Credit Card Relief Programs - How To Know If A Debt Settlement Program Is Legitimate Or Not

Credit card relief programs have flooded the market ever since the federal laws on bankruptcy filing changed and made it difficult for the consumers to file for bankruptcy.
By: DisputeDebts.com
 
Feb. 10, 2011 - PRLog -- Credit card relief programs have flooded the market ever since the federal laws on bankruptcy filing changed and made it difficult for the consumers to file for bankruptcy. The sudden growth the the demand for debt settlement helped the economy to revive from the clutches of recession. However, a difficult situation showed up because of this impetus. The scammers took advantage of this situation and a number of relief companies came up which started cheating the consumers. They fooled the consumers, took money and never helped the consumers. It is because of this reason that consumers are advised to make sure that a settlement program is legitimate. But, how to do so? Here are some of the methods that can be applied to find out the authenticity of the settlement programs:

Check whether the settlement firm is spending a good amount of time discussing the problems with you. A legit firm will first try to understand and then figure out a repayment plan based on your income and expenditure that is most suitable for you. This takes a long amount of time and the settlement firm needs to do this.
Also, never discuss these things with a settlement firm over the phone. A legit firm will ask for face to face interaction.
Check whether the agreement is written or not. The settlement firm needs to go for a written agreement with you and this is because of the fact that verbal agreements are considered null and void.
Check if the settlement program is attorney based or not. If not, there are chances that the program will not be a legitimate one.
Find out whether the firm speaks about the tax implications or not. If a firm states that there will no tax implications without even checking on you insolvency probability then, the firm is a scam. This is because of the fact that if you are not insolvent during settlement and the amount of money saved out of settlement deal is more than $600, the government will be taxing you.
Find out the amount of fees that the firm will be charging. A genuine firm will charge somewhere between 6-15% of the total outstanding. Anything less than that or more than that will mean that the firm is not legit.
Check whether the firm is registered with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) or not. If not there are chances that the firm will be a fraud.
Also check whether the firm is monitored by and falls under the purview of the TASC (The Association of Settlement Companies) or not. If not, you better go for a different firm.
Check the estimated amount of time mentioned by the firm to get a settlement deal for you. If the time is less than 1 year, the firm is genuinely fraud. This is because of the fact that a settlement deal takes 1-3 years to complete and in case of State of California, the time required is 4 years.
If the firm asks for up front service fee payment, report the same to the Federal Trade Commission and know that the firm is fraud. This is because of the fact that the Federal Trade Commission made it a law that the settlement firms will no longer be allowed to ask for advance payment of the fees from the consumers.
Taking care of these things, you will know whether a settlement program is legitimate or not. Be sure to find it out or you will lose your money and you will have no one to blame for your loss.

Debt settlement is a viable option to filing bankruptcy and is becoming increasingly popular amongst Americans with over $10k in unsecured debt. Creditors are ready to negotiate. You can literally eliminate 50% of your unsecured debt with a settlement. Check out the following link to locate legitimate debt help in your state.
Free Debt Advice
(http://www.DisputeDebts.com)

Contact us for free debt advice = 8883613619
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Source:DisputeDebts.com
Email:***@michigandebtadvice.com
Tags:Debt, Debt Solutions, Debt Relief, Debt Settlement, Get Out Of Debt, Debt Settlement Programs, Legitimate Debt Settlement
Industry:Debt relief
Location:United States
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