Debt relief clearinghouse

Harry — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:16:44 +0000

Every time I pick up the New York Times, I’m frightened by the headlines in the paper. They keep talking about layoffs and about increasing unemployment numbers. It’s frightening to think that for every job out there, there are 6 people who are perfectly qualified to do it and who want to take the job. That means that 5 other people are sitting at home flipping channels and hoping in vain that the phone will ring. The unemployment rate is 9.8% today, but if that isn’t scary enough, they say the actual unemployment numbers, including people who have dropped out of sight because they simply can’t find work and no longer qualify for unemployment insurance is closer to an eye popping 18%. A few years ago, President Bush signed a new law that changed the way that bankruptcy works in this country. You could no longer simply wipe the slate clean. Instead, you had to use a debt relief clearinghouse. But what exactly are debt relief clearinghouses and what do they do for you?

Well, let’s assume you’re like the typical American and you have around 6 credit cards, each one of them closing in on the maximum. In total, you may owe around $8,000 on all of them. You likely have no savings or very little savings and just before the whole credit crisis hit, maybe you decided to refinance the house in order to put in a pool, or a new bathroom. Or maybe you had decided that the rising value of your home meant you could take finally that trip to Rome that you’d always dreamed of. Whatever the case may be, today, you’re drowning in debt and you may be unemployed or if you are employed, you may be making significantly less than you need to be earning because your company forced everyone onto a four day work week or to take a 10% pay cut. Hey, you’ve still got a job right? Well, if you’re in that situation, you may be a candidate for a debt relief clearinghouse.

What these places will do is to contact all your credit cards on your behalf and negotiate a deal for you. They may be able to get lower interest rates for you and they may even be able to get the credit card companies to settle for less than the full amount you owe. Especially in this economy, the credit card companies are eager to work with such places so that they can get something rather than seeing a debtor walk away and not pay anything. However, you need to be sure to pick a debt relief clearinghouse which will actually do the job and not just walk away with your money. Here’s a few tips on how to do that:

Look for companies with a history. A successful company will have been in business for years and will be able to prove it.
Check with the Better Business Bureau. If the company you want to work with has scammed others, odds are that they’ve been reported.
Be prepared to walk away. If the company is just eager to get you to fork over your cash, then walk away. A legitimate company will take the time to tell you exactly how it works, will have literature for you to study and will not pressure you to sign right now. And on that same vein. . .
Beware of incredible claims. If the company you’re working with is trying to claim that they can get you a deal where you’ll pay just 35 cents on the dollar, run the other way. While it’s nice to believe that such a thing could actually happen, the reality is that most credit card companies do not want to settle for so little and it’s highly unlikely that the debt relief clearinghouse can get you such a great deal.
Keep your wits about you. If it smells fishy, just walk away. There are enough legitimate places to work with that you don’t have to work with them even if they were recommended.

Debt Relief Methods » debt relief clearinghouse

Debt relief clearinghouse