Free Debt Settlement Information

Consumers across the country are facing the most challenging market environment in recent memory. Each day, it seems we wake up to more distressing news, which can make it all too easy to become swept up by financial pressures and make hasty decisions based on the panic of the moment. 

If you’re reading this, you’ve undoubtedly given your current financial situation a lot of thought and probably have a significant amount of debt to deal with. A simple search on the Internet, such as “debt trouble,” will immediately bring up hundreds of hits encouraging debt settlement. Like any other industry, there are good companies and there are bad companies. However, experts agree that many debt settlement companies are nothing but scams that will use predatory practices to take advantage of families and individuals facing debt challenges. 

Here are three of the most common scams in debt settlement:
1. Misinformation—there are several angles to this, including telling you whatever they think you want to hear to get you to sign up, lying about some aspects of the program, or simply omitting certain negative details. 

2. Offering a very long program, 4, 5, 6 plus years—this may sound good at first because it means a low monthly payment. However, it will take too long for your creditors to get any money, opening up the possibility of getting sued by them.
 
3. Pressure to enroll and sign immediately—sounds far fetched, but it isn’t. Even on a phone consultation, they’ll get you to sign up, without even qualifying or showing statements. You’ll also make your first payment right away, probably with a credit card. This is a huge red flag. Never sign up with any program if they’re willing to do so without seeing your creditor information, statements, or bills.

It’s time to do some hard thinking about how you want the next chapter of your financial future to unfold. If you realize you can no longer “afford” your debt, you can’t make an informed decision if you’re only given misleading and partial information. 
Check out the Federal Trade Commission’s website at www.ftc.gov to find more about debt settlement.