debt negotiation

You can settle your debts yourself if you're a good negotiator. Some people don't possess the skills of negotiation and want to avoid the harassing calls from debt collectors. Hence, they hire debt settlement companies.

You can take help of our DIY section for more guidance.

I would highly recommend that you settle your debts yourself. I wouldn't use a company simply because it takes so long before they even start talking to the creditors because they want all of their money up front. That way if you can't or don't complete their program it actually makes them happy because they have your money and don't have to provide the service.

All of the research that I have done on these Debt Settlement companies shows that you start paying them your payments monthly and they "hold" it for you (including their fees). They work with your creditors to reach a settlement amount. NO, I repeat NO payments are made to your debtors until ALL of the money is collected and then they pay your creditors off the settlement amount. So if you owe $100,000 total and your debts are settled for $40,000 plus their 15% or whatever fee ($15,000) then NOTHING will be paid until you have sent them the $55,000 over a period of how ever many months you agree to.

Read the other posts on this forum. This is just my understanding of how it works. If anyone needs to correct me, please do.

Let me add this. Not that it matters, but after researching it all I have decided to work on the debt settlement myself. I cannot foresee anything that these companies can do that I will not be able to handle on my own.