Debt Settlement Blog

Credit card debt has been a significant problem for millions of Americans.  The amount consumers owed on their credit cards in this year’s second quarter dropped to the lowest level in more than eight years as cardholders continued to pay off balances in the uncertain economy. The average combined debt for bank-issued credit cards like those with a MasterCard or Visa logo – fell to $4,951 in the three months ended June 30, down more than 13 % from $5,719 in the same period a year ago, according to Trans Union.  The credit reporting agency said it was the first three-month period during which card debt fell below $5,000 since the first quarter of 2002.  In years past homeowners would take out a second mortgage for credit consolidation, but now those types of loan programs are no longer available.  Secure debt consolidation loans, like 2nd mortgages are difficult to find without owning a home and having a lot of home equity.

Negotiate Credit Card Debt and Save!

Credit card debt remained the highest in Alaska, but slid 7 % there to $7,148. A total of 22 states recorded debt higher than the national average.  Residents of Alabama paid off the most debt, dropping their average balance by 27 % to $4,753.  More borrowers also made payments on time. The rate of cardholders past due by 90 days or more fell to 0.92 % in the second quarter, from 1.17 % last year.

That’s the first time the delinquency rate has been below 1 % since the second quarter of 2007, before the recession, said Ezra Becker, director of consulting and strategy in Trans Union’s financial services unit. The rate fluctuates during the year, he said, but the improvement is more evidence that consumers are working to make sure their credit cards remain in good standing.  That concern reflects several economic factors, from the fear of unemployment to the fact that the collapsed housing market means it’s harder to cash in on home equity when money gets tight. “You can’t buy groceries with your house anymore,” Becker said.

Reflecting the weak economies in the states hardest hit by the housing crisis, the delinquency rate was highest in Nevada, at 1.5 % of cardholders, followed by Florida, 1.24 %, Arizona, 1.11 % and California, 1.08 %. In all, 16 states fared worse than the national average for delinquencies.

The lowest delinquency rates remained in North Dakota, at 0.54 %, and South Dakota, at 0.55 %.  In a twist, Becker said the foreclosure crisis could be helping to improve the timeliness of credit card payments and lower balances. When people don’t make mortgage loan payments, he suggested, they have a short-term cash boost. “That can provide extra money to pay down credit cards,” he said.  Besides paying off and refinancing debt, consumers are getting fewer new cards. Nationwide, the number of new accounts opened dropped almost 6.5 % from last year.  Trans Union predicts that the national delinquency rate will remain below 1 % for the rest of the year. However, on the high end, the Nevada rate is forecast to edge up to 1.6 %.  See the original article online

Washington appears to be going for the throat of the the debt settlement industry. On Wednesday, U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., introduced the “Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Act,” which would limit the fees that debt settlement firms can charge and mandate written disclosures before services are performed, including the right to cancel for a full refund.  Enrollment in a debt settlement program usually involves making payments into an account administered by the firm, which uses some of the money for fees but also to negotiate with creditors and settle credit card debt when the account has enough funds for an offer. Meanwhile, many debt relief companies advise consumers to stop paying their creditors to make the lenