I work for a debt settlement company, at the end of the day the people we enroll are going through true financial hardships. The type of people you're talking about are typically people who do have money to pay them off within a few months. The people I enroll aren't getting out of the debt within months they are looking at decades of interest. I'm glad to be one of those Companies were we do inform all of our clients of the pros and Cons of debt settlement.
Are either you or the gentleman in this video still in the business? After talking to two of the big DS companies today, the pushy vibe sent me to seek this info on my own and perhaps work with someone I can trust.
When just over 100 days late with your credit card payment to Citi, it is not generally the best time to offer a settlement. The best time to offer settlement would be once you pass 150 days late. 45% of the balance owed at the time of settling is a realistic target with Citicard - at that time. You pointed out that Citi would not work with you to establish a lower payment prior. They may consider it now that you are this late. They may even waive late and penalty fees.
you can strike a deal with credit card companies yourself..i got mine to agree to knock off 40% of the total balance provided i paid the rest of it within 60 days. see it thru the banks eyes..some money is better than none. make sure you get EVERYTHING you agreed to in writing. dont send any payments until they send you the paperwork.
You can always contact the original creditor an work out some type of settlement or payment arrangement. If they have they account assigned out to a collection agency, or have sold off the debt, they will tell you who to and provide the contact information for the agency so you can contact them and resolve the debt. If you run into a situation where a purchased debt has been resold a couple of times, post an update here and lets take it from there.
Once you miss several months of credit card payment the late payments will stay on your credit report, even if you pay the debt in full. You reach a point where settling the debt will save you money, but not your credit score. Credit bounces back given time. If you only have the 1 or 2 credit cards showing negative, but zero balance owed after the settlement, and have other positives on credit (mortgage, car, other cards etc), it can take 6 to 24 months to improve the credit score.
Thank for this information. I am in this very midst. Not in any hardship, but I will be trapped for a decade in interest on stuff I could pay down in 2 years if structured. Talked to two of the big ones today, and they didnt say ANY of what you just said, 10 years after . I want to make it right and filing bankruptcy just seems wrong, but now I have the 3rd option of trying to do it myself. Thanks again ,sir.
What an honest company! I wish I found this company when I needed help. Visit their website and post a question. They will even talk with you by phone for no charge.
One of the best teachers on debt I've found online. Thanks for being so forthcoming with a no-nonsense approach for people who truly need concrete advice.
We have seen situations where clients have been sued in the debt settlement process and their wages have been garnished while they were still making payments to the ds company. One must be very careful who they deal with and what is going on around them during the process. Thank you for your information.
It would be helpful for future readers if you were to post the names of companies who your consumer clients have experienced that with. Not in defense of debt settlement companies, but strategically speaking, there are some limited situations where garnishment would be something to let continue in order to leverage that activity for better settlement deals from other creditors. And in the instance you relate in your comment, where the consumer could both afford the garnishment, and still make monthly payments into their debt settlement escrow account, that would partially fit the type of unique file where garnishment can prove helpful in achieving better outcomes elsewhere.
Viking is a collection agency. It is not a good idea to make a single payment to a debt collector if you know in advance that you cannot afford to continue with the plan. You could reset the SOL for them to sue you, and if you are indeed settling for less than the balance (which is not clear from your comment - sounds more like a payment agreement), missing a payment a couple months from now means losing the deal and wasting the money paid up to that point. Are you paying the full 6900?
I really wish I knew this before I signed up. I searched and searched to find how to deal with my debt. I signed up with a settlement company only to be fooled. Feel so betrayed. Thank you so much for rhis. I will clear it up myself and it doesn't seem so scary anymore.
I purposely stopped paying on my wife's credit card so they would negotiated with me a settlement and they agreed to settle 40% of the debt if I pay in full. I had tried to negotiate before but they would not. But now I am in the "dog house" because my wife thinks I ruined her credit. She only has two cards and we have been paying both on time until I tried this strategy. How bad of a mistake did I do. And what can I do to clean up the mess.
I am soon leaving the debt settlement industry, having represented hundreds of clients in debt settlement lawsuits. For people in California, bankruptcy is almost always a better solution than debt settlement.
Debt settlement is a great option for people that are making minimum payments and struggling on a monthly basis. Typically people that dont save or have enough to save within 3 to 5 months. Settlement can be a great way to settle large amounts
Michael, Thank you for all that you do. I have another question for you: Let's say you have a settlement in place with one of the bigger banks (still waiting for the letter to be sent to me), but you have not settled yet with one of the more litigious ones (i.e. Discover), would the more litigious one be able to tell you have a settlement agreement in place with the bigger bank? The bigger bank allows for payments over 90 days, so it will not be paid off until the Fall, but will this trigger the more litigious one to engaging in hard ball? I ask this because my goal is to settle with the more litigious ones PRIOR to paying off the bigger bank in the Fall. By having a settlement agreement in place (but NOT yet paid off) -- does it show up on a credit report? Are the other litigious banks able to see this prior to it being paid off? Thanks for all your help....
