If you cannot keep up with the minimum payments due on your credit cards, a creditor or debt collector may decide to file a CLAIM against you!

If this happens, you will receive a SUMMONS.

The summons will show who the PLAINTIFF is.

This is the creditor or Debt Collector.

You will be named as the DEFENDENT.

The summons will state the particulars:

How much the debt is, etc.

It will also say something like...

You have 30 days to APPEAR and give an ANSWER.

This DOES NOT mean that you have to go to court in 30 days!

It means that if you have WRITTEN PROOF why you do not owe this CLAIM/DEBT, you have 30 days to submit your ANSWER to the court.

This ANSWER must be in the proper legal form and often requires an attorney to prepare and deliver to the court.

Not only will you have to pay the attorney, you will also have to pay a FILING FEE!

If you know you owe the debt, there is no use wasting your time and money.

NOW WHAT HAPPENS?

This is where a lot of people get themselves into trouble by ignoring the summons! 

• YOU CANNOT IGNORE THE SUMMONS!
  
  
• IT WILL NOT JUST "GO AWAY"!

If you ignore the summons and the court awards the PLAINTIFF a DEFAULT JUDGMENT, then the PLAINTIFF has options to collect on the judgment:

1) If you have earned income (mainly W-2 income), they can apply for a WRIT OF GARNISHMENT on your wages. 

In most states, this is 25% of your AFTER TAX/TAKE HOME income!

Let's say you earn $5,000/month and your over-all tax rate is 30%.

That means your after tax/take home is about $3,500.

If you are garnished, your employer has NO CHOICE but to comply with the WRIT OF GARNISHMENT or face legal action.

That means that your employer would have to send 25% of the $3,500 to the PLAINTIFF!  THAT'S $875, leaving you only $2,625 to live on!

OR...

2)  The Plaintiff could apply for a BANK GARNISHMENT!

If awarded, a notice is sent to your bank and any funds you have in your checking and/or savings would be frozen and sent to the plaintiff!

That would be devasting!

Yes, there are EXEMPTIONS on what "TYPE" of income deposited in your account can be garnished such as income from:

• Social Security benefits
• Supplemental Security Income benefits (Disability)
• public assistance benefits
• unemployment benefits
• veteran's benefits
• child support, and
• federal employee and civil service retirement benefits.

But, the problem is twofold:

Even if your bank account SHOULD BE exempt, many times the bank does not protect you and your funds are FROZEN FOR A LONG TIME!

The bank account is NOT PROTECTED from garnishment if you             CO-MINGLE exempt funds with NON-EXEMPT FUNDS.

Let's say you have your Social Security and Retirement checks deposited automatically in your bank.

You do a little "side job" or even earn a few dollars part-time and deposit that money in the same account.

You just CO-MINGLED funds and now all of those funds are open for garnishment!

Starting to get the picture?

There are several options on how to deal with a SUMMONS that can prevent all the above, but you have to be PRO-ACTIVE.

In most cases, a STIPULATED AGREEMENT negotiated.

This is a basically an agreement saying as long as you pay such-in-such, the Plaintiff will not apply for garnishments.

The Stipulated Agreement is filed with the court and once it is completed or "satisfied", it is removed.

It is also possible to negotiate a SETTLEMENT for less than the balance claimed in the summons.  

This is usually about 70%-80% of the balance and usually must be paid in a lump sum or in some cases, over a period of time.

To summarize...

If you receive a SUMMONS, you need to take care of it as soon as possible to prevent a judgment and potential garnishment or bank levies.

If you receive a SUMMONS, it usually means you have more debt than you can handle.  We can help:

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When we enroll a new client for the Debt Settlement Program, most of the time they are confused about what a debt collector can and cannot do.

Although the whole experience of facing severe financial circumstances is stressful, let me help alleviate your fears.

OK...

For all kinds of reasons or circumstances, you just cannot keep up with the minimum payments required on your credit card accounts.

The annoying calls and letters come many, many times a day!

The last call left a message and the guy said that unless you contact them right away, they may decide to start legal processes to collect the money you owe.

Your mind starts fearfully asking:

• Can they take money out of my bank accounts?
• What about my paycheck?  Is it safe?
• Will I have to sell my house or car?
• What about my jewelry, tools, or other things I value?

Let me walk you through the debt collection process so you can start to understand what a collector can and cannot do:

Once you miss a couple of months of the required payments due, you'll start getting letters saying something like...

"Mr. Jones, your XYZ Account is seriously past due and unless you call us immediately, your account may be turned over to an attorney for collection."

If you've just had a temporary financial setback and have enough money to catch up or start making payments again, you may want to call and see what they will do to help get you back on track.

