99% of debt settlement companies are scams

well, i'm sure they also take checks, which i'm sure they would prefer over noteworld.com lol.

What is noteworld.com??

PLEASE RESEARCH ABOUT WHAT DEBT SETTLEMENT IS. there are bad apples in the bunch, like in any other industry, but your statement "99% of debt settlement companies are scams " is a falacy! I worked in collections for citibank and we would offer settlements directly to the consumers OR we would accept settlement offers from debt settlement companies on behalf of consumers.

and fyi, with note world you DO get your money back because this is a third party fdic insured escrow account, which in laymans terms means that it's a savings account set up under YOUR name in a bank as legitimate as chase or bank of america. SO you will get your money back MINUS the fee's (cancelation fees for cancelling the contract you signed with the settlement company!)

i think there is alot of misunderstanding when it comes to settlement and i do agree with ana and that is that alot often people get all wrapped up into settlement thinking its a quick easy fix when infact its hard and grueling and around month 6 were it starts to get hard they bail and are calling the company a scam when this is usually about the time were things start to get settled. with a company usually settlements occur 6 months-12 months.

Although i also agree that there are alot of scam companies out there taking advantage of people i dont believe that all settlement companies are bad. with the proper research you can find a good company that will fit your needs. to generalize all settlement companies as scammers is not accurate.

if you have 50k in debt and will spend the rest of your life struggling to make the minimum payments, about $1500 (which are usually 3% of the balance, and of which 2% goes to interest), where only 1% is going to the balance.... and a debt settlement program can get you debt free in 5 years ...by paying less a month about 500 month.
then this is a great program!!!!!!!

90% of settlement companies are scams, not 99%!
people need to find and HONEST place that will help.
And a AFFORDABLE settlement company that wont charge too much for the process.

People can arrange their own settlements, it's just that most don't know they can, and by the time these settlement companies get to them, they're so exhausted and anxious that they will take anything that looks like a light at the end of the tunnel. Most of these outfits have contracts that show that they won't do anything for several months. What isn't clearly explained is that this means the situation gets much worse before it gets better, and they front-load their fees so that they get their money out of you first. Thank god I've never been through it myself, but I have walked many distraught clients through the process of escaping these jerks. It's just another way to take advantage of the poor and vulnerable, promising help and relief, and just ending up adding to their miseries. Go to non-profit, long-established CCCS---Consumer Credit Counseling Services-- not something that sounds like it, not some here-today, gone-tomorrow web-based settlement company. CCCS is a NONPROFIT and always has been. We send our clients to them from Legal Aid. They do community education, consumer assistance, and they will show you how to take charge again and use the provisions of the new credit card law to get your situation back under control. Don't live in fear. I know you're exhausted and frightened and just plain sick of it all, but take a deep breath, put on your big boy (or girl) shoes, and just do it. You can get the help you need, but you will be safer and feel better in the end if you take responsibility now and negotiate your own settlements. You can do it. Don't be afraid. You. Can. Do. It.

I truly believe that if you take the time to research you can find true assistance. I researched debt settlement companies daily for 3 months before choosing to enroll. I thought about doing it myself but all my research pointed to a better settlement through a company. I checked blogs, BBB, other sites and one company consistently came through as legit and able to help. I am greatful and relieved. My settlements are averaging 31%. If anyone wants the name of the company I am using contact me.

i do debt settlement and i agree with you!

it also seems that you have many problems with Noteworld which i do not use, on a side note they are not a part of the debt settlement industry, they are a trust that holds funds for people, its like youre own personal bank, i do not use them because of many fees they charge & constant changes they do.

to defend Noteworld though, they do note give out funds until a settlement is reached.

also, most settlement companies charge upfront fees which aslong as people sign the contract of these fees given out noteworld has nothing to do with this.

