Finding the best debt management companies can seem like finding a needle in a haystack if you are not sure how to go about it. There are hundreds of companies offering to solve all your problems and promising amazing results, but how do you know whether or not you can trust them? You are right to be sceptical as there are many companies out there that you would do well to avoid. Some unscrupulous organisations view desperate people as a business opportunity, and a bad debt management plan will leave you worse off, rather than better, in the long run.
So what do you need to know to make sure you can avoid the money-grabbers and find the most reputable and best debt management companies? The best place to start is with a good understanding of what debt management is, so that you know what to expect from the companies you approach and what questions to ask them.
There is a lot of different terminology around this subject, so I will clarify that to begin with. Debt management companies offer Debt Management Plans. These are also known as debt payment plans or programs. The process is also sometimes known as debt consolidation in the US, whereas in the UK debt consolidation always means taking out a loan to pay off your debts. The term consolidation is used because the process does include consolidating all your debts into one single payment. Debt management does not, however, involve any new loans or borrowing of any sort.
The process of setting up a plan for you will involve an experienced debt advisor going through your finances with you and then negotiating on behalf of you with all of your creditors. The purpose of the negotiations is to arrange new repayment terms which will bring your payments down to a level that you can afford. This will usually include having interest charges reduced or frozen, so your debt stops growing. You then just make one monthly payment to the management company and they pay your creditors for you.
The main advantages of these plans are having only one payment that you can actually afford to make and not having to deal with creditors chasing you for payments, because the debt management company will deal with all of that. You need to be aware that debt plans are only for unsecured debts, so you cannot include any secured borrowing like your mortgage. The other things that the debt management companies will look for is that you have a steady income which leaves you enough money spare to make the monthly payments, and that you have a substantial amount of debt.
If you do not think you will have enough money left over after paying your basic living expenses to meet the payments on a plan, then you may need to consider debt settlement instead (or an IVA if you are in the UK). These are for more serious debts and involve negotiating to write off a substantial part of what you owe.
Once you have a good understanding of the process involved, you then need to look for well established and reputable companies who operate in your country of residence. The dangerous ones are often the new organisations with no track record, so look for companies that can demonstrate having put into practice what they say they can do. The safest way to find the best debt management companies is to follow recommendations, and you should always apply to at least two so that you can compare what they offer you. This will also give you an opportunity to consider which company you feel more comfortable dealing with.
Read reviews and recommendations for reputable debt management companies in the UK and US.
Monday, 11 January 2010
Saturday, 9 January 2010
Personal Grants To Pay Off Debts
One of the most stressful aspects of being in serious debt is that you cannot see how to ever get rid of it. When the amount you owe each month becomes so much larger than your income is ever likely to be, the only way out can appear to be getting some money from elsewhere. Some people in this situation turn to consolidation loans, borrowing more money to pay off what they owe, but this is rarely the best answer to large amounts of debt.
The ideal answer would be to get a grant that you do not need to pay back. This is the perfect solution as it resolves the problem and wipes the slate clean. The idea of grants to pay off debts is one that you will come across a lot on the internet, so it is not surprising that many people think that there is easy money there for the taking. The bad news is that while there are a great many grant schemes on offer in the US, none of them are just to pay off debt. Neither are there any such grants in the UK. Imagine if there were; everyone would want them, and there would be little incentive to avoid going into debt. However, there are some legitimate alternatives available which have the same result as if you were given a lump of money.
The idea that there are personal grants to pay off debts is one perpetuated by people who, one way or another, are trying to get money out of you. Sometimes it is in exchange for a database of grants and how to apply for them. Many of these grants are in fact for starting up new businesses, often ones which fulfil a particular need in a certain area. The justification for many adverts that say there are personal grants to pay off debt is that you could get one of these grants, start a new business, make some money and then use that to pay off your debts. I personally would not trust anyone who needs use such a convoluted argument to get your attention.
I mentioned that there were alternatives available which can have the same effect as a grant would on your debt. The main one is debt settlement negotiation, which involves getting agreement from your creditors to write off a large chunk of your debts, often over half of the total. The net result is that over half your debt disappears, as if it were paid off, making it far more possible to pay back the remainder. Debt settlement is not commonly used in the UK, because there is an equivalent scheme called an IVA, or individual voluntary arrangement. This too usually involves writing off a significant part of your debt.
