If you’re thinking about using a debt consolidation or debt settlement service to help you get out of debt faster and save money on your monthly payments, make sure you do your homework before choosing a company. There are definitely shams and scams out there.

First let me say that debt consolidation is *not* the same as debt settlement/negotiation, which most people don’t realize.

Debt settlement companies charge hundreds of dollars as an initial “admin fee” to set up your account, plus a monthly service fee. The fees vary depending on the company and the amount of your debts.

Such companies take your money every month, but don’t make monthly payments to your creditors! Instead, they put it in a trust account, negotiate your debts with your creditors, then make a lump-sum payment when there’s enough in your account to pay a creditor in full.

That can take *years* depending on the amount of debt you have with each creditor. Meanwhile, you can be sued by your creditors and your wages can be garnished! (Or just don’t make payments to your creditors. You’ll end up in the same spot without paying someone to help you get there!)

Settlement companies don’t ask your creditors to stop all interest, late fees and overlimit fees from accruing. That means while the negotiations are ongoing, your bills will continue to grow! So if you’re sued and a judgement is brought against you, you’ll owe more money than before!

And shoddy companies, which there are a lot of, don’t tell you *any* of this up front. I call it “getting permission by omission” because they simply don’t tell you how their program works *before* you sign an agreement with them. Or after, for that matter. But if you ask the right questions, eventually you’ll figure it out. (Or when the crap hits the fan. Whichever comes first.)

Let me give you an example of how debt settlement works.

Let’s say you have $20,000 in unsecured credit card debt. You owe $10,000 to one credit card company, $6,000 to another and $4,000 to a third. You agree to a 5 year plan where you pay $250 a month to the settlement company. (After all, $250 a month for 60 months is only $15,000, so you’re saving $5,000 and you’ll be debt-free in 5 years, right?)

The admin fee will cost you $750. Your first 3 monthly payments go towards that and nothing gets put into your trust account until your 4th month.

The settlement company keeps $50 of your $250 payment each month for the service fee. That means $200 a month is being added to your trust account.

Most debt settlement companies claim to be able to negotiate your debt for about 50% of what you owe. So let’s use the lowest credit card debt as an example.

If you owe $4,000 and your creditor agrees to accept $2,000 as payment in full, it will take 10 months at $200 per month to have enough in your trust account to pay off just that one credit card.

But remember, your first 3 payments to the settlement company only paid the admin fee. That means your first credit card settlement is 14 months *after* you started sending them money.

So what’s the problem? It’s simple. Your creditor won’t agree to accept half of your actual debt unless, or until, it can be paid in full. Otherwise, you’re expected to make your normal monthly payments.

Since you don’t have $2,000 in your trust account, and you won’t have it until more than a year after you stopped paying your creditor directly, they’ll probably take you to court and request that your wages be garnished long before you have that $2,000 built up.

And what about your other creditors? Well, they’ll be waiting even longer to get their money from the settlement company. The $6,000 debt will take 15 *more* months to pay off, assuming your creditor waits that long and agrees to 50%. And that $10,000 bill? You do the math.

On the other hand, if you signed up for a 3 year plan with the settlement company, your debts would be paid off sooner. But, the question is, will your creditors wait that long? Probably not.

The facts are, you can negotiate with your creditors yourself. Most will agree to take a smaller monthly payment from you and stop all interest and fees from accruing. And, of course, you’ll save thousands of dollars in fees to a settlement company.

Before signing up for any service, please be sure you check out the company thoroughly. And don’t let the words “non-profit” fool you either. A lot of debt settlement companies claim to be non-profit.

Going back to the example above, if you pay them $15,000 over a 5 year time frame and they settle your debts at half of what you owed, they’ll make $5,000 from you. I’d call that a profit, especially since they might not have actually helped you in any way.

Most companies will allow you to cancel your account and get a refund of what you’ve paid, less the non-refundable admin fee and the monthly service fees. If you feel you’ve been mislead about their program, don’t hesitate to argue til the cows come home. File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau or hire an attorney if you feel you’re getting nowhere.