They should be willing to work out some kind of plan to start taking your monthly payments again.

But if you find yourself with just too much debt and not enough money coming in to keep up, then what should you do?

• How delinquent is the account?
• How much do you owe?
• What kind of account it is?
• Who the creditor is (some will work with you and some will not).

If it comes down to paying the rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, etc. (the really important bills) and making credit card (unsecured) payments,

PAY THE IMPORTANT BILLS FIRST!!!!!!

Usually a creditor will try to get you back to paying monthly payments (they need that interest!) for a couple of months.

If unsuccessful, they will either send to their internal recovery department or to a debt collector or even sold to a debt buyer.

An account is deemed "CHARGED OFF" when the creditor decides that they are not going to spend any more time trying to collect and are going to write the account off as a loss.

Yes, there are companies that buy millions of dollars of debt for pennies on the dollar in order to try and collect.

Either way, now you can do a couple of things:

1) PUT A STOP TO THE CALLS!

2)  You may be able to negotiate a SETTLEMENT for less than the balance.

Your account may now be with the original creditor's internal recovery department, a debt collection agency or a Law Firm that specializes in debt collection.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW...

At this point, creditor, debt collector, debt buyer or law firm CANNOT:

• Garnish your wages, retirement income, disability income (an several other exempt income sources).
• Levy your bank account
• Repossess your TV, stereo, furniture, jewelry, tools, etc. (unless they were used as collateral)
• Arrest you or most any other thing you may think!!!!

BUT... (very important you understand the following!):

If no agreement can be reached, the creditor or collector may decide to file a CLAIM.

A CLAIM is a legal document filed with the court of the county of your residence. 

You will be delivered a SUMMONS.

Basically is says that XYZ is claiming that you owe $$$$ and that if you want to dispute the CLAIM you have (avg.) of 30 days to file an ANSWER with the court.

A ANSWER is a legal document (usually prepared by an attorney) that PROVES that you have paid or why you do not owe the debt.  There is a fee for filing the ANSWER and fees for the attorney who prepares it.

Most people know they owe the debt so they don't file the ANSWER.

NOW WHAT???

At this point, an agreement can still be negotiated to stop the legal process, but is it VERY IMPORTANT that you DO NOT IGNORE the SUMMONS!!!

If an agreement cannot be negotiated, the the PLAINTIFF (the creditor or one filing the claim) may move forward for a DEFAULT JUDGMENT.

You don't want this to happen!

If a JUDGMENT is awarded to the PLAINTIFF, then now the PLAINTIFF has the right to apply for a WRIT OF GARNISHMENT OF WAGES OR BANK LEVY.

To prevent this, a SETTLEMENT or STIPULATED AGREEMENT may be negotiated.

A SETTLEMENT is an agreement whereby the PLAINTIFF agrees to accept an amount less than the balance due.  It may have to be paid in a LUMP SUM or in many cases, a LONG-TERM PAYMENT agreement.

Either of these is usually much better than a WAGE GARNISHMENT!

A WAGE GARNISHMENT is usually (in most states) 25% of you net (after tax) paycheck!

Let's say you earn $5,000/month.  If State (if you have) and Federal tax withholding equals 35%, you net take home would be about $3250.

25% of $3250 equals $812.50 ! ! !

If you're facing a financial crisis now, how could you survive if your income was cut by over $800 more!

Again... DO NOT IGNORE A SUMMONS!

SUMMARY:

A creditor or debt collector cannot just "take your stuff" when you don't pay your required payments due.

There's a whole process that must be completed first.

However, YOU HAVE TO TAKE ACTION!

It is not easy dealing with collectors and attorneys. 

Time consuming and frustrating, but absolutely necessary to prevent GARNISHMENTS!

This may help:

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If it's not bad enough having too many debts and bills, receiving a SUMMONS is especially stressful!

One of our clients sent me an email this morning and said...

"I received this subpoena last night.  Kind of freaking out.  What do I do!"

We've been helping people deal with the stress of having to much debt and just not enough money to keep up for many years.

I've written many blogs about what to do with or how to prevent a summons, but wanted to give some insight that may help.

WHY DID YOU RECEIVE THE SUMMONS?

When you miss payments due on your accounts (I'm only talking about unsecured accounts like credit cards, medical bills, etc.) the original creditor will start calling and sending letters.

They may offer a few options for getting you "back on track", but for most people, these don't help or are possible due to your circumstances.

Trying to explain to the agent is usually a waste of time, so I don't advise trying.

If you do, just say something like...

"I've had some things happen and can't make payments right now.  I intend to get caught up soon and would appreciate it if you'd stop calling."

