You hear it on the radio or even late-night TV informercials: "Don't file bankruptcy; settle your debt for pennies on the dollar. Call us -- we know the secrets the credit card companies don't want you to know." Some of them even tell you that you have the "right" to settle for less. Do these work?
I can't speak for every such agency. Some are non-profit organizations that really do help SOME people. But most are nothing more than scams. They want you to send them money up front, and then they'll contact your creditors and work their magic. It almost never works. In the meantime, you stop paying your bills, your interest rates go up because you're in default, you start getting calls (if you weren't already), and eventually you get sued and your wages are garnished. Finally the debt settlement agency tells you they tried, it just didn't work.
Does this mean you should never try to work something out with your creditors? Absolutely not. By all means, if you can work out a settlement, do so. But before you pay someone to do it for you, look into it closely.
No comments:
Post a Comment