You can visit the Better Business Bureau’s website (http://www.bbb.org) and find reports on hundreds of companies. Here’s a small listing of companies that have poor reputations with the BBB:

National Consumer Debt Council LLC – Irvine, CA (A.K.A. NCDC, United Consumer Law Group)

Financial Rescue Services – Burbank, CA

Debt Legal Services – Anaheim, CA

American Debt Relief – Los Angeles, CA (A.K.A. A M Debt, American Debts Relief, Debt Relief)

Please be very cautious when choosing a debt help company and ask lots of questions before agreeing to anything. If you find they’re evading your questions, run fast and run far. There are reputable companies out there, so keep looking until you find one.

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Christians are often encouraged to be “good stewards” but what does that mean?

Biblically speaking, a steward is someone who was trusted with another’s goods. As Christians, we should realize everything we have belongs to God. Therefore everything we “own” actually belongs to God. We are simply stewards of His goods. So what does this imply?

First we should rid ourselves of attitudes like “It’s mine, I can wreck it if I want to”, because it’s not ours and the decision of whether or how to dispose of it doesn’t belong to us. We simply hold our earthly goods in trust.

In addition, this concept should free us from being slaves to “our” material things. If it belongs to God then He can do with those things as He wishes. Why worry about “losing” all “we” have?

Lastly, we need to take care of what God allows us to steward. Scripture says if we do well with what we’ve got we’ll get more. If we squander what little we have, we’ll lose even that. So not having much is no excuse for not taking care of what we’ve got. So how should we adjust our attitude?

Be thankful. Often when we treat ourselves we think… “I’ve earned it.” While it’s true your success may be the result of effort you put forth, who gave you the ability and the opportunity? It must have come from God. God says he gives us the desires of our hearts. (Psalms 37:4)

Does this means God gives those who delight themselves in Him what they desire or the desires themselves? I’d have to say both!

What good is one without the other?

Proverbs 13:12 says “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”

Why would God give us a desire and not what we desire? Such a God would be cruel.

How can godly thoughts and desires spring from anywhere but God? Scripture clearly states man is no good by himself. We were all born in sin and tend to seek out ungodly things. Since all good things come from God, it stands to reason our godly desires also come from God. What about ungodly desires?

I don’t for one moment think God gives us anything that would lead us away from Him. This includes desires. So such ungodly desires must come from somewhere else.

The conclusion here is clear: God gives us godly things, including godly desires and then he gives us those godly things we desire. What do we do to receive all this?

Delight ourselves in the Lord.

One we understand everything we have is from God what next?

Treat your things with care. Your attitude should be After all they don’t belong to you, they were given to you to use so use them with respect.

Be generous. Our God has cattle on a thousand hills. He is our sufficiency in all things. He also knows we will be in situations that allow us to show His love to others. God wants us to help others, so we should whenever possible.

Be fruitful. Remember the parable of the talents. The good servants (stewards) returned more to the master than they got. Fruitfulness implies producing rather than consuming. Yes, a workman is worthy of his reward, but many spend far more time and money counting and enjoying the rewards than furthering God’s purposes.

Most of us get into trouble when we start wanting stuff we can’t afford and even some stuff we can afford. God says plainly our hearts are where are treasures are. (Matthew 6:21) So do you want your heart to be with God or locked up in the basement with your gold?

Being a good steward doesn’t mean living a life of poverty while giving all we own to others. It does mean taking the best possible things of what God blessed us with and bearing fruit with it. Whether bearing fruit means helping others or multiplying what we’ve got depends on God’s Will for our lives. He’s designed each of us to respond to Him in unique ways.

Scripture does NOT say it’s a sin to have debt, yet it seems clear borrowing is not something that should be taken lightly. If you are borrowing because you spend more than you earn than your bigger problem is spending. Surely it would be best if we had no debt at all, but this is not always possible. What is possible is to make every effort to live within our means.

This may mean a less expensive car, house, or toys, among other things. Do you pay $100 per month for cable tv? Are you addicted to texting on your cell phone? Do you eat out several times a week? Even fast food costs a lot more than eating similar meals at home. A hard look at our spending habits may reveal much about the kind of steward we are.

If any of this has hit home, you may want to look at your life and the fruit you produce. Keep in mind God gives us more than mere material things too. He gives us our talents, abilities and our time. By adjusting your attitude about what you have, you can open the floodgates to all the blessings God has in store for you.

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There’s over millions of dollars in free grant money that is given away to everyday people through various government and private foundations. These are not to be confused with loans. That’s mainly because the money you are awarded by submitting a grant application never has to be paid back.

This free money was budgeted for through tax payer dollars and tax incentives provided to organizations, and it allows American citizens to obtain cash grants for their personal use.

