If you’ve concluded that debt settlement through relief, consolidation or modification or modification actions are you last resort, then here are some guidelines to help you find the right company:
Make sure they are a member of The Association of Settlement Companies (TASC). This is the biggest trade association in the debt-settlement industry, and it has strict rules and guidelines that member companies have to follow.
They should handle your case themselves. Make sure they don’t send your case to a third party. If they take your case directly, then you at least know whom you’re dealing with. More importantly, you know whom your banks and credit card companies are dealing with.
Experience counts. Find out if the company you’re considering already has a good history of helping people out. If possible, you should find someone they’ve helped, and get their opinion.
See if they have written policies or a “plan book” on how to handle your debt. Companies with plans and predetermined actions for debt relief and settlement means that they have nothing to hide about what they do in general.
Check if they have fees based on results, and a money-back guarantee. The debt-settlement company working for you should have fees based on what they’re able to do for you. And if you don’t feel comfortable with their debt modification actions, then at least part of your payments to them should be refundable.
Find out if their counselors are paid through commissions. This is important. Commission-basis salaries may influence your counselor’s actions in the wrong way.
Find out if they have lawyers with experience in the credit or banking industry. For obvious reasons, a company with lawyers who are well versed in the laws governing debt is a company you’d like to be handling your debt.
Sign up on the box at the right for more information on debt relief, modification and settlement options.
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