DIY Debt Settlement
by Michael
Do-It-Yourself Settlement is a Great Option for Most Consumers
Despite advertising to the contrary by some debt settlement companies, you are well-positioned to settle your own debts with your creditors. In other words, there is no need to pay a lot of money to a debt settlement firm to negotiate for you, and doing it yourself means that you’ll have more money to put toward your debts so you’ll get out of debt faster. However, you’re more likely to settle your own debts successfully if you have a clearer understanding of the settlement process and know how to make it work for you. For these reasons, the services of a debt settlement firm that will support your do-it-yourself efforts with information, advice and encouragement can be invaluable. If you decide to get this kind of help, here is some of what you will learn:
• Something is almost always better than nothing. Although creditors understand that a certain percentage of the consumers they extend credit to won’t be able to repay what they owe and therefore set aside a reserve for losses as a result of defaults, they also want to minimize the amount of those losses. One way that most of them do that is by agreeing to settle past due debts for less than the full amounts owed. However, each creditor has its own policy regarding what it will settle a debt for. For example, you may find that you are able to save 60% with one creditor, but only 45% with another. For more detail read Debt Settlement-Why Banks Do It.
• Timing matters. The creditor you’re negotiating with may reject your offer, maybe because it’s too small, in which case you may want to increase the size of your offer, if you can afford to. It’s also possible that your offer was rejected because you’re off on your timing (See the next bullet in this post) or because there was irregular activity on your account prior to your default. For example, before you stopped paying on the account you tapped it for large cash advances, used it for balance transfers, or you suddenly began using your card much more than you had in the past. Of course, some creditors may simply refuse to settle with you, in which case you’ll have another shot at settling if your account is sent to collections or sold to a debt collection agency.
• Settle sooner rather than later. If you are going to negotiate with an original creditor (the creditor who extended you credit), usually you must do so before the account you want to settle is more than six months past due. Otherwise, you’ll have to try to negotiate a settlement with the collection agency that your creditor may hire to collect your debt or with the agency that may purchase the debt. It’s also possible that after the six months are up, your creditor will give your debt to an attorney who is authorized to sue you for the money. Complexities do exist. The more accounts you have with different creditors the more strategic you will need to be in how you prioritize the accounts so that you maximize savings and defer risk.
• Be ready to roll with the punches. Although settling a debt is not difficult, when you are doing it yourself, you may end up feeling lost, frustrated or unsure about what to do next. That’s why having the support and assistance of a debt settlement firm can be so helpful. Not only will the firm make sure that you understand the details and nuances of the process and provide encouragement and support when you need it, but it will also be available to help you figure out when you should take a dive and when you ought to throw your best punch.
Consumer Recovery Network provides consumers with all of the information and tools they need to settle their own debts as well as unlimited support throughout the settlement process. We also guarantee that if you don’t want to settle your own debts or try and are unsuccessful and hire us to do the negotiating for you, we will charge you for our efforts only if you accept the offers we get. And, if you do, we don’t expect you to pay us our fee until after you’ve paid your creditors what you agreed to. Furthermore, in 19 states we don’t charge anything for our negotiating services. In these states however, we do encourage the consumers we work with to donate what they would have had to pay to us if they were living in a state that did allow us to charge a fee for those services to a low income legal aid organization in their community or to donate nonperishable food items to their local food bank.
By: Michael Bovee
CRN President