Applying for some of this free government grant money and private foundation grants can be done by searching the online grant database program. There you’ll find many of the available programs with various funding amounts. Just review the eligibility requirements and qualifications to see if you feel you match the criteria for receiving these funds.

Often times many people can be awarded money for the same grant, so it doesn’t hurt to submit an applications. There is also no limit on the number of grants you can apply for or receive. If you feel there are a number of programs you can qualify for, then you are free to apply for all of them.

As a result, you could receive as much as $50,000 to build your own business, $13,000 to pay your bills, or even $19,000 to help you pay for school. There are hundreds of grant programs for various reasons. Single parents, college students, minorities, and many other groups may qualify to receive some of these funds. Once your application is reviewed and accepted, you’ll receive the cash grant you need that never has to be paid back.

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Observations on the Most Common MISTAKES Consumers Make When Faced with a Credit Card Debt Lawsuit

1. Consumers ignore notices for Court.

Never, ever ignore a notice from the court. If you suspect it’s a fake (some FDCPA Violators a.k.a. “junk debt buyers” have been caught sending out fake documents that resemble a summons) please call your local courthouse and ask them for verification. A court clerk generally answers the phone and can search by case number or by your name.

The creditor is counting on you either not receiving the notice or not responding to it thus granting them a a default judgment. A default judgment means they WIN and can now garnish your wages and freeze your assets. You may not even receive of the judgment until a wage garnishment attachment is in place.

2. Consumers fail to respond to summons.

Many consumers feel guilty about their debt(s) and fail to respond to the summons within the time-frame indicated. Even if your debt is valid, within SOL and you want to settle, YOU STILL NEED TO RESPOND TO THE SUMMONS WITH AN ANSWER within the time-frame granted (from the date of service) which is usually 20 to 30 days.

I’ve seen too many cases where the consumer works out a deal directly with the debt collector (Plaintiff) and never responds to the court placing that responsibility on the Plaintiff. Guess what? Plaintiff never withdraws their suit and now they have a default judgment in addition to whatever monies they’ve already collected from the debtor.

3. The following practice by debt collectors seem to be an increasingly common (and sleazy) occurrence. The debt collector may sue a consumer is Court. Instead of using the Sheriff to serve the summons, the collector likely will opt to use a special process server. (This is what happened to me!)

The consumer never receives the summons because of improper service (summons was left in an obscure location on the property, with a neighbor, etc.) thus the consumer never answers the complaint, and the debt collectors win a default judgment. BUT, the debt collector sits on the judgment and waits two to three years before executing on it…usually by a surprise wage attachment. The first the consumer ever knows of the suit or judgment is when their wages are garnished. The consumer will have a hard time trying to get the Court to vacate the judgment after two or three years. And the wage garnishment will stand.

This is another excellent reason to sign up for credit monitoring so you will know immediately if something like this has happened. Additionally, many district courts have websites where you can search for your name, not a bad idea to do on a monthly basis if you suspect a collector will be filing a suit against you.

4. When served with a summons (if you are even served), immediately contact an attorney. If you can’t afford an attorney, you can file Pro Se, which means you represent yourself. But by all means, file the answer within the 20 to 30 days indicated! You may qualify for legal aid AND there are resources out there to help you draft your documents, check my links for referrals.

I recommend sending a Notice Of Appearance (this instructs the Court that you are an active participant in the lawsuit and that you should be informed of all communication at a designated address.)

You need to file the Answer to Complaint, Affirmative Defenses document which answers their numbered allegations with an Affirm, Deny, or Lack the Knowledge to Answer type of statement. On the same document you then go on to assert common defenses to credit card debt lawsuits such as out-of-statute, statute of frauds, etc.

You also need to send a Certificate of Service that proves you mailed your Answer documents to the Plaintiff as well as filed them with the court. AND, I highly recommend you send a Cease & Desist Letter to the Plaintiff (read my post about How To Intimidate Debt Collectors for a great tip to use w/ this letter!) that instructs them to only contact you via written correspondence and bars them from contacting your employer, friends, relatives and neighbors.

You should also consider initiating “Discovery” by serving them with a Request for Production of Documents. Basically, you want to put them on notice that you are aware of your rights, are not going to roll over and accept a default and MAKE THEM PROVE THEIR CASE!