After a few months, most likely your account will be transferred, assigned or even sold to a collection agency.

Now you can at least put a stop to the calls:

DEALING WITH DEBT COLLECTORS

There are thousands of companies that make a lot of money collecting bad or old debts!  These companies may take accounts on consignment, in order to earn a portion of the money they recover.

Or, they may have just purchased the account for pennies-on-the-dollar from creditors who have given up on trying to collect and have just written off the debt as a loss.

The debt collector most likely will be open to a SETTLEMENT.  The amount of settlement is determined by many factors, but on the average, a settlement of 50% to 70% (more or less) may be available.

 DON'T IGNORE A SUMMONS !

To many people take the "hide your head in the sand" approach to their financial crisis.  Although I certainly understand and appreciate how they feel, the debt is not going to go away!

If the calls and letters from a debt collector go unanswered or returned, after a few months, the debt may be:

1. Recalled back to the original creditor
2. Transferred to another debt collection agency
3. Sold or transferred to a Law Firm that specializes in Debt Collection

If your account lands with #3, and if they cannot reach you or an agreement or settlement cannot me negotiated, they may decide to FILE A CLAIM.

Once a CLAIM is filed with your local county court, a SUMMONS is prepared and sent out for delivery.

The delivery may be by a COUNTY SHERIFF or COMPANY PAID TO DELIVER the summons.

Either way, receiving a summons is (like my client said), kinda "FREAKS YOU OUT!"

Although a summons (or small claims order) may differ, most of them state something like the one my client received:

     "YOU ARE HEREBY REQUIRED to appear and defend the Complaint filed against you in the above-entitled cause within 30 days from the date of service of this summons on you, and in case of your failure to do so, Plaintiff (creditor or debt collector you owe) will apply to the court for the relief demanded in the Complaint."

Well, it sure sounds like you have to go to court within 30 days, doesn't it!

But, if you kept reading, it would explain.  (I'll paraphrase and explain to save time:)

It says you must "APPEAR".  Notice the word "appear" is in italics.

It then goes on to explain what "appear" means:

It basically says that if you wish to give proof of why you do not owe the CLAIM being made, you have 30 days to provide the court with a legal document called a "motion" or "answer".  You also have to pay the required filing fee ($165 in this particular county court).

The summons goes on to say that if you have questions you should see an attorney immediately and usually gives a phone number for your state's Bar Lawyer Referral Service.

NOW WHAT?

OK, so you have the summons and understand that you don't have to go to court.  What should you do?

The worst thing you can do is ignore the summons!!!!!!!

If you ignore the summons, a JUDGMENT will most likely be awarded to the PLAINTIFF.

If this happens, the attorney for the plaintiff will seek the legal options available to get funds awarded in the judgment.  These include:

• Wage Garnishment
• Bank Levy of your bank accounts
• Placing a lien against your home or other property

I don't have the space here to address each of these, and there are things you may be able to do if you are facing one or more of these due to a judgment.

The important point is....

DON'T LET IT GET TO THIS POINT!!!

In most cases, some kind of agreement or solution can be negotiated before or even after a JUDGMENT has been awarded.

You may have to repay the entire balance due to avoid a garnishment, levy or lien.

This will most likely be a STIPULATED AGREEMENT that will be filed with the court.

This basically will say that as long as you make the required payments specified int he Stipulated Agreement, the Plaintiff will not continue to seek the legal options described above.

Once the Stipulated Agreement is completed, a LETTER OF SATISFACTION will be mailed to the court and the judgment is removed.

Now, I've explain a lot. What's the main points?

You have several options to prevent your account from ever getting to becoming a judgment.

• You can't ignore the debt.
• It will not go away!
• If you receive a summons, don't panic!

If you are overwhelmed, we may be able to help:

Photo Credit

Several years ago, my wife and I faced one of the darkest times of our lives.  Although we were in a financial mess, we found a way to work through it.

Hopefully, our story may help someone else. 

Here goes...

I never dreamed that I would ever be in a situation where I could not pay my bills!

With a good job that paid me a better than average income and my wife earning a good salary as well, we were  living the "good life", until.....

Our lives dramatically changed!

I had been working for the same company for about 10 years, was in charge of a large area of the country, and my sales and sales team usually led the company.

This meant that I was getting a nice bonus each year as well as my large salary!

Like I said, "Life was good!"

Although I had heard the rumors about a possible sale of the company to a larger competitor, I was told "Don't worry, even if this happens, you'll be OK".

Right!

One afternoon, my supervisor called me into his office and I could tell that something was up.

