Financial Planning

Everyone has heard of Debt Settlement USA, they are well known for being able to help you eliminate your debt. There are many people these days that want to get rid of their debt, but are unsure if this is the right choice to make or if another company would be better. To help you make a more informed decision, there are some important things that you need to know about them.

The first thing to know is that they are based in Scottsdale, Arizona and are one of the largest companies around that is still providing help for many people to get away from the viscous debt cycle.

It is always a smart idea to do your own research on this company to check them out for yourself. This will help you learn a lot of useful information about them to make a more informed decision. Also, check with the BBB about this company or any other company for that matter, before hiring them for help with your debt
settlement.

An important thing to know before hiring this company is that in order to be able to hire them, your debt needs to be at least $12, 000 in unsecured debt. The debt can include things such as medical bills, hospital bills, overdue rent, credit card debt, personal loans, past due water bill, past due gas bill and even a past due electric bill.

One interesting thing to know about this popular company is that they have an electronic enrollment system that allows anyone to sign up fast and easily so you can get started on the road to being debt free that much quicker. Check this out more for yourself before deciding if it is right for you or not.
Now, before hiring this company or any other company, you need to make sure they can offer you certain things. Some of the most important things they should be able to offer you include:

1. They need to be able to lower your monthly payments.
2. Can help you save as much as 70% on what you owe.
3. Help to be debt free in 12 to 60 months.
4. Advice that is fast, friendly and right for your debt settlement.

Always take the time to research Debt Settlement USA or any other company before deciding to hire them. Be sure that they are your best option for debt settlement because this is too important to make a rush decision on. The best company needs to be hired for help in order for you to eliminate as much debt as possible.

While the United States economy has suffered from the home mortgage crisis, credit card debt has been bubbling up as the next witch’s brew ready to bring its own potent poison to the table. Credit card debt has been getting out of control for years, but the situation has worsened as other forms of credit have dried up. Home equity loans are no longer a ready cash cow for acquisitive Americans, and growing unemployment rates have more people tapping credit cards to the limit.

Credit Counseling and Debt Settlement

It’s no wonder, then, that organizations that help consumers resolve credit card debt are extremely busy, serving thousands of new clients. There are two popular approaches to resolving credit card debt issues – credit counseling and debt settlement.

Each helps clients by educating them in ways to get out of debt and stay that way, but the approaches are significantly different. The objective of credit counseling is to pay off debts in full by negotiating lower interest rates, while debt settlement companies pay off debts fast by negotiating reductions in the amounts owed. Main differences include:

Credit Counseling:
1. Negotiate reduced interest rate, pay off full original balances
2. Client pays monthly amount to counseling service, which makes payments to creditors
3. Monthly payments usually higher
4. Compensated by fees from lenders, 4-15%
5. More BBB complaints
6. 83.9% of BBB complaints resolved
7. 21-26% reported success rate
8. Professional Associations: National Federation for Consumer Counseling (NFCC) and Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA)

Debt Settlement:
1. Negotiate reduced balances, then pay them off in full
2. Client sets up separate savings account, pays own bills from it
3. Monthly payments usually lower
4. Compensated directly by clients, 10-15%
5. Fewer BBB complaints
6. 91.5% of BBB complaints resolved
7. 40-55% reported success rate
8. Professional Association: The Association of Settlement Companies

Different Approaches for Different Problems

But the biggest distinction is that these two approaches are designed to help people with different levels of debt. Consumers with credit card debt less than $7,500 probably should not consider debt settlement. In such cases, credit counseling or a do-it-yourself program would be a better approach.

But people who have amassed very high levels of credit card debt may find debt settlement the best way to clear the deck and get back control of their lives. Companies that subscribe to standards of The Association of Settlement Companies (TASC) work toward paying off all balances in 12-36 months.

A Needed Alternative to Bankruptcy

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 all but eliminated personal bankruptcy for most Americans. When this option was all but taken off the table, the contemporary consumer credit industry began to take new form to meet the needs of consumers with exceptionally high levels of unsecured debt.

Let’s be clear about this: debt settlement is not for everyone, but it provides a much needed alternative to bankruptcy for people who, for whatever reason, cannot meet their obligations. People who cannot make even the minimum monthly payments on credit card debts aren’t likely to succeed with a credit counseling solution that calls for even higher monthly payments.

Criticism and Comparisons

For an industry with so much to offer the public, debt settlement has been subject to a great deal of criticism lately, primarily for two reasons: 1) the industry is new (less than five years old) and not well understood; and 2) a few bad companies have sullied the reputations of the majority of legitimate, highly ethical ones. The industry is correcting both problems by establishing a higher public profile to raise awareness and understanding, and by sorting out the bad apples.

The credit counseling industry, led by the NFCC, is not at all reluctant to cast stones at debt settlement, perhaps even questioning the industry’s right to exist. But a quick glance at the comparison above should alert readers to several concerns about credit counseling. Two in particular stand out.

First is the matter of who pays credit counseling agencies. Some have observed that they appear to be well-mannered collection agencies for the card companies, because creditors pay fees to them (which is not the case with debt settlement companies).

Then there is the matter of effectiveness. The credit counseling success rate of 21-26% lags well behind the 40-50% reported for debt settlement. If your financial future were on the line, which would you choose?