Credit Counseling Scenario #1
John Smith has thousands of dollars of debt on several credit cards at varying interest rates. While he is making payments and his bills are current, John is barely making more than the minimum payment on each card and losing hundreds of dollars to interest charges that he could be saving each month.
A reputable credit counselor might help John negotiate lower interest rates on some or all of his credit cards and then begin shifting outstanding balances on the higher interest rate cards to the lower — both reducing his minimum payment each month and allowing him to save more money.
Credit Counseling Scenario #2
Jane Doe has a $20,000 balance on a high interest rate credit card as a result of losing her job. While she is currently
making the minimum payment, the outstanding balance is growing larger every month due to the high interest rate. Soon, she won’t even be able to make the minimum payment as it continues to grow with the outstanding balance. There doesn’t appear to be any way to pay down the debt, especially since she doesn’t know when she will be back in work. An experienced credit counseling company may look at her present financial situation and recommend trying to negotiate a settlement with her credit card company, rather than continuing to pay money into a debt that will keep growing into what has become an unmanageable situation.
Pros of Using a Debt Settlement Company
The biggest pro towards using a debt settlement company is the opportunity to get out of debt without entering the bankruptcy scene. A quality consumer debt settlement firm will help you settle with creditors so that you only pay a portion of what is actually owed.
Debt settlement is one of the only ways, outside of bankruptcy, to avoid paying the entire amount of your debt. It also closes out any delinquent items on your credit report, because you will be shown as “current” on those accounts. Once the debt is settled in the agreed upon way, you are no longer subject to legal action or credit collection, provided there is written proof of the settlement. A debt settlement company works out all of these details on your behalf.
Another benefit of using a debt settlement company is the fact that the company handles the actual negotiations for you. Debt settlements require a lot of back and forth between the creditor and the debtor, and a debt settlement company has extensive experience in these sometimes touchy negotiations.
DebtSettlements.com is an industry leading resource for individuals that want to learn how a debt settlement could improve their financial situation.