It’s well known that third-party debt collectors often only have an affidavit of debt to go off of. If you don’t request any documentation that is enough for them to win or obtain a judgment. However, if you request documentation they must furnish it at a hearing. If they can’t, you win!

For more information about how to fight a credit card debt lawsuit or to purchase my Word & PDF Fill-in-the-Blank templates for Notice of Appearance, Answer, Discovery, and more please visit ihavebeenserved.info.

You have nothing to lose by fighting these predatory debt collectors and everything to gain!

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I am not a lawyer, I am a Judgment Broker. This article is my opinion, and not legal advice. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

What is a judgment debtor? A judgment debtor (JD) is a person or an entity, that was involved or named in a lawsuit, and was judged to owe money because of a final judgment (J).

After a J is satisfied or vacated, then the person or entity is no longer a JD, at least not for that J.

Usually, a JD was a defendant in a lawsuit. However, sometimes the JD started as the plaintiff; and at the hearing, a judge decided not only did the original defendant owe nothing; the plaintiff is now the JD, that now owes money to the original defendant.

A person (or entity) can become a JD after many kinds of court Js from either civil or criminal courts.

Many types of courts can create JDs, including criminal restitution, divorce, small claims, limited and unlimited civil, bankruptcy, federal, justice, municipal, circuit, and district.

Unlike a debtor with a claimed debt against them, a JD has a judgment against them. The disputable claim was turned into a J. After a debtor is sued, and a court orders a judgment against them, their debt is decided with finality by a judge, to create a JD.

Only a J from a court can create an actual JD. UCC liens, and any other kind of debt or financing statements alone, cannot create a JD.

Becoming a JD is very common, and being one has not been any kind of social stigma for many decades. Many laws protect judgment debtors. An example is that with very few exceptions, a creditor cannot tell anyone else about a JD’s debt.

The courts, media, laws, and society; all seem to treat judgment debtors as if they are now victims, and that creditors are no better, and usually much worse than judgment debtors. What should be remembered is that many judgment debtors either stole something or money, received unjust enrichment, defrauded someone, damaged property, injured someone, etc.

When you are a judgment debtor, you may have some choices. Certain laws make it relatively difficult and expensive to recover judgments, so one choice is to at least temporarily, ignore a judgment.

If you are poor, ignoring a judgment might make sense, because only the judgment debtor’s assets or income streams may be levied to satisfy a judgment. However, not paying a judgment or arranging a modest payment plan, may expose you to unexpected and sometimes repeated bank or wage levies.

When the amount owed on a judgment is not huge, it may be cheaper and easier, to simply repay what is owed, in exchange for a notarized satisfaction of judgment that must be filed at the court.

As a judgment debtor, you can try to settle with the judgment creditor, perhaps reaching a compromise with them.

Especially when judgments are new, some creditors imagine that their judgments are guaranteed, and will never settle them for anything less than every penny owed, including all interest and court-approved costs.

Usually, judgments eventually expire. However, in most states, a determined judgment creditor can renew a judgment indefinitely.

Sometimes a judgment creditor will not give up, and hires a collection lawyer, or assigns their judgment to a judgment recovery expert. Recovery experts specialize in finding judgment debtor assets, and then having a sheriff levy them, to satisfy the judgment.

When a judgment debtor has assets and a determined creditor or enforcer is constantly trying to have a Sheriff levy their bank accounts, wages, and property; being a judgment debtor is not fun.

The two most common ways that judgment debtors may avoid paying a judgment, is either with bankruptcy protection, or if they win their attempt to vacate a default judgment.

For judgment debtors, satisfying a judgment, by reaching an agreement with the judgment creditor, or someone owning a judgment, can make a lot of sense.

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Next to bankruptcy, having an account in collections is the worst entry you can have on your credit report. It will lower your score, and make it difficult- if not impossible- to obtain new credit. Creditors realize that if you have an account in collections that it went unpaid for a long period of time, and it makes them fear that if they lent you money they would not receive payments on time, either. Once you have an account in collections, your goal is to improve your credit and get the collections accounts deleted, or at the very least, updated on the credit report to say “Paid as agreed”, “Current”, or “Settled”.

The damage is done the moment the account is reported as being in collections. Before you pay off that collection account, you want to negotiate with the debt collector to have the credit report updated to one of the more favorable notations, as described above. You do not want to deal with the nightmare that many people face because they didn’t negotiate with the creditor and get the intention in writing for the update of your credit report- some people have paid accounts off that are in collections and their credit report is not updated. For at least seven years after the account is paid off; the individuals end up having problems getting new credit because the account still appears in negative status on the credit report.