After a few minutes of chit-chat, he finally came out with it and let me know that the sale was going to happen, and that the new company was going to terminate my position and replace me and my team with their own people!

I just stood there...in shock, thinking...

            "What was I going to do?"

So, here I was:

• Unemployed (for the first time in my life!)
• Have a mortgage (nice, large home!)
• Family (2 kids, ages 8 and 10)
• A little over 40
• No real job prospects in a bad economy!

I knew I was in trouble and I was starting to panic!

JOB SEARCH, BILLS, and STRESS

I sent out dozens of resumes and went on several interviews, but no luck.

One night, my wife and sat down and completed a "Home Budget Worksheet".

Even though I kinda had an idea of what came in and what went out, I really hadn't ever taken the time to track it carefully. 

After all, we were making great money and really had nothing to worry about.

Boy, was I shocked to see the real numbers!

We found out that we were spending a lot of money on things we really didn't have to have, such as:

• Starbucks coffee
• Athletic club membership (that I rarely used)
• Internet and TV Service that included about 1,000 shows and channels we rarely watched!
• Going out to dinner a couple of times a week
• You get the picture...

And then....

The hot water heater stopped working.  

The plumber said that there was nothing he could do to repair it as it was just too old.

With our savings just about gone, I had to use one of my credit cards to buy a new one and pay for the installation.  

Even though the total was about $1,000, it really only increased my minimum monthly payment by $25 or so.

And the spriral started...

It was better than nothing, but the final take home pay was just not enough to cover everything.

I was really beginning to stress out!

CREDIT CARDS TO THE RESCUE?

We had no choice but to pay only the absolute essential bills like the mortgage, utilities, groceries, etc. and let the credit card bills, medical bills, and yes, even the car payment get behind. 

I mean, what else could we do?

Sure, there was a little equity in our home, but with our bad credit rating, we wouldn't qualify for a second mortgage or refinance.

Over time, I had to use the cards to make up the shortage we faced each month.

As the total credit card debt was increasing due to late fees and over-the-limit fees, we had to use a CASH ADVANCE once in a while just to pay a utility bill or buy groceries!

The crazy thing was, even though we hadn't made a payment in 3-4 months, and were getting nasty letters from our creditors, we would still get an OFFER from a credit card company for another card or to consolidate all the others with a BALANCE TRANSFER!

We actually had three cards from one company!  Made no sense!

Sure, this "rob Peter to pay Paul" action was holding them off, but we knew that a"day of reckoning was coming!"

DECISION TIME!!!

One evening, after the kids were asleep, we sat down at the kitchen table and took a long, honest look at our situation.

There just wasn't enough money to cover all of our expenses and bills.

It looked like BANKRUPTCY was our only option.

As we discussed this, my wife told me that she had a friend who had gone through a similar financial situation and had prevented choosing bankruptcy by going through a Debt Settlement Program.

I called the company she had used, but after a few minutes talking to the rep on the phone, I just didn't have a good feeling.

It seemed that all he wanted to do was to get us to "sign up" right away and that he really wasn't listening to our particular situation.

Tried the DIY method to negotiate settlements

I tried to contact the debt collectors myself, but soon learned that they did not care about our situation and were not very sympathetic and usually very rude.

Sure, they were willing to settle the account for a little less than the full balance, but they wanted the money in a lump sum!

I lost my temper and told one guy, " You %%#@*&^%, if I had that kind of money, I wouldn't be in this situation!"  He seemed as if he could care less.

I was angry and embarrassed!

CHOOSING THE RIGHT DEBT SETTLEMENT COMPANY

After several frustrating attempts like this, I went online and checked out a couple of debt settlement company's Better Business Bureau reports.

There weren't very many that were accredited and had an A+ rating with no complaints!

It was very evident that not all debt settlement companies were the same!

Since they all seemed to offer the same services, we decided to narrow the field by using the following tests....

• Their Better Business Bureau record
• Registration with our proper government divisions
• Examples of actual settlements for their clients
• Positive testimonials from satisfied clients
• They had to REALLY LISTENED AND WERE SYMPATHETIC TO US!

After calling a few, we decided to go with a company that seemed to meet the criteria we wanted.

THE PROCESS

Once we enrolled, the first thing they did was to put a stop to those annoying and basically harassing calls from the collectors!

I can't tell you how great it was to have someone "in our corner" now!

We had stopped sending payments to the creditors (just didn't have the money!)for about the last 3 or 4 months and some of our accounts had already been turned over to a Debt Collector.

We started making monthly deposits (what little we our budget would allow) into an FDIC insured account for future settlements.

