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Debt Settlement
Whenever there is a debt-consolidation commercial on the TV, it usually consists of a harried man sitting between two giant mounds of papers and envelopes. He has a pen in his hand, and he is nervously shaking as he pays his bills. Suddenly, the mounds of paper topple. The man is engulfed by an avalanche of forms. Woe is he! As the man claws his way out of his papery tomb, an announcer speaks, “Are you looking for a way to settle your debts?”.
The man, who only seconds earlier escaped his “debtor’s prison” with scraps of paper still in his hair, nods. “Our company can help you with your debt settlements.”
The commercial usually gives you a company name and a number, and then it’s back to sports.
Even if you are not familiar with that type of commercial, you may be familiar with the themes that the commercial tries to convey: Being in debt is a prison, a trap, a pit of paperwork. It is important for anyone who has debt to settle to settle that debt.
There are scads of companies out there who would love to help you settle your debts, and of course, they charge you money. So before you go running to a professional debt settler, you can often try to settle your own debts with the creditor directly.
Money-lending institutions are much like two-faced gods. On the one face, they just give you money. You may want a bag of candy. There are few things more frivolous in this world than a bag of candy. Yet, you can buy a bag of candy with your credit card and your creditors will say nothing. It is okay with them that you are going into debt to buy candy, but if you don’t pay them back, they will charge you an arm and a leg for that candy. At this point, they seem like cutthroat pirates, people who want to crush you with debt and punish you for borrowing. Why, then, would you talk to these fickle folks about debt settlement?
They just want their money. Like all businesses, credit companies are mostly interested in the bottom line. They are more than happy to let a customer settle their debts. It is more costly for a credit card company to pursue, prosecute and collect from a borrower than it is just to settle with them. If your debt is snowballing out of control, you should call your credit card company immediately. Tell them that you cannot deal with all those late fees and interest rates that they are charging. Let them know what you are capable of paying a month. Usually, they will bend a little in exchange for the guarantee of debt settlement.
In some cases, however, the credit card company may not settle your debt with you. They may demand that you pay them the full amount. They may be as stoic and humorless as a Buckingham guard. At that point, it is time to call a debt-consolidation company. These companies will take stock of your financial situation and contact your creditors on your behalf. They will propose payment plans to the creditors. This route may be more costly than going at it by yourself, but debt-management companies are more likely to get results if your initial attempts at debt settlement failed. Their fees are also tax deductible. So you can make the money back at the end of the year.
Before you find yourself beneath a stack of credit-card bills, remember that you can have your debts settled while they are relatively light. These companies want their money and will stop at nothing to get it. That means they’ll stoop to negotiating and cutting deals. That’s something worth taking advantage of.
Topics: Debt Consolidation |