The Best Scenario for You

The best you can hope for in terms of improving your credit is to have the collector delete the account from your credit report entirely. Send a “pay for delete” letter to the collector, and offer a settlement payment that you will pay them in exchange for the deletion of the account from your credit report. Get the collectors response in writing before you make a payment, to be sure you have proof of the arrangement in the event they don’t follow through with their end of the bargain.

If you prefer to call the debt collector, you chance being recorded saying something that can be used against you in a judgement case. You’ll want to get the agreement from the collector in writing anyway, so it’s a good idea to do this in writing anyway.

Debt collectors do not have to remove accurate entries from your credit report, even if you offer a settlement, so not all debt collectors will agree to this scenario.

Second Best Scenario for You

There are a number of collectors who will hold out in hopes of getting the payment in full and will refuse to delete the account from your credit report in exchange for a settlement (less than amount owed) payment. If this is your situation, you’ll have to offer to pay the full amount to get the collector to delete the account from your credit history report.

Not as Good, But Acceptable!

There are some collectors who simply refuse to remove an entry from your credit report, even when you’ve made payment. You would then want to get the collector to agree to update the notation to “Paid in Full”; whether you make a settlement payment or the full amount.

Unfortunately, a number of collectors won’t report it as “paid in full” if you settle. If you get the debt collector to agree to a settlement payment, but not “paid in full”, it would still be acceptable and better than your current situation to have the account reflect “Paid- Settled” on your credit report. It will not result in an instant, huge boost in your credit score, but it is certainly better than the situation you’re in now (having the account in collections) and is the best alternative if you can’t get it deleted or marked “Paid in full” for making a partial payment. (If you have the money to pay the account in full, do it because the notation on your credit report for an account paid in full is much better for you over the long term!)

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I have been working in the debt settlement industry for almost ten years now and have very extensive knowledge as to how it works. Before we begin I want to say this will be a rather long article and if you are not serious about finding a solution to your debt problem then stop reading now. The purpose of this article is to explain to you first how debt settlement works and what the process entails; both the good and the bad. Next I will explain the differences between how a debt settlement law firm works and how it compares to a standard debt settlement company. There are many differences between how this process is handled by the two. Because of this debtors should learn these differences before enrolling into any program. Many people may already know how a debt settlement company works but have no clue as to how a law firm works and this article will explain just that.

First of all, I would like to state that debt settlement as a means of credit card debt relief is not for everyone; some people simply do not have the right state of mind, while others may benefit more from bankruptcy.

To begin with I would like to go over the purpose of credit card debt settlement and how the process works. The purpose of debt settlement is for the debtor to get out of debt quickly without having to file bankruptcy and save a lot of money in the process. The goal of the debt negotiator is to negotiate a one time lump sum payment on the debtors’ behalf at a far reduced amount than what the debtor currently owes.

These benefits are tremendous. The debtor could save themselves close to half of what they currently owe and be out of debt in a few years. However as with most things in life there are drawbacks to this process and there is no way to avoid them.

In order for any creditor to be willing to negotiate a debt settlement on a debt the account must fall into default first. There are no creditors in the world willing to negotiate when you are current and up to date on your monthly minimum payments. If they feel you can maintain your monthly minimums than this is precisely where the creditors want to keep you. This is where their profit is made, by just paying the minimum each month you will be in debt for over thirty years, even if the interest rate is not all that high. If your rate is above 20%, you will be stuck in debt for well beyond thirty years and payback the creditors well over ten times the original balance alone in interest. That is exactly where they want you!

So understandably they will not negotiate with you when you are current and they feel they can still bank on your minimum payments for years to come. So the only way to ever negotiate is to fall behind on the monthly payments. Naturally once you do this you will be negatively affecting your credit score and will also be receiving calls from collectors; this is what may put some people off from doing debt settlement, thus why I stated above this process may not be for everyone.

For those people already behind this will not make a difference and their credit will not be damaged any more than it already is, however for those who are current this will adversely affect their credit. It is quite a shame that this point alone may stop some people from using debt settlement; thus dooming them to being financial servants to the creditors for decades to come.