This monthly deposit was a little less than half of what the total minimum payments would have been, so this really helped!

Over time, the company was able to settle each of our debts!

Some of them were settled at less than 50%, saving us a lot of money!

I really appreciated the service we received.  It helped calm us during the whole process.

Well, it took about 4 years to get all of our debts settled (we had enrolled about $40,000 of various unsecured debts), but it was well worth it.

When we had questions or concerns, we were always able to talk to our representative and/or the negotiator.

Not only did we save thousands of dollars through the settlements, our CREDIT SCORES started to improve!

TODAY

Here we are, still in our home, no creditors calling, all of our credit cards have a $0 balance (we actually cut them all up!) and we FEEL GREAT!

Even though we could have, we are very glad we didn't turn to Bankruptcy Protection.

Hope this has been helpful!

Debt Settlement is not for everyone, but for us, it worked better than we expected:

 Photo Credit

Given the right circumstances, a Debt Settlement Program is an option that can give you freedom from debt!  

Here's how a debt settlement program works:

Let's face it, credit and credit cards are something most people deal with every day.   

You know how that can go....

You get an offer for a credit card with 0% and fees (for 6 to 12 months at least).  All you have to do is fill out the form and submit.  

At first, you use the card to buy some items that may be just a little bit too expensive for you you right now, but, with a minimum payment of only $50 or so,why not?

But, you get another offer (or two, or three, or four...) and you figure:

"I can afford a $200 or so each month...Why not?"

I actually took this picture...kinda says it all:

Sure, you can afford the total minimum payments due each month of about $200.

But what happens if one of the following happens (as has done with most of my clients):

• Loss of Employment
• Divorce
• Major injury or illness
• Total Disability
• Death of Spouse or Partner
• Too little fixed income after retirement!

Just to name a few!

Pretty soon, you just can't keep up with all the payments due (beside the mortgage or rent, utilities, groceries, etc.)

NOW WHAT DO YOU DO?

When your cannot keep up with the minimum payments, it doesn't take long to realize that you are in trouble!!!  

A lot of people start taking cash advances from one card to make the payments on the others.  This is just putting off the inevitable!

You may be able to take out a second mortgage, but this has dangers as well.  Be very careful here!

Please don't be fooled into getting one of the "PayDay Loans"! 

These "lender traps" may end up costing you very high interest rates (I've seen them as high as 85%), making it almost impossible to ever repay!

A Debt Settlement Program may be the answer. 

Here's the basics:

If you haven't stopped making of payments to your creditors, rather than continue this process, you will start making a payment (really a deposit) to an account set up for you at an FDIC bank.

Two things will happen:

• Your account will start to grow, which will allow for negotiations (more later).
• The creditors and debt collectors will be calling and sending letters.

Yes, your "original" creditor (Visa, Citibank, Home Depot,etc.) can legally call you about your account.  You gave permission (all the fine print) when you signed up.

But, once your accounts are transferred to a debt collector (usually 3-4 months), you can put a stop to the calls.  This will help:

You will also be getting letters from your creditors or debt collectors.

They may offer some kind of "hardship plan" to help you get caught up, but most of these are just a trick to get you to keep paying, and paying, and paying!

Debt Collection companies (and sometimes the original creditor) are usually willing to accept a SETTLEMENT for less than the balance due.

Why would they do that?

The original creditor may just want to clear up old debts and charge off your account as a loss to their over-all profit/loss for tax purposes.

They have figured in how much "loss or breakage" they can accept and still be profitable!

They may have ASSIGNED your account to a debt collector who will get paid a percentage from what they are able to collect from you.

The original creditor may also charge off your account and SELL the account to a debt collector who is also a DEBT BUYER.

There are millions (possibly Billions) of dollars of "debt" bought and sold for literally "pennies-on-the-dollar".

Whether you account was assigned or sold to a debt collector, you can see that they may be open to a settlement. 

Example:

You have a Citibank Card with a balance of $10,000.

It was sold to XYZ Debt Collection Services for $500...that's right..."pennies-the-dollar"!

Do you think they might be open to a settlement of say...$3,000 - $5,000? 

Sure, check this out:

As time goes by, one-by-one, your accounts are settled and your Credit Report shows a $0 balance!

Does this happen over-night?  

Of course not!  Depending on how much debt you have and your particular financial situation, a Debt Settlement Program may take 4 or 5 years to help you finally become...

DEBT FREE!

But, doesn't that sound great?

A Debt Settlement Program is not the answer for everyone, but may be just what you need!  It's easy to find out:

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I'm often asked a question that goes something like this, "What is a Debt Management Company?" or "What can a Debt Management Company do for me?"  So, let me briefly tell you...

