Scam alert: Avoid debt relief and credit repair firms

I often receive desperate e-mails from readers who have too much debt and feel like they have nowhere to turn but to a debt relief or credit repair firm.  These firms claim to repair bad credit by removing derogatory marks, reducing outstanding balances, and providing a bevy of other unrealistic services.  As soon as I hear that someone is considering a debt relief firm, I reply immediately, “Don’t even think about it. It’s a scam!” 

Debt relief companies engage in trickery and deception of the worst kind, making credit card companies look like angels.  They prey on hopeless consumers who do not fully understand how the scam works.  Despite their seemingly legitimate claims and altruistic appeal, these firms do not care about the well-being of customers, just their bottom line. 

What makes them so despicable?  For example, they require a signed contract and high, upfront fees. Then they request that customers stop making payments to creditors, and instead make payments directly to them.  While they hold the payments, the firms then attempt to get the amount of the customers’ debt reduced by allowing accounts to go unpaid.  If successful, the firms pocket the difference.  In some cases, creditors never get paid.  As a result, customers have worse credit, and they are out of more money.  Often, that is exactly how it works.   

As the credit crunch intensifies, more people are turning to debt relief firms.  Consequently, complaints about these companies have doubled.  Recently, The Wall Street Journal published an article about this large increase. 

In short, stay far away from debt relief firms, even if they are nonprofit.  You can do the repairing yourself.  It won’t be easy–it will require a lot of research and effort on your part–but you will save yourself a lot of frustration and disappointment in the long run.   

Comments

[Nat]

I think the credit score scale can help you manager your loans and can help you to repair your cardit.

[singapore florist]

There is a lot of scam going on so it is better to Avoid debt relief and credit repair firms

[Body jewelry]

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[Mark]

I tried a debt relief firm and realized it was all smoke and mirrors. The only real way to rebuild your credit is with a secured credit card.

[Quick cash]

There will be many scams and one has to know the right things so that they can understand the difference between the right and wrong

[Pension Funds]

Pension funds are really beneficial for an individual to be an independent person in future.

[Secured Loan]

Once the provider has your completed paperwork, in some cases it may be possible to have your money available within a week.this is the advantage of secured loan

[debt recovery]

There are so many debt relief agencies cropping everyday, its just difficult to trust them. They are here to make money not to get your debts cleared.

[peter]

The debt is very important with you credit, you can reduce your debt by using the secured credit cards that help you manage your money.

[Tax debt settlement]

definitely its a coll blog, I have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what did you expected from me, but I got very nice information from this blog.

[Debt Settlement Lawyer]

It's good to carry out the negotiations with the creditors on our own, but what if I am not that skilled in making them convinced about my financial shortcomings? Isn't it good to seek the help of professionals who are used to carry out such negotiation on a routine basis, as a part of their job? It is however important to be on a safer side and carry out a proper research to check the reliability of the company or the debt attorney, who-so-ever is going to provide you the services.
Fred from Debt Settlement Lawyer

[Debt Settlement Lawyer]

It's good to carry out the negotiations with the creditors on our own, but what if I am not that skilled in making them convinced about my financial shortcomings? Isn't it good to seek the help of professionals who are used to carry out such negotiation on a routine basis, as a part of their job? It is however important to be on a safer side and carry out a proper research to check the reliability of the company or the debt attorney, who-so-ever is going to provide you the services.
Fred from Debt Settlement Lawyer

[Credit Repair Services]

many of these companies accidently re-activated old debts that ended up coming after my clients for collection.thats why we should double check our account.we should be more careful.

[Mike Carson]

Great article, I would definitely get professional help. http://www.debtguru.com offers consolidation credit counseling that can help get you out of debt. Good luck.

[zale]

I did some bad credit repair and I still haven't noticed a difference. This page helped me notice some things. Thanks!

[Donny Sandoval]

Be really careful when trying to correct your credit. Several of my clients hired companies to perform this service with no positive results. In fact, many of these companies accidently re-activated old debts that ended up coming after my clients for collection. Many of them ended up paying by garnishments.

[briand895]

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[briand895]

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[ruby]

If you want to take credit card debt settlement advice from a professional, you should be able to trust the advisor fully. So you need to check the credentials of the credit card debt settlement advisor/company.
There are hordes of people and companies that advertise "credit card debt settlement in one day" which will appear incredible.
Such credit card offers are generally not genuine.

You need to understand that credit card debt settlement cannot happen overnight.So, beware of such agencies. That said it's important to mention that there are a lot of good credit card debt settlement advisors / companies available such as Debt Solution Centers who will not only give you genuine credit card debt settlement advice but will help you throughout until you are finally out of debt.

Their advice may, in fact, more than compensate for the fee that they charge you for credit card debt settlement.
These credit card debt settlement companies / advisors will be able to help you in the best way if you tell them your current financial situation correctly.Your future plans are important too, as they might influence the decision on 'What route for credit card debt settlement would work the best for you'.

Once you are done with your credit card debt settlement, you should also take measures to avoid falling into serious debt again.

[Credit Repair Services]

Hi

This is very informative post.If anyone needs Credit repair services, Bad Credit Repair then check out our website http://www.thecreditbar.com.