Like many industries, the debt relief business has attracted some “bad actors” into the arena that may not have your best interests in mind when they enroll you. The key to protecting yourself is education and homework. By learning about your debt relief options, you will be able to better understand whether a company is being truthful about the potential downsides, and you will be able to determine at least partly the level of satisfaction of the company’s clients. Two good resources for doing this are the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and RipOffReport.com. Obviously BBB is more credible because dissatisfied consumers can file a formal complaint against the company, whereas RipOffReport.com can be more easily manipulated by competitors, former employees, and or anyone else who has a vested interest in seeing a business fail. However, prior to using the services of a debt relief company, one should always check out both resources.

Some other signs that the company watch out for:

Demand all your debt is included: In debt settlement and credit counseling, all unsecured debt must be included in order to obtain favorable terms from the creditors. This is very different from asking you to include your student loan, which may already have low interest and favorable loan terms, and only benefits the debt relief company because they may get a fee for each account they deal with.

Quote very low payments: While your payments may be dramatically reduced through debt negotiation or credit counseling, beware of a debt relief company that promises to reduce your payment to less than 1.5% of the current balance. Even this may be too low to adequately pay off your debts, and many companies that quote an unusually low payment will quickly increase it once you’ve formally enrolled in their program. 

Ignore your particular situation: Companies that don’t care to learn about your situation are not interested in seeing whether the program they offer is even right for you. Along the same lines, be wary of a company that only explains their program to you after they’ve made sure you’re qualified.

Please keep in mind that these are just a few tips for helping you determine whether a particular debt relief service is reputable.  Ultimately, the most important tip one can remember is to read and understand all the contract terms before ever enrolling.  If a company does not have a written agreement in place for new clients, it is probably best for them to be avoided altogether. 

If you are interested in learning whether we’re a reputable debt relief service, please feel free to call (877) 274-1260 or fill out a form and we’ll contact you as soon as possible.