When you sign up for debt settlement you just have one monthly payment to find, and the debt settlement company deal with your creditors for you. While you make payments into a fund, they will negotiate settlement deals with each of your creditors in turn, which result in paying them substantially reduced amounts in exchange for a quick settlement.
One word of warning if you are interested in finding out about debt settlement; you need to take steps to avoid some debt settlement companies who are likely to ask for money up front but not achieve good settlements for you. There are plenty of excellent companies that will do a good job, but there are plenty of bad ones too, so you need to exercise some caution. With the best companies you will only pay them a proportion of what they save you, so you can not lose out.
The main thing is to be aware that not all the companies out there are trustworthy, and you can avoid them by following recommendations for reliable and well established companies. You need to find organisations who have been around for a while and can demonstrate that they have successfully helped many people out of debt. It is also useful to apply to two or three debt settlement companies and see how the offers compare before signing up.
Read reviews and recommendations for reputable online debt settlement companies in the US.
The ideal answer would be to get a grant that you do not need to pay back. This is the perfect solution as it resolves the problem and wipes the slate clean. The idea of grants to pay off debts is one that you will come across a lot on the internet, so it is not surprising that many people think that there is easy money there for the taking. The bad news is that while there are a great many grant schemes on offer in the US, none of them are just to pay off debt. Neither are there any such grants in the UK. Imagine if there were; everyone would want them, and there would be little incentive to avoid going into debt. However, there are some legitimate alternatives available which have the same result as if you were given a lump of money.
The idea that there are personal grants to pay off debts is one perpetuated by people who, one way or another, are trying to get money out of you. Sometimes it is in exchange for a database of grants and how to apply for them. Many of these grants are in fact for starting up new businesses, often ones which fulfil a particular need in a certain area. The justification for many adverts that say there are personal grants to pay off debt is that you could get one of these grants, start a new business, make some money and then use that to pay off your debts. I personally would not trust anyone who needs use such a convoluted argument to get your attention.
I mentioned that there were alternatives available which can have the same effect as a grant would on your debt. The main one is debt settlement negotiation, which involves getting agreement from your creditors to write off a large chunk of your debts, often over half of the total. The net result is that over half your debt disappears, as if it were paid off, making it far more possible to pay back the remainder. Debt settlement is not commonly used in the UK, because there is an equivalent scheme called an IVA, or individual voluntary arrangement. This too usually involves writing off a significant part of your debt.
When you sign up for debt settlement you just have one monthly payment to find, and the debt settlement company deal with your creditors for you. While you make payments into a fund, they will negotiate settlement deals with each of your creditors in turn, which result in paying them substantially reduced amounts in exchange for a quick settlement.
One word of warning if you are interested in finding out about debt settlement; you need to take steps to avoid some debt settlement companies who are likely to ask for money up front but not achieve good settlements for you. There are plenty of excellent companies that will do a good job, but there are plenty of bad ones too, so you need to exercise some caution. With the best companies you will only pay them a proportion of what they save you, so you can not lose out.
The main thing is to be aware that not all the companies out there are trustworthy, and you can avoid them by following recommendations for reliable and well established companies. You need to find organisations who have been around for a while and can demonstrate that they have successfully helped many people out of debt. It is also useful to apply to two or three debt settlement companies and see how the offers compare before signing up.
Read reviews and recommendations for reputable online debt settlement companies in the US.
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Reliable Debt Settlement Companies
Debt settlement companies have a mixed reputation, and quite understandably so. While many are honest and reliable, others are less so, and these few rotten apples have caused some people a lot of problems, and tarnished the reputation of the industry in general. So if you are in a position where you are considering using a debt settlement company, you will clearly be anxious to find the most reliable ones.
This article is intended to equip you with the information you require to go out and find the best debt settlement companies and avoid the less reputable ones that cause all the problems. One of the most useful things you can do to begin with is ensure that you are familiar with the process, so that you have a good understanding of what it is you will be asking a settlement company to do for you. To begin with, we will therefore look at what this process actually involves. It is worth pointing out that debt settlement is a solution that is widely used in the US, but the equivalent to it in the UK is known as an IVA, which achieves the same result.
