| e seen them. Hand scrawled signs claiming to | | | | wiggle room financially, or you can turn to a debt |
| legally eliminate your debt. Its spam for city | | | | settlement company. These people will gather up |
| street corners. The signs are so clumsily made | | | | a few hundred people just like you until they have |
| that only the uninformed or the very desperate | | | | a couple of million dollars worth of debt and then |
| would consider calling about them, yet what they | | | | they will negotiate with the credit card companies |
| are advertising is actually a legitimate process. | | | | on that lump of debt. They will offer the credit |
| Debt settlement is the last resort before | | | | card company a quarter million on that two million |
| bankruptcy. At first blush it sounds like it couldn't | | | | to settle immediately. The credit card company |
| possibly be legal or, if legal, then wrong on a | | | | will see this as a good deal because all those |
| thousand other levels. | | | | people who owed the money stopped paying |
| Let's look a little closer. Say someone has ran up | | | | when they signed up with the debt settlement |
| huge credit card debt in answer to the flood of | | | | company. If these debtors should bankrupt, the |
| no interest offers from the credit card companies. | | | | credit company gets nothing, plus they will have |
| Things rock along OK until one day, for some | | | | spent a ton trying to collect. Oh, that collection |
| reason, you miss a payment. Suddenly this no | | | | company that the credit card company turned |
| interest or low interest skyrockets, in some | | | | you over to? It's owned by none other than your |
| cases as high as 40%. At one time in this country | | | | friendly credit card company. The reduction on |
| we had laws protecting consumers from such | | | | what you owe will be related to the percentage |
| shenanigans and the laws are most likely still in | | | | of the lump sum that was yours. Now you will |
| place. They are either being ignored or the credit | | | | pay the debt settlement company your part of |
| card giants have found a slimy hole to crawl | | | | what's left plus their fee. If you signed with "Slick |
| through to get around these laws. Now that | | | | Willie" and his roadside signs, you can see there is |
| you've missed a payment, chances are good that | | | | a lot of room for someone to dabble with those |
| you won't even be able to pay the minimum on | | | | fees. |
| what you owe. It gets worse. Now that you've | | | | Debt settlement is not only legal, but considering |
| missed a payment and have a black mark on | | | | the actions of the credit card companies, I would |
| what was once a really good credit rating, all | | | | think there is nothing wrong with it on any |
| other outstanding debts are in jeopardy as well | | | | personal level. It does seem to me to be a |
| and don't even think of getting credit for a new | | | | perpetual motion sort of thing in that it forces the |
| car or any other purchase of any size. Your | | | | credit card companies to keep getting worse. If |
| choices at this point are credit consolidation, which | | | | you can find a reputable company, debt |
| you've probably already done to get to this point, | | | | settlement is and will be the way to handle |
| credit counseling, which will totally destroy any | | | | staggering debt. |
| credit rating you still have and leave you with no | | | | |