All banks, collectors, debt buyers have access to your credit reports. They can and do use what they see there like you are thinking. Your credit report is not updated to show anything new when you are settling with monthly payment terms. Not until you complete the settlement arrangement, so like you said in your case, you have time before they get alerted to the settlement.
I 'm an accountant knows this thing, he is right. I work with one of the company before that is why I know what he saying. If you have nothing to lose why settle. no one goes to jail for debt BUT will cost your wage and lien to your property.
I'd love to negotiate with the creditors but how do we assure ourselves that the debt isn't sold or passed off to a collection company and hence we have to pay fees? If we wait the 180 days like you recommend should we call around day 175 or so and say hey before you send off that debt lets do a deal?
You get all agreements in writing before paying so that you can quickly put to rest any errors that may occur, where you later hear from a debt collector on an account you already settled. Your impression of the timing of when to settle is fair, but negotiating with your credit card bank is not as simple as calling and saying "lets do a deal before you send my account off to collections". I have a step by step guide for settling directly with your bank on the CRN site. Start reading on this page: consumerrecoverynetwork.com/what-is-debt-settlement/ The foundation for what to say and when, and to which creditors, is outlined there.
A sixth thing that even you won't talk about.... Senior's Social Security payments (and nearly all pensions) deposited in a bank (actually two times that amount) are protected by federal law from garnishment -- making most Seniors judgement proof. HELPS is a non-profit law firm that will give you all of the details about this for free. Its much better than bankruptcy (or debt settlement) for the vast majority of Seniors and it there to protect you.
I have a ques: I lost my job and could no longer afford to make payment on my account. I called several times to discuss and they never wanted to offer me any options. Now my account if 109 days past due my account balance is $3150.81. They charged me $873.42 in fees. Citicards sent me a letter to offer to settle how much should I settle down for? My account was in good standing and I never missed a payment. I was shocked how they were not willing to hlep. I also closed my account 2yrs
i really like this video especially the idea that provide in this video form the second half for debt loans that was really cool . thanks for the information and for uploading the video.
This video is pretty accurate. There are some things he could have added to the list to make it more informative, but I guess he only wanted to do a top 5. Nevertheless, he could have added information about the taxes you may have to pay on the savings.
Most companies these days put that in the fine print, so they touch on it. Here is an article about tax on forgiven debt: consumerrecoverynetwork.com/debt-forgiveness-taxes-settled-credit-card/ Not everyone will owe taxes on cancelled debt.
I was in school a few years back. And left for life reasons. When I left I had a 6,000 dallor debt with the school themselves they had the school debt collectors call me. I payed then month after month. Finally today I settled wuth then for 30 percent off what I owed. I settled for 2,316 dallors. The main reasons I settles is I lost my job today. And I saved my tax refund so that came in handy. However I am jobless now and yeah so now it's time to look for a new job yet again.
Great channel, honest information, THANK YOU!!! Michael, do you know if there are ANY honest online debt consolidation loan companies out here in internet land? I would rather borrow the $25000 that I owe and have one payment instead of eight or nine payments that I am not able to keep up with. I would definitely call each company and ask them what the least amount they would take if I pay them in one shot [after I get the loan]. I am trying to avoid a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Thank you for your response.
What shape is your credit in? What are your credit scores? Is the 25k debt consolidation for the full balances of the debts you have? If so, and if your balances are all current, you will not fair well calling your creditors to settle for less than you owe at this point. It would help to know answers to the above in order to point to whether traditional debt consolidation would help you reach your goals.
Michael Bovee Hi Michael, WOW, wasn't expecting such a quick response ,thank YOU! My credit is low, I don't know the exact numbers, but no, all of my loans are late and I haven't paid on my credit cards in months because my wife lost her job and things have snow balled crazily. Not where we wanted to be in our mid-forties. We have four kids so not everything goes according to plan. We are sitting down with a bankruptcy attorney in a couple of days to get some more questions answered, so glad to have found your honest channel! Thank you.
Michael Bovee....oh, and also, some of the amount of that $25000 debt is secured by collateral, roughly about $8000 of it is secured the rest is unsecured, but is it worth screwing up my credit for another 10 years that the bankruptcy will be on my credit report and also paying higher then normal interest on future loans? I guess everyone has to weigh out the pros and cons for each individual situation....thank you Michael.