It is important to understand that debt settlement companies offer a very specific service, which is different to debt management or consolidation. While all of these processes result in you having just one monthly payment to worry about, it is only through the settlement approach that you will actually reduce the amount of overall debt that you owe. This is because it involves negotiating with all your creditors to agree new settlement terms, which usually means a lump sum payment in exchange for a substantial reduction in the amount of the debt. This often means writing off over half of your debts. The process is also known as debt negotiation.
It sounds easy when you say it like that, but if you have ever tried to negotiate with creditors yourself, you will know that it isn’t. A lot depends on understanding how creditors work and knowing when to strike a deal to get the maximum reduction possible. The most reliable debt settlement companies will be well established and already have relationships with hundreds of the most common creditors. This makes coming to an agreement that much easier.
When you sign up with a reliable debt negotiation company and they start the negotiation process, you will normally stop paying your creditors and start making payments instead into a separate bank account. The negotiations can take from days to years, depending on the creditors and other circumstances. While this is taking place your money is being saved up and is then used to pay off each creditor as the settlement is agreed.
That is the process that will be followed if you use one of the reliable debt settlement companies. When this way of tackling debt goes wrong, it is because less reputable companies take large fees for their services, and fail to deliver on the settlements. This is little short of a scam and just leaves you in a worse situation that you were before.
To ensure that you find a reliable debt settlement company, you should not just search randomly, as any company can make themselves sound good on a website. You need to find well established companies that can demonstrate a history of having successfully delivered results for people in your situation.
The best starting point is to follow recommendations for reputable companies, and never just approach one organisation. You need to apply to at least two so that you can compare their proposals, as these can vary considerably, even with the most reliable debt settlement companies.
Read reviews and recommendations for reputable online debt settlement companies in the US.
This article is intended to equip you with the information you require to go out and find the best debt settlement companies and avoid the less reputable ones that cause all the problems. One of the most useful things you can do to begin with is ensure that you are familiar with the process, so that you have a good understanding of what it is you will be asking a settlement company to do for you. To begin with, we will therefore look at what this process actually involves. It is worth pointing out that debt settlement is a solution that is widely used in the US, but the equivalent to it in the UK is known as an IVA, which achieves the same result.
It is important to understand that debt settlement companies offer a very specific service, which is different to debt management or consolidation. While all of these processes result in you having just one monthly payment to worry about, it is only through the settlement approach that you will actually reduce the amount of overall debt that you owe. This is because it involves negotiating with all your creditors to agree new settlement terms, which usually means a lump sum payment in exchange for a substantial reduction in the amount of the debt. This often means writing off over half of your debts. The process is also known as debt negotiation.
It sounds easy when you say it like that, but if you have ever tried to negotiate with creditors yourself, you will know that it isn’t. A lot depends on understanding how creditors work and knowing when to strike a deal to get the maximum reduction possible. The most reliable debt settlement companies will be well established and already have relationships with hundreds of the most common creditors. This makes coming to an agreement that much easier.
When you sign up with a reliable debt negotiation company and they start the negotiation process, you will normally stop paying your creditors and start making payments instead into a separate bank account. The negotiations can take from days to years, depending on the creditors and other circumstances. While this is taking place your money is being saved up and is then used to pay off each creditor as the settlement is agreed.
That is the process that will be followed if you use one of the reliable debt settlement companies. When this way of tackling debt goes wrong, it is because less reputable companies take large fees for their services, and fail to deliver on the settlements. This is little short of a scam and just leaves you in a worse situation that you were before.
To ensure that you find a reliable debt settlement company, you should not just search randomly, as any company can make themselves sound good on a website. You need to find well established companies that can demonstrate a history of having successfully delivered results for people in your situation.
The best starting point is to follow recommendations for reputable companies, and never just approach one organisation. You need to apply to at least two so that you can compare their proposals, as these can vary considerably, even with the most reliable debt settlement companies.
Read reviews and recommendations for reputable online debt settlement companies in the US.
Saturday, 2 January 2010
Top Debt Settlement Companies
When you owe lots of money and you decide you want to try to settle your debts, you naturally want to find the best debt settlement companies out there. This is a perfectly sensible approach, but can be easier said than done. Part of the problem is that that there are just so many debt settlement companies operating now, many of whom are newly formed to take advantage of the increased number of people who find themselves with financial problems.
