up and send the account to litigation. You just lost yourself about 45 days of time on your debt because a lot of large credit card companies REFUSE to work with debt settlement companies (AMEX and Citibank for sure as of today's date).

6. Let's say you actually want to save your credit, and have the ability to make some payments on these debts to pay off the balance in full. Creditors are MORE THAN HAPPY to get you on a payment plan!! 1-2 years of payments, with a minimum of around $50.00/month. This will stop all of the interest/fees from continuing to rack up, and while you're paying down a couple of the small ones, you can save some money for the larger ones that you're going to need to save up a large chunk for!

7. Ask your creditors for all possible options! They can do $50.00/month for a couple months while you save up some cash, and then make your payments larger after you've had a chance to pay off some things or add some income. This might not stop fees, but if it's the time you need to pay off another debt so that you can roll that payment into this other debt. The possibilities are endless and you can always call up and cancel pymts/change pymt dates if you're going to be short one day.

Also- You can get any kind of creditor you want. If a creditor is being overbearing or you don't feel comfortable working something out with them- just tell them you want another person on that account. These people have hundreds of accounts, switching one to another representative is easy. For every loud and overbearing person, there is a quiet, kind person sitting right next to them. Don't give in to harrassing behavior. If a collection agency is being rude, send them a complaint and wait for the next company that has nice reps to deal with them. At our agency we're taught that 95% of people that are in this situation meant to pay their bills, and didn't mean for this to happen. Who knows when I might be on the other end of this phone call, I always think.

Explore your options, and I wish all of those going through debt problems the best of luck. You will get through this.

Good post anonymous.
I did take exception to a few things though.

2. Sending a cease communication letter in many cases will just get a consumer on the express train to litigation, so, not a cure all.

3. 2-3 years before litigation is part of a sales pitch used by settlement companies (your post rails against settlement companies, why you would restate something that encourages this misinformation is beyond me.) It is not even close to accurate. I did not need to google this as my comment is from years of experience.

4. Totally funny and accurate in too many cases. A collector calling others a shark... and being right! Maybe the fact that your right should not be funny. I did chuckle though.

5. Also accurate, too bad people fall for this and the settlement industry, in large part, still encourages this model of business.

6. This is completely innacurate. Card issuers are not willing to take $50.00 for 1-2 years. This statement could have only come from your nether region. There is absolutely nothing you will be able to provide to substantiate this. This silly statement makes you less credible to readers who have, in many cases tried to get the creditors to do as you suggest and have hit a brick wall on this issue. If creditors were willing to take that low a payment for as long as you suggest, the settlment industry would not exist.

7. see 6.

8. The kinder-gentler collector is not the norm. If you have been taught this as part of the culture at the company you work for, than your company is likely a good players in the industry. Your posting how widespread this attitude is, in companies (thousands) that you know nothing about, also steals from your credibility in an otherwise on point post.


Mileage may vary

HOnestly my personal situations is a far different experience than what the previous post (2posts up) mentioned i tried dealingwith my companies rather than settlement and they would not help me a bit. and they were far from pleasant and welcoming. they were rude, threatning, and abusive. Now i know they are not all that way but frankly i was getting no were and i needed help. its not as simple as a "fax" you need to know stuff. you need to know laws, and how they can work you over to do it your self.

Not that im stearing anyone away from that choice its a great one. its better than a settlement co if you want to do it yourself. but it is not easy. and neither is using a company. I dont really think that its fair of you to say that these people should stop spending money. of course they should and they now it or they wouldnt be in this forum. Who knows they may not have been a shop aholic or a loose spender. every situation is different. How can you tell someone to stop spending no one should need settlement when they came on hard times unexpectedly or tragicly. I hear many stories such as these.

Frankly the settlement co was the answer to my prayers and gave me a new chance at life. not that there are not bad companies out there, there is probably more bad than good. But there are some circumstances were i feel that someone may not be able to handle it themselves. Consider that scenerio there are situations were someone may need help. and with proper research they should be able to find a good company that will work with them on thier own particular situation.

Choice is what it's all about. Some people rather do it themsleves (debt settlement), but for those that would prefer to enroll in a debt settlement program where the day to day paperwork and contacts are done by a reputable company, there is the option to do just that. No one should force their will on anyone else, including the negative rants about debt settlement programs. Thank god, we still live in a FREE Country.

The services offered by reputable debt settlement companies have helped millions of people who are struggling. Yes, there are some bad companies out there, but if you do your homework and check on the company before you sign up with them, then you can get the help you need. Not everyone wants to spend their days working on trying to settle their debts and, as Love My Things pointed out in the previous post, it is not as easy as some people are saying. An experienced debt settlement company that knows how to achieve the best possible settlement can often save people more than if they do it themselves.

If not this forum I would be paying some guy in Columbia to take care of my debts.
I called them all myself BOA Citi, HSBC, Chase and got 35% reduction on average.
IIT WAS VERY EASY. I was very supriased!. HSBC and Citi were "hard" to negotiate but all the rep were nice and anderstating offering various optins. No insults to angry talk at all.

DIY is the way to go!