Al May There are limited instances where you can get a paid collection removed from your credit. Post some of the background about the account, and also who the creditor or debt collector is, and I can offer more feedback.
Al May It helps tremendously to know who the collectors are and how long the debts have gone unpaid. It is also helpful to know if any portion of the medical services were covered by insurance.
Thanks for leaving the comment and encouraging people to reach out to us. That is what our videos and publishing effort on the CRN website is all about.
Brother Micheal Bovee i and my wife both have combined debt of 34000 apx do you think we should apply for joint bankruptcy or debt relief please let us know your advise will help us alot thanks
Choosing bankruptcy over debt settlement is easiest when you qualify for chapter 7. Choosing debt settlement as an alternative to chapter 13 is common. Have you connected with an experienced bankruptcy attorney yet? If not, do that first. Let me know your thoughts afterward and we can look at how debt settlement stacks up.
Im being sued by Portfolio Recovery. The debt was originally 700 now Portfolio wants 2400. Im sending them a letter of validation. I believe its an old debt.
Hi Michael. I owed my school 2500 from short term loan. When they passed it down to William and fudge the total came to be 3200. A 700 in fee in less than 2 months after the school gave them my info. Now they had blocked my registration even though it is in collections. I was able to work things out to unblock reg. But still owe the money. Is it a legal amount of fee? And how do you think I should go about this? Any suggestion will be helpful please. Thank you.
I have a question ? If you owe 45,000 in credit card debit, what would be the fastest way out of this ? I tried talking to my bank and see if they could adjust the payments and they won’t budge. I’m in talks with a credit counselling society but looking at 2 years at 1540 a month which is pretty expensive
You can often negotiate a better savings through settlement than the 70% you are at now. Did you make a counter offer? You could simply say "I have no way to come up with 600 dollars, but I could probably pull together 300, maybe even 350". You do not have to settle this in one phone call. You can try them back in a week and offer a little more than your lower offer. Be sure to get any settlement in writing before you pay anything. The fees were a reference to hiring a debt settlement company.
If I make a settlement though and it's adequate how do I ensure that they will remove it from my credit report? I want some accountability on their part. I know there's a way to confirm it I'm not sure quite how to go about it. Thank you.
Banks do not remove from credit reports (pay for delete), but they will update credit reports to show that you now have a paid off collection. Some of the largest debt buyers in the country have developed new credit reporting policies that remove their reporting, and there are some small collection issues that can sometimes result in removal, but generally speaking, getting a negative removed as part of your negotiation is not happening at a large scale yet.
If I settle how do I know I’m not going to get taxed for the forgiven amount? I can’t afford to owe the IRS. Please please help.i don’t qualify for chapter 7. Only 13. I can’t even do that. I am in New Jersey.
Hello, I have 5k credit card balance and I am trying to be debt free and pay them off completely as it has become a burden to make min payment but I have continue to make the payment but seems my debt is not lowering. Would my option to get to a lower settlement with my creditor is to stop paying and try to negotiate be best course to get my debt paid ? What advice would you give me ?
Settlements can be around 50% with them. How long would it take to pull that together? And is the savings worth the credit hit you would take for that long plus a year or so?
If my account has been sent to debt collector, is it possible to renegotiate with the company or entity I owed to do my payment straightly to them? Instead of settling it via a debt collector?
Normally, when a creditor sends an account to a debt collector, you have to deal with the agency they place the account with. And depending on the lender it is better to negotiate the deal with the collection agency. Who are you dealing with?
Hi Michael, I am 67 years old and I saw your video about a company that’s deals with senior citizens with there bad debt. Can you give the company name and info to contact him, I would appreciate. Thx
I would immediately look into whether you are a victim of identity theft. If you are, check out this article: consumerrecoverynetwork.com/identity-theft-prevention/
ok Michael bovee what do I have to do to know this people after I settled meaning after they get my money what garranty do get they will get the relief of the tittle this a motorcycle debt they are willing to settle what do I do before I pay them what do I ask them that is going to garranty me they will put the release on that tittle thank for you help
Generally speaking, any conditions you or they have, would be outlined in a written agreement that you want to review prior to paying anything you negotiate. You are dealing with a loan secured by title to real property. You may want to run the documentation outlining your agreement by an attorney.
I almost worked with GreenPath because my credit union recommended them on their site. It was supposed to be "Free financial advice." Is this a debt settlement company?