Recently, I had to testify in a trial involving one of our past clients.  And, just like I'd seen on TV or at the movies, I was sworn in, sat in the witness box and the attorneys for both the prosecution and defense asked me a few questions.

The first attorney started off by asking, "Mr. Fontaine, what is a Debt Management Company?"

As co-founder and owner of Debt Relief NW, LLC, I've been asked that question hundreds of times.

I had been told to keep my answers brief and to the point if asked to explain, etc.

So I replied...

"Debt Relief NW helps people with severe debt issues find the best solution to deal with their debt."

Short and to the point....yes.  But, there's a lot more to it!

What people really want to know is, "What can a Debt Management Company really do for me?"

First, it is very important that you only deal with a reputable debt management company that is registered in their state.

As with any profession or business, there are always a few "rotten apples in the barrel".

We have had many clients come to us over the last 15 years or so after they had been taken advantage of by crooked debt management/settlement companies!

Here in Oregon, each debt management company is required to be registered and comply with the statutes governing such companies.

They have some very good insight into looking for a reputable debt management company that you should check out at Debt Management/Managing Your Debt.

In the article, they advise you to make sure the company you are considering is in fact, registered.  To check, click here.

OK, so now that you've done a little homework and made sure that the company your thinking about enrolling with is legit, again, let's see what a debt management company can (and cannot) do for you:

Those who need help with having accumulated too much debt (mainly addressing unsecured debt in this article) have done so because of one or more events that were or are beyond their control, such as:

• Unemployment
• Divorce or loss of spouse or partner
• Serious illness or disability
• Too little income after retirement!

When this happens, people will use credit cards to help with the intention of "paying them off" when things get better.

But, sometimes, those balances and the corresponding minimum required payments are just too much to handle....NOW WHAT!

We do not believe that "One size fits all" when it comes to dealing with too much debt!

Even though every situation may seem similar, in most cases, there are always several circumstances that have to be taken into consideration BEFORE we can recommend the right solution.

When faces with so much unsecured debt that you cannot (or are starting to fall behind) with the minimum payments required, there are only a few, legitimate options:

• Credit Counseling Program
• Debt Settlement Program
• Bankruptcy

Again, the first step into finding the proper solution to your particular situation is to take the time to find out exactly where you stand in regards to your income/outgo....ie. a monthly household budget!

When someone contacts us for answers, we walk them through a basic budget.  9 times out of 10, they will say something like...

" I had no idea I had this much debt and/or had this little money left over!"

Once we/they can see exactly where they are, then we can start to find the best solution.

Credit Counseling (or today called Debt Management)

If you have been making the minimum required payments on your credit cards and other unsecured accounts, but the balances are barely coming down, then it may be time for you to enroll in a credit (or debt management) counseling program.

These accounts have not been turned over to a debt collection company....yet.

If you qualify (there are several hoops to jump through), this type of program can help.

The Debt Management Company will contact each creditor and arranged a plan to get your accounts paid off, usually in about 48 months or so.

Most of the major creditors will usually agree to:

• Lower the interest rate
• Forgive or eliminate late fees and other charges

You will make ONE PAYMENT to the Debt Management Company and it will be divided and paid out to each creditor per the agreement.

The problem with such plans is that sometimes the total monthly payment required may be the same or in some cases, a little more than the total of the current minimum payments!

If you are having trouble making the minimum payments now, most likely you will not be a candidate for a Credit Counseling/Debt Management Program.

NOW WHAT?

A Debt Settlement Program may be the best solution.

Most prospects for a Debt Settlement Program have missed or stop making payments altogether to their creditors.

Their accounts have been turned over to a Debt Collector (or are about to be) and you have been getting calls and nasty letters.

If an original creditor feels like they will not be able to get you to keep up/catch up with the payments due on your account, they may charge that account off as a loss and sell or transfer that account to a debt collector.

Again, depending on your circumstances and particular situation, you may be a candidate for a SETTLEMENT on your account.

• You will be making a monthly payment into an FDIC Bank account that will be used to negotiate settlements in the future. 
• This payment will be much less than the total minimum required payments due now.
• Your payment will fit into your particular budget.

The debt collection company (or in some case the original creditor) may be willing to take less than the full amount to "settle" this debt.  This could be 50% or less, again, depending on circumstances.

Here's an idea of what an actual settlement agreement looks like:

Once the account has been settled, it will be reported to the major credit reporting agencies as:

• "settled as agreed", or
• "settled for less than the balance", or
• "settled in full"

Either way, your account will now show that you did something about it and now it has a $0 balance!

