If you’re not familiar with the term “debt relief” you can probably guess what it means. It is finding relief from those debts that are causing you to feel miserable about your life. Fortunately, there are a number of different ways to achieve debt relief.
Debt consolidation
One of the most popular ways to get debt relief is through debt consolidation. This can be done with a debt consolidation loan, consumer credit counseling or with a debt consolidation company. All these alternatives work about the same way. You consolidate a number of different debts into just one monthly payment. This payment should be much lower than the sum of the monthly payments you’ve been making.
How debt relief is different
When people use the term debt relief, they usually mean debt settlement. It’s different from debt consolidation because you’re not just moving your debts from one set of creditors to another. Instead, debt settlement can actually reduce your debts – sometimes by as much as 50%.
Many options
There are a number of companies offering debt relief or debt settlement. Many of them are very legitimate. However, the Internet is a bit like the old, Wild West and there are some scam artists out there. So how can you choose a good debt relief provider?
Reviews of debt settlement or debt relief companies
One way to choose a reputable debt relief company is to go online and see if people have posted reviews of the company. You should find reviews of the major debt relief or debt settlement providers including some of the online credit-counseling firms. For example, I recently searched on the term debt relief reviews and got more than 40 pages of results. While many of these results were not debt relief reviews, a number of them were.
If you don’t find reviews
Unfortunately, you won’t find good, in-depth reviews of all debt relief providers. In fact, you may not be able to find decent reviews of the major players, let alone all debt relief companies. If you can’t find reviews of a particular company, should you cross it off your list? Not necessarily. There are other ways to determine a company’s trustworthiness. One of the best indicators is its longevity. If it’s been in business for 10 years or longer, it can probably be trusted. The scam artists tend to change the names of their companies about as often as you change clothes so their history might span just a year or even only a few months.. Second, look for the associations to which the company belongs. Reputable debt relief companies will belong to associations such as the US Chamber of Commerce and the American Fair Credit Council. The company should also be able to show proved results in the form of testimonials from past clients.
What to expect from a trustworthy debt relief company
If a debt relief company wants to charge you fees up front, run away. Reputable firms such as National Debt Relief charge no fees until they have negotiated settlements with all your creditors and presented you with a payment plan that you approve. You should also expect the debt relief company to be staffed by helpful, compassionate and experienced debt counselors who have the wherewithal to get your debts settled for thousands of dollars less than you owe and to help you get out of debt in 24 to 48 months. Finally, make sure any money you send the company is deposited into a FDIC-insured trust account that only you manage.
Let us show you why thousands of American families have turned to us for debt relief. Call our toll-free number today or fill in the form you’ll find on this page to get started.