No. Greenpath is a non profit credit counseling agency that can help you reduce your monthly payments on credit cards and other types of loans. You can expect a no cost consultation that will help you determine next steps for tackling debt.
@@MichaelBovee Thanks, yeah already done,. They want me to join, didn't really give me much other info. besides and ap and tell me to put money aside each month (like I can even afford to do that.) How much would it ruin my credit and for how long if I went with them and did this for two credit cards totaling about $11K?
Hello Mister are you still giving advice in this matter I would like to have some advices from you, to take the best path before taking bad decisions, Please let me know how to contact you. Thanks
Thank you .. & I’m vary upset with some issues... I have medical expense bill .. but I had insurance and now I have in collection debt .. and recently I bought a new phone from AT&T & someone stole from me .. & I’m still paying for phone & line too .. I don’t have any income right now ... I’m trying to settle those issues & it’ll take time & I have to pay for all bill collection until it’s going settlement or without settlement ... can you help me out anything best way to get debt & if I have 100 dollar debt can I eligible for 500 ?
How long ago was the medical visit/service? Is the part in collection a copay, or something that should have been submitted to insurance but was not, or something insurance refused to cover partially/fully? I am not sure about that last question and what you would be eligible for. Can you elaborate on that?
Yes the bill issued one of Kaiser permit & another is emergency medical expenses but I had medicaid too & they told me insurance will covered everything but now I got some collections for those bills too ... alright do you think any that you know really help me out to get loan or debt ??
It will be hard to get a loan with unpaid collections on your credit. I would talk to your insurance provider about the medical bills not being covered. It is important to try to get all of that worked out in the early stages of the bills not being covered like they should have been.
I wish I did my research first. I just signed up with a debt consolidation company last night and now I'm feeling sick to my stomach. The contract states that "The amount of time the Law Firm may need to settle Client's debts depends on many factors including, but not limited to, the balance of any debt, the amount of time the debt was owed, Client's available funds to pay the debt, the creditor's willingness to negotiate the debt and the fees and costs that have accrued on the debt. The Law Firm generally begins making settlement offers to creditors once the client has saved approximately 25% of the enrolled debt amount. Client understands that a settlement will not be reached with a creditor until Client has accumulated enough funds to make a lump sum payoff." Does this mean that nothing will go towards any of my debts, allowing payments to fall behind and accruing more debt, while my monthly payments go to a savings account until it has reached 25%? And would this be why they mentioned possibly switching banks so that the bank won't dip into my account to collect payments? I have 2 small personal loans and one credit card with high interest through my bank. The contract is signed...is there anything I can do? Anything else I need to know? I am just sick about this. Editing to add: This is with Palisade Legal Group based out of California and the amount of my consolidation is for $17080
It is the case the debt settlement typically means having to fall behind for several months before any negotiation can begin. This means credit damage, balances going up from fee and interest for 6 months, and aggressive collection risks with different creditors as time goes on. None of the above is a great situation to be in, but it can beat chapter 13 bankruptcy if you cannot qualify for chapter 7. Are you 30 days late on your debts yet? Changing banks is more for when you have to settle an account with the same place you have your checking and savings. They have visibility into those accounts when it comes time to negotiate a settlement. How to cancel your plan, if that is what you are thinking about doing, should be simple enough, and laid in the agreement.
@@MichaelBovee I’m not late at all, just over the limit on my bank credit card and am now being charged an incredible amount of interest. Consolidation sounded like a great way to streamline my payments and lower some of the interest into one manageable payment that gave me some breathing room. I am very interested in getting out of this contract. May I come back with more questions if I’m having trouble with the legalese?
I highly recommend you read my debt relief comparison article here: consumerrecoverynetwork.com/credit-report-score-rating-debt-relief-programs/ You will gain better insight into your options and the impacts from each. You can post question to any of the videos and articles on the site!
My Credit Card Debt was sold to Midland LLC who is the now owner of the account. However Pressler is now trying to collect the debt. Will they be consider the 3rd party?
Midland Funding LLC buys the legal rights to collect unpaid debts. Pressler and Pressler works as an assignment collector for debt owners like Midland Funding and others. Pressler and Pressler will often collect through the courts, so your risk of being sued may have increased. Has Pressler and Pressler sent you a collection notice in the mail, or only recently called you?
Michael Bovee They sent me a notice on July 12 stating that my account was purchased by Midland and was place with them. On August 5, I asked The Agreement with your client that authorizes you to collect on this debt. The Agreement that bear signature of the alleged debt where he promises to pay the original creditor. Payment history on this account, to prove that the amount you wish to collect is accurate. The name & address of the original creditor. In return, they only sent me a bill statement with my name & account. Is that sufficient information to proceed?