As each of your accounts are settled, your credit score will start to improve/increase.

But, what is the only option if you simply have too little or nothing to contribute towards either program?

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy, in my opinion, should be the last solution after all other solutions are examined and/or tried.

When I am negotiating with a debt collector for one of my clients, I will have to remind them that we are attempting to negotiate settlements rather that having our client seek BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION.

That is what the bankruptcy laws were intended to do...protect a person's property from absolute ruin and detestation!

We do everything we can to help a client with finding the best solution/program to help with their debt problems, but in some cases, bankruptcy is the best solution.

Make sure you interview at least a couple of bankruptcy attorneys to make sure you feel comfortable with them and their experience.

FINALLY...  What can a Debt Management Company do for you?

• Help eliminate the fear and stress that comes with having too much debt!
• Help find the best solution to fit your particular situation.
• Help get you back to being DEBT FREE once again!

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You have several options for improving your credit score. 

Take a few minutes to see what you can do!

It seems like everywhere you turn you see an ad about your credit score. 

Some of don't just offer to get your credit score (for Free or small monthly fee), but also may claim to be able to improve your credit score dramatically in a short period of time.

Although there are several companies that will provide you with a Free Credit Report, did you know that we all can get a FREE CREDIT REPORT annually?

So, you don't have to go through a third party company or pay for this service if you don't want to.

But let's say that you already have your credit report and not only is your credit score a little lower than you thought it was, you also see some errors on what is being reported.

What can you do to improve your credit score?

Before we get started, you must understand that a credit report is nothing more than a snapshot of you credit history at a particular point in time.

Lenders rely on the information contained in a credit report to determine if and how much money they are willing to loan you.

I wrote an article/blog recently addressing the concept of "Pay for Deletion" on a credit report.  Basically, you offer a creditor or debt collector a sizable settlement to not only settle the account for less than the balance, but also to delete the account from your credit report.

I'm not going to get into that here, but if you'd like more information, click on my blog link above.

There are several factors that go into calculating our credit scores:

Payment History, which accounts for about 35% of your credit score.

The first thing any lender wants to know is whether you've paid past credit accounts on time or are late or just have not made any payments in a long time!  Your payment history is very important!

How much Credit are you paying on now?

Just because you have credit accounts now doesn't necessarily mean that you cannot get more credit.  But, if you have $25,000 of available credit and have used up $20,000 on various credit accounts, you are using 80% of your available credit now and may not be able to get more.

How long have you been using credit?

To a lender, the longer you have been using credit, and more importantly, how you have handled your credit in the past, gives them a pretty good idea of how you are going to handle the credit you are applying for now.

What type of credit are you using?

Your credit score takes into account the various "loans" you have, such as:

• Mortgage
• Auto
• Student
• Revolving, etc.

New credit, or actually, too much new credit, may hurt you credit score.

Beware of opening and/or applying for too many new credit accounts in a short period of time!

Many people believe that opening several credit accounts (store cards, credit cards, etc.) will help them get better scores.  Actually, this is a negative!

If you have a couple or even a few cards or accounts, don't try to get too many more in short period of time.

OK, so you check out your credit report and are disappointed with the score and see errors as well.

Each of the 3 major credit reporting bureaus allow you to DISPUTE legitimate errors on your credit report. 

Items such as:

• An account showing a balance that you paid off a long time ago.
• An account that was in collections that you paid off or settled but there is still a balance showing.
• An account with a balance that you have not (or been unable to make any payments on) for longer than your state's Statue of Limitations for collection of credit accounts.
• A judgment that you had paid off or settled.

Although creditors and debt collectors are supposed to report that an account has been paid off, settled or satisfied to the 3 major credit bureaus as well as to the court where the judgment had been recorded, many time they do not follow through!

First, you MUST HAVE PROOF that shows that there is an error and you are requesting that it be corrected.

I know that there are many so-called "debt repair" companies that claim to be able to remove negative information and improve your credit score dramatically.

BE VERY CAREFUL OF THESE TYPES OF CLAIMS!

The Federal Trade Commission has some great information for consumers!  They have an article entitled, "Credit Repair: How to Help Yourself", where it states:

You see the ads in newspapers, on TV, and online. You hear them on the radio. You get fliers in the mail, email messages, and maybe even calls offering credit repair services. They all make the same claims:

I agree 100%!

Once you have copies of canceled checks, a statement from the creditor or debt collector show a $0 balance or that the account has been "settled-as-agreed", then you need to turn them into a .pdf document.

In a minute, you are going to go online to open your dispute. (Yes, you can mail or fax your dispute, but I don't recommend it.)