This makes selecting the right company quite a risky proposition, not least because getting the decision wrong could land you in a worse situation than you were before you sought help. The worst companies are outright scams, but many just do not care enough about actually finding the solution that is right for your particular circumstances. Their primary interest is in signing you up for a scheme that will allow them to take money from you up front, leaving them no incentive to get on and do a good job with your creditors.
The top debt settlement companies are much more ethical and more likely to take their fee as a proportion of the amount of money they manage to save you. That way it is directly performance related and you can only end up better off. They can also do this because they know they are good enough at their jobs to get substantial reductions on your debts, and so earn their own share.
It will help to have a basic knowledge of the settlement process before you start looking at companies, in order to understand what it is reasonable to expect from them, and how to spot when they say or do something that should give you cause for concern. The way most organisations will operate is that you will stop paying your creditors and start putting that money into a new holding account instead, based on a monthly amount that you can manage to pay.
Meanwhile the debt advisors will approach all of your creditors in turn to try to reach a negotiated deal to settle your outstanding balance. The aim of this is to get a large reduction in the amount of debt you owe. This is often, but not always, in return for a full prompt payment of the agreed settlement amount. The length of time that these negotiations can take will vary enormously.
Meanwhile your payments are mounting up in the account, and this money is used to settle each debt as an agreement is reached. The settlement company should deal with your creditors for you, so any hassling for payment ought to stop. After a period of usually between one and four years, settlements will have been reached for all of your debts, your payments will come to an end and you are debt free again.
You will want to concentrate on the top debt settlement companies when you are looking for one to work with, so that means identifying which are the most established and reputable organisations. New companies will be a much higher risk, so go for ones that can demonstrate that they have a lot of experience and that they have already helped lots of other people who were in your situation.
All the top debt settlement companies have websites now and the initial approach is usually a simple online form. Once you submit that, they will get back in touch to go through things in more detail. The other important precaution to take is to make sure you approach at least two different companies so that you have something to compare, because even the top companies will vary in terms of what they can offer you.
Read reviews and recommendations for reputable online debt settlement companies and UK IVA providers.
This makes selecting the right company quite a risky proposition, not least because getting the decision wrong could land you in a worse situation than you were before you sought help. The worst companies are outright scams, but many just do not care enough about actually finding the solution that is right for your particular circumstances. Their primary interest is in signing you up for a scheme that will allow them to take money from you up front, leaving them no incentive to get on and do a good job with your creditors.
The top debt settlement companies are much more ethical and more likely to take their fee as a proportion of the amount of money they manage to save you. That way it is directly performance related and you can only end up better off. They can also do this because they know they are good enough at their jobs to get substantial reductions on your debts, and so earn their own share.
It will help to have a basic knowledge of the settlement process before you start looking at companies, in order to understand what it is reasonable to expect from them, and how to spot when they say or do something that should give you cause for concern. The way most organisations will operate is that you will stop paying your creditors and start putting that money into a new holding account instead, based on a monthly amount that you can manage to pay.
Meanwhile the debt advisors will approach all of your creditors in turn to try to reach a negotiated deal to settle your outstanding balance. The aim of this is to get a large reduction in the amount of debt you owe. This is often, but not always, in return for a full prompt payment of the agreed settlement amount. The length of time that these negotiations can take will vary enormously.
Meanwhile your payments are mounting up in the account, and this money is used to settle each debt as an agreement is reached. The settlement company should deal with your creditors for you, so any hassling for payment ought to stop. After a period of usually between one and four years, settlements will have been reached for all of your debts, your payments will come to an end and you are debt free again.
You will want to concentrate on the top debt settlement companies when you are looking for one to work with, so that means identifying which are the most established and reputable organisations. New companies will be a much higher risk, so go for ones that can demonstrate that they have a lot of experience and that they have already helped lots of other people who were in your situation.
All the top debt settlement companies have websites now and the initial approach is usually a simple online form. Once you submit that, they will get back in touch to go through things in more detail. The other important precaution to take is to make sure you approach at least two different companies so that you have something to compare, because even the top companies will vary in terms of what they can offer you.
Read reviews and recommendations for reputable online debt settlement companies and UK IVA providers.
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