With the economy worsening many Americans are looking for ways to get out of debt fast. Unfortunately, most are turning to services call debt settlement.
Debt Settlement programs were originally designed to help those with small amounts of debt, settle their debt quickly with their creditors. Usually the clients would have under $1,000 in debt and the debt settlement companies would offer the creditors .50 cents on the dollar. This worked out good for all because most people were able to gather small amounts of money in a short period of time and the collectors were happy to get some of their money back.
Since then the debt settlement industry has turned into something quiet different. Now Debt Settlement is mainly considered a scam. Unless you have a small amount of debt one should NEVER enroll into a debt settlement program.
What happens is that you are told the Debt Settlement program will offer a compromise between your current hardship and filing bankruptcy. But this in fact is not true. What happens is you are instructed by the debt settlement company to stop paying your creditors and instead give that money to the debt settlement company which they then pocket for their fees. This goes on for about 6 months. After 6 months is when you begin saving up money to pay to your creditors. The problem with this arrangement is after approximately 4 months of non-payment you have defaulted on your debt. Once you are in default of your debt you can now be sued by your creditors. Creditors can not sued you if you have not defaulted on your debt.
Statues of limitations for creditors to sue vary from state to state but most range between 2 to 4 years. That means they must sue you prior to the statue of limitations running out.
Here are a few debt settlement companies that have been or currently are the subject of subpoena by various state attorney offices:
American Debt Foundation Inc.
American Financial Service
Allegro Law Firm.
ADA Tampa Bay, also known as American Debt Arbitration, of Tampa
Credit Answers LLC
CSA - Credit Solutions of America Inc.
Debt Remedy Solutions LLC
Debt Settlement America
Debt Settlement USA
Debtmerica Relief
DMB Financial LLC
Enterprise Technology Group, Inc,., doing business as Ameritrust Financial Card.
Equity First Financial Corp., of Casselberry.
Freedom Debt Relief
Financial Freedom Resources, Inc., of Clearwater
IXE Accelerated Financial Services
Nationwide Asset Services Inc., of Phoenix, and its affiliates
New Leaf Associates, LLC.
New Era Debt Solutions
New Horizons Debt Relief Inc.
Nodelay Enterprises, Inc., also known as Nodelay Account Services, of Orlando
Preferred Financial Services Inc
Provident Financial Services, Inc., also known as Future Financial Direct, Inc. .
Specialized Funding, of Largo
United Debt Solutions
United Debt Solutions, Inc.
U.S. Financial Management Inc., which operates under My Debt Negotiation
With those who are struggling financially the last thing they need is for a debt settlement company to take advantage of them and that is exactly what debt settlement companies have been doing.
If you are struggling financially you should first attempt a consumer credit consolidation program. These programs help people eliminate or reduce interest on their debt, stop late fees and penalties and bring accounts back to a current status.
One of the leaders in this industry is Debt Solutions USA.
You can call us toll free at 1.888.357.8683. |