You want to be able to clearly show where the error is by making a copy of the page with the disputed item circled. 

PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR ENTIRE CREDIT REPORT!

The credit bureaus deal with thousands of disputes daily and what you want to provide to the agent who is reviewing your dispute is clear, easy to understand documentation that there is an error and they will correct it right away!

So, BEFORE YOU GO ONLINE TO OPEN YOUR DISPUTE....  you need:

• Brief, concise explanation of why you are disputing this error.
  
• Clear, easy-to-understand proof that the account has been paid as agreed.
• Or, proof of your last payment showing that the statute of imitations has expired and therefore the item or account should be removed.

Once you have all of this saved as a .pdf document (if you don't know what that is...get some help!), then go online. 

Here are the links to the 3 major credit reporting agencies:

Equifax Dispute

TransUnion Dispute

Experian Dispute

If you have followed these instructions, you should get a letter or see online that the disputed item has been corrected.

If not, then contact them until it is!!!!

Good luck!

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Debt Settlement is an option to clear old debts and improve your credit score.

When you find yourself faced with a very stressful financial situation, there are only a few options:

     Consolidation Loan

     Debt Management

     Debt Settlement

CONSOLIDATION LOAN

A consolidation loan may be:

• Second Mortgage on your home or other property
• Personal loan with your bank or credit union
• Balance transfer from a credit card offer

Getting a second Mortgage or even what's called an "Equity Line of Credit" through your bank or another lending institution, may be possible with lower than normal credit scores.

Just be very careful and do your homework and math to make sure that the lender is not charging you such a high rate of interest or fees that this type of loan makes no sense in the long run!!!

But, a Consolidation Loan will not really change your credit scores right away!  Here's why:

The calculations to determine a credit score in fairly complicated, but one of the most important or "weighted" portions of that calculation is the ration of current debt to the total available debt you have.

For example:

Let's say you have 5 credit cards with a total available credit of $20,000.

You have maxed-out 4 of the 5 for a total of $15,000 of debt.

You "Debt Ratio" looks like this...

                   $15,000 divided by $20,000 equals a 75% debt/available debt ratio

That's high as far as the Credit Bureaus evaluate your "credit worthiness" with a credit score!

For more information, check out:

How Are Credit Scores Determined?

So, even if you do qualify for a Consolidation Loan, your credit score may not improve quickly!

DEBT MANAGEMENT

Debt Management is what we used to be referred to as Credit Counseling a few years ago.

In a Debt Management Program, each of your creditors agrees to lower you interest rate and may forgive or bring current late fees, etc.  Each creditor is a little different.

But, consider this:

1. Your total monthly payments on all of your debts may not be less!
2. But, being enrolled in a program like Debt Management, will not quickly improve or change your credit scores!
3. If you miss a scheduled payment, you may void the agreement and you are right back where you started. 

Before you enroll in one of these programs, you might consider and even do much better by looking into a DEBT ACCELERATOR PROGRAM.

DEBT SETTLEMENT

If you qualify, a Debt Settlement Program may give you all of the results you are looking for:

• ONE Lower Monthly Payment
• Total Balances of you debt reduced by 50% or more!
• Debt Free in about 3-5 years, depending on your particular circumstance
• Ultimately Improve your Credit Score!

A Debt Settlement Program is for someone who is going through a very tough time, especially in the financial area!

• Loss of employment or cut in pay
• Divorce or other family upheaval
• Death of a spouse or loved one
• Limited income after retirement
• Disabled or suffering from severe illness

Most of your accounts are either delinquent or about to become severely "behind".

You've probably had one or more of your accounts turned over to a Debt Collector and are enduring the constant phone calls and letters.

By the way....you can put a stop to those calls now:

Rather than continuing to make minimum monthly payments on your accounts, you will be making a monthly payment that FITS YOUR BUDGET into a FDIC insured bank account.

As these funds are growing, negotiations with your creditors and debt collectors begin to arrange a SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.

The final settlement amount varies, depending on a number of circumstances, but settlements of 50% or less are not uncommon.

But, will Debt Settlement Improve your credit score?

Yes, but over time!

It may be hard to understand, but a potential lender is looking for a couple of key items in a credit report, such as:

• How much credit are you carrying now?
• Length of employment?
• Credit History...not just late payments, but how long and how have you handled your credit payments over time?
• What is your "credit worthiness"...If a loan is granted, what is the likelihood that you can and will repay as agreed?

Just because you have fiancial trouble now or in the past IS NOT an automatic DECLINE OF CREDIT!

When you have had all of your accounts settled with a ZERO BALANCE, you will be offered NEW CREDIT as your Credit Scores will have improved.

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