Noteworld does not do check by phone which is very common with creditors, they only overnight payments< which is bad for the creditor but good for the client, that means the payment will get on time and some will sign for it.

i really think people should look at the settlement company itself first, LOOK AT WHAT YOURE SIGNING ON.

i charge a 2% fee down based on how much debt you joined the program with, i really wish i didnt have to charge this but given the certain situation with all the work that goes into doing and enrolling someone in debt it makes sense.

i only charge a 10% fee off of the original balance when entered into the program, some might say this is an easy fee to collect because no matter what i settle at i get the same fee anyways, this is true but the cheaper and easier i get the deal done is the faster i can get a client say yes the deal is awesome and i understand.

i do not agree that 99% of settlement companies are bad but i might agree with a 95% are bad. the other 5% are good and really want to help, i put myself under this 5%.

people need to find and HONEST and also a Affordable debt place for help, they do exist.

the debt settlement industry has been taken over by ALL the refi idiots that have put our economy in hurt, these same idiots will ruin people like myself that actually want to help.

i hope this helps clear up whats going on with this industry.

do not join a company that charges upfront fees, thin about it. go with a company that has to earn the fees and make sure that they are low enough so its doesnt hurt your settlement average. that being said anything is better than paying you minimums forever, you would be better off getting sued on your full balances paying back everything than paying back the balance plus interest for the next 10-30 years, do the math.

like i said i do agree with what this person said but it doesnt speak all companies that want to help, the do exist. good luck

I am in tears right now cuz i just signed on with world credit associates who work with fbl and noteworld and doing all this researchi am hearing so much negativity and i should have done this before i signed on...will be cancelling first thing tomorrow...but theses people have all my information including my ss #....I think i am going to be sick...sigh

as i have stated in other threads, the ds firms charge too much in fees, and lots during the first 6 months or more after signing on with them, reqardless of the fact they may not be able to settle ALL your debts, as some banks will not work with ds firms (i know we had a problem with discover because we signed on with a ds, even though we cancelled it within 48 hours-they sent our accounts to 1 as soon as they got a letter from ds-which they should have never gotten to begin with).
one of the persons i spoke to at a firm gave me a rundown on how they do settlement agreements. they call for example, BOA. they may be on the phone with them for 2 hours, but in that 2 hours they get settlement agreements on multiple cases. they also explained what is involved over the entire program per person..

the one we signed on with, then cancelled within 48 hours sure killed my trust in any and all ds firms.. mind you they are BBB accredited & backed by attorneys. said they would not send letters to creditors of our enrollment until AFTER the first pay was received, then sent them out within the 48 hours we were enrolled before calling back and cancelling.. grrrrrrr

Plain and simple. Do it yourself. The ds company has to have you making payments for a long time to them to get their money first. So instead of settling at 90-180 days, they don't have the money to settle until it has accumulated so that most likely is going to be after charge-off.

The only ones that I would agree to are some of the companies that have cd sets and coaching to get you through doing it yourself. I thought seriously about purchasing those and did purchase one book online for like $8 that was terrific. But I was able to settle prior to needing any of the other things. But you need to stay in control and I think the cc companies would prefer to talk to the debtor directly.

i think they would rather talk to the debtor directly too..for a couple of reasons.. they know most likely they will get some money sooner. they are likely to get more from the debtor, as the debtor is not paying all the fees to the ds firm.
the banks have done their own research on the ds firms and know if i debtor is under a plan, it will most likely be a very long time before they see a dime...

RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!

Folks, most companies are awful, but there are a few good ones. Brinker Hoffman, Zip Debt and Consumer Recovery Network are a few that have proven track record of consumer advocacy combined with excellent results.

Most people can gather information and/or use coaching and do debt settlement on their own. I spent 6 months on the process and settled over 100K for 28 cents on the dollar. Plus my credit score only suffered by 10 POINTS. Not sure how or why that happened, but it did.

Good luck. Stay focused!

I would like the name of the company thatyou used as I am looking to settle my debt.

Dave S.