You must also be made aware that this process in the end will begin to help rebuild your credit. Thirty percent of your MyFICO credit score is made up of your debt to credit ratio, which will look a lot better after you get out of debt. Additionally the negative remarks from falling behind will not hold much bearing on your credit score after two years. Your credit score is only a snapshot in time and only uses the last two years of payment history to determine the score.

Now during the process of falling behind your goal is to save up as much money as possible in the quickest possible time. This money is then used later on to pay off the settlement that is negotiated by the debt negotiator. The faster someone looks to save money and complete this process the better for many reasons. For one the faster you are out of debt the more money you stand to save and the less risk you take from the negative aspects of settlement such as lawsuit and further damage to the credit report.

This brings us to the title of the article “How Does a Debt Settlement Law Firm Work?” As I explained above there are great benefits to debt settlement such as saving lots of money and time; and there are also some downsides such as collection calls and the possibility of a lawsuit.

The main differences between how debt settlement is handled by a debt settlement law firm and standard debt settlement company is how they deal with the negative drawbacks. A law firm has much more legal power and is set up correctly to comply with their states’ laws.

Collection Calls

One of the first major differences in how debt settlement is handled has to deal with collections calls. When you first fall behind and your debt is still in the hands of the original creditor there is nothing legally that can be done to stop them from calling. However once the creditor passes the account off to a third party collection agency which will happen anywhere between 3-6 months after falling behind things change. Legally once in the hands of the collectors a law firm will have the power to have all calls to their client stopped, and if the collector continues to call and harass the client legal action can be taken against that creditor seeing as they will be in violation of the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collections Practices Act).

So the client’s first advantage by using a law firm will be a much decreased activity in collection calls, and this is very important for some people. Any regular debt settlement companies that claim they can stop the calls are simply not telling you the truth and you should be very weary of them because of this.

Lawsuits

The next major advantage a law firm has concerning debt settlement is how a lawsuit can be handled. In case you are not aware once you fall behind on your credit card debts the creditors/collectors do hold the legal right to pursue you through the courts to collect the debt. However I will mention, that suing is not the mainstay of the collectors and is not exercised very often; reason being it simply costs too much money and time on the creditor’s behalf with no guarantee of getting any money even if they were able to obtain a judgment anyway.

The advantage the law firm has is they can still legally contact and negotiate a settlement with your collector after they have issued a summons to court. A debt settlement company does not have this legal power. The collectors are very willing to negotiate a settlement even after the summons has been issued; they realize they may get very little if anything regardless, so being contacted by a reputable law firm who is willing to offer them money and settle the debt without wasting any time or money with going to court is very beneficial to the collector.

If you get sued and you only have a standard company representing you, you can expect to go to court and try to figure it out yourself. This often results in a judgment for the debtor!

Correct Legal Set Up

Perhaps the biggest advantage the law firm has over a company is how they are set up. The vast majority of debt settlement companies are not legally allowed to work in all the states; many are not even set up correctly to operate in their own state.

The states’ attorneys and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) are cracking down severely on these companies and shutting them down as fast as possible. When this happens often times the company does not have the money to payback its clients for the fees they paid to a company that will no longer be in business and can no longer help to settle their debts. Now the debtor will be left holding the bag having paid thousands in fees but still be stuck in debt, and this nightmare scenario happens more than you may think. Thus making law firms a much, much safer option!

Another issue that many people have with debt settlement companies is they will not disclose how this process works and will simply sugar coats things and preach about the great benefits but never mention one downside. A law firm legally must disclose everything about how this works before being able to enroll anyone into any structured payment plan. A lot of companies do not have your interest at heart and will say whatever it takes to get you signed up even if they are fully aware that they are setting you up to fail.

Which brings me to my last point; a lot of unscrupulous companies will allow their clients to sign into a program and pay whatever they want and put them into programs that are set up for much longer than they should be. By stretching a debt settlement program out the savings will decrease and the potential for a lawsuit will increase. These companies cannot legally give the client advice or assistance if they get sued; it is considered unlicensed practice of law and this is what I mean by them knowing they will be setting you up to fail. If you can’t get this process done within three years, four max in special situations, then you should seriously consider bankruptcy. A law firm will be strait up and tell this to you, where many shady companies will keep trying to sign you up.

