We have all heard the radio advertisements for debt settlement firms promising to eliminate credit card debt. Unfortunately for the people that engage them, these companies do a much better job of selling their services than they do the job of providing those expected results.

A typical consumer in debt cannot afford to pay for Debt settlement Services AND settle their credit card debts with what is left over. It would cost $2250-3000 to settle some reduction of $15,000 in debt. Debt settlement firms advise you stop paying the credit card companies and to start paying them instead. They take their fees out then wait for enough money to accumulate to make lump-sum payments to the consumer’s credit card banks. But, that typically will not happen until after those debts have been charged off and sold due to non-payment.

Debt settlement firms do not deliver what they promise, according to MSNBC. Some banks will not even work with debt settlement firms, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Due to Federal Reserve regulations, credit card companies write off their bad debts after six months. The difficulty is if an indebted consumer cannot save enough money with the debt settlement firm to settle the debt within six months, then they could be faced with bad credit, collection agencies and lawsuits instead of the elimination of their credit card debt.

Credit card companies sell off their bad debt to junk debt buyers for 10 cents on the dollar. While, some consumers could still be unwittingly paying money into a settlement fund for the original creditor, it is better to demand the return of that money and to fight off the collection efforts of junk debt buyers with consumer protection laws like the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, according to the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide. That is because the unsettled portion of the debt will simply be sold to another junk debt buyer for further collection. Eliminating credit card debt Through debt settlement is best accomplished on a do-it-yourself basis. Consumers must be ready to present a need-based case for a reduced balance settlement, according to the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide.

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