Joel Bouie Joel - Debt buyers and debt collectors can meet debt validation requests with ease. I cannot say whether what you were sent would be sufficient to meet their obligation without knowing a great deal more. But sending prior billing statements is often one simple way they can accomplish validation. Debt collectors are not required to meet your 30 day request. The 30 days is a reference to the time you have to request validation. Pressler and Pressler, or Midland Funding LLC, must respond if they want to continue to attempt to collect, but responding months later is a normal occurrence.
i have like 8 credit cards in wich 4 am almost maxed out i owe around 10,000 in credit card debt. plus i have a car loan for 40,000 but the only thing killing me is my cards what would you recomend to get rid of them? thanks.
Michael Bovee i have discover, sams card, capital one, wells fargo, and best buy. those are the main ones im in trouble with im current with all the payments. but the interest are around 23% just discover is like 18%. thanks for the response.
You may be better off working with a credit counseling agency, where you have a lower payment, and no impact to your credit score. You also do not have to experience all the collection activity. Call and talk to a counselor for free at 800-939-8357 ext 1.
Some are really good, but charge way high fees. Others are not all that great and still charge way high fees. I think you see where I am going with this.
I think oversimplifying debt settlement is going to do more harm than good. Most of this information is outdated and should be removed to not harm the consumer.
Hypothetically, you do not have to pay any debt back. But there are often ramifications to that, such as credit reporting, or inability to reach other credit and finance goals.
You cannot get rid of debt by simply joining the US military. I do not understand the second question. It sounds like your asking if there is anything to some things posted online about how if a debt collector does not have signed agreement, they cannot collect? Which is largely false, and pretty much an argument you make when you are sued for debt, which most of us want to avoid.
I owe 11k total. 8k to a company who loaned me 10k for my car title. My plan was to sell my $50k Benz and pay the loan back. I loaned the car to my father and he broke the engine. Replacement engine for the CLS63 AMG was more than I could afford. I had lost my great job and needed the 10k because I have 2 kids that couldn't wait till the car sold. Anyway, they took the car and sold it. They say I still owe 8k. This was about 3 years ago. What amount would you recommend I offer to settle the debt? My credit score in the low 500s is killing me. I also owe Santander $1.6k for a Car my son bought under my name. It was totaled outside his dorm. I didn't have Gap Insurance so they say I also owe them that money. Wells Fargo says I paid off the debt for a 60k Escalade but I did have 14 late payments or miss payments it says on my credit report. Any advice for me? I tried using a credit repair agency called Christian debt relief or something like that. They stopped responding when I asked for their promises in writing :( Appreciate any help!
+gambitraven What state are you in? What is the name of the debt collection agency? There are debt collections scams that can be a concern. The older the debt, the bigger the concern. I have a video up on the channel about this here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8Et7HlitGF4.html I also have an article about collection scams on the website: consumerrecoverynetwork.com/question/debt-collection-scams-fakes/
Do you mean when offering some form of payment to a debt collector or creditor, who then refuses the payment, you are off the hook for the debt? That is not true. Where did you come upon that information?
Leighla Claiborne I would get a second opinion on that. What are the details of the situation? Perhaps there is something more to your situation than the typical credit card debt settlement, which is the primary topic of the video.
Michael Bovee Hello, You said sometimes you can settle your debt directly.. I have a credit card through my bank with my husband and we have been struggling for 6 years to get out of debt.. paying some down here and there only to max it out again. Can we go directly to our bank and offer them say $3,000 to settle? How does this work. We want to be debt free. We don't make enough to pay off our debt. We were young and dumb and lived beyond our means. Lesson learned but now we are in a hole.
edymasta The vast majority of people I have worked or corresponded with about overwhelming debt experienced a hardship triggering event. Health expenses; flat or declining wages; inflation costs of hard line consumables; death; job loss; separation or divorce; and much more, all can contribute to debt. Drive by posts about only paying for stuff in cash, or when you have the full purchase price to pay on hand, is not helpful. People struggling with debt need resources and solutions, not a lecture, or at least not by anonymous drive by posters. The US economy is credit fueled. Taking away forward spending from our economy is not necessarily a bad idea, but it would cause massive economic and employment upheaval. The US has a debt based monetary system. Debt is baked into the cake at every level. The US government just surpassed 18 trillion in debt yesterday. Get righteous and indignant about debt if you like, but it is all around you.
Michael Bovee Good points, but I guess my point wasnt about that, it was just affording to pay what you can pay, but you're absolutely right on the other things, life surprises you and suddenly you cant pay your stuff