I really hope after reading this article you feel enlightened and now have a much better understanding of how debt settlement works and how a law firm can advantage you the most. I know for the most part I have been focusing on the negative aspects of debt settlement, but I feel it is important for people to understand both the good and the bad, allowing them to make an educated wise financial decision on how to get out of debt. But you must realize just how powerful the benefits of this process are! Saving close to half of what is currently owed and becoming debt free in a few years will be so beneficial to your current and future financial well being. Credit card debt has a way of destroying people’s finances and their lives and debt settlement is the perfect alternative for those who want to escape debt quickly and avoid the embarrassment of filing for bankruptcy.

If you are curious as to whether using a debt settlement law firm can benefit your financial situation then I invite you to follow the link below in the signature box and fill out an application. I welcome the opportunity to review your personal and unique situation to see if debt settlement will be the right fit for you.

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If you need to make a major purchase, chances are you will not have enough money in just a single paycheck to cover items like appliances, furniture and more. What you need is a personal loan that can help you buy the things you need now, available to you with low monthly payments that are tailor made to fit your budget.

Money To Pay For Things You Need

You can use your personal loan for any purpose that you may have. Many borrowers find that a personal loan is perfect for making major purchases like furniture, appliances, flooring, a new roof, even a used car. Other borrowers may elect to take a vacation or cruise of a lifetime with their personal loan. Whatever you choose to do with your personal loan, there is one out there to meet your needs.

Borrowers With All Types Of Credit Welcome

A personal loan can be secured or unsecured, and is available for borrowers with all types of credit. The secured personal loan involves the borrower placing collateral against the amount of money borrowed. Acceptable collateral is usually your home or automobile. The lender will place a lien against your property until you have repaid the loan in full. An unsecured personal loan is not backed up by any type of collateral, and is a bit harder to get if you have a credit score under 700; however, if you wish to apply for your unsecured personal loan with a creditworthy cosigner, you stand a better chance of approval.

The amount that you qualify for when applying for your personal loan is dependent not only on your credit score, but also on your ability to repay your lender. Your personal loan lender will look at how much income you have out as it relates to the amount of other bills you must pay each month, such as your rent or mortgage payment, credit card bills, etc. If you are married, and your spouse wishes to apply with you on your personal loan application, including his or her income will not only improve your chances of getting the loan you need, but will also allow you to borrow larger amounts, up to $10,000 or more, depending on your combined incomes.

It is important that you do not over extend yourself by borrowing an amount that is more than you can reasonably afford to repay. Doing so may cause you to become behind on your personal loan payments or obligations to other creditors, which can effect your overall credit score in a negative manner. Never agree to pay an amount each month that exceeds what your budget can handle.

Finding The Best Personal Loans

To realize savings on your personal loan, both secured and unsecured personal loans are available online. Online lenders not only offer the ease of applying from the comfort of your own home, they also have greater rates of approval for borrowers of all credit types and reduced interest rates due to competition between lenders in the online lending marketplace.

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Debt collection letters are tools in the debt collection process. They are intended to remind the debtor about his liability. They are also proof of necessary communication in the court while litigation proceeds. The federal law, FDCPA, insists on a standard methodology for the letter. The use of illegal words or style in the debt collection records will be a violation of the law. To avoid such difficult circumstances, sample letters can be used as route maps for standard debt collection letters. Sample debt collection letters narrate the content and style of debt collection letters.

Sample debt collection letters act as a guide for debt collection documents. FDCPA regulations protect the rights of the debtor. The Act particularly insists not to include abusive, harassing and deceptive statements in the correspondence. Sample letters exemplify the right pattern of communication. The procedure usually involves a letter within 5 days of the first telephone call to the debtor in order to clarify the details. In the absence of a favorable reply, debt collectors send reminders. Sample letters are available for each format, whether they are sample reminder letters or sample notice letters.

Sample letters are informational resources for debt collection letters. They provide the outline, though they cannot be copied as such. However, some ready made letters are also available in which only details such as the name, due amount and date have to be added. They are provided in the pre-formatted version, suitable for various circumstances.

Sample debt collection letters are usually provided by experts in the debt collection field. Section 812 of FDCPA imposes civil liabilities for the supply of deceptive sample letters. The Internet is the best source at your fingertips. Sample letters are generally available on websites of attorneys and debt collector agencies. A few sites provide free sample letters. Pre-formatted sample debt collection letters can be downloaded and used as original letters with necessary modifications. Sample letters are also included in books and training modules on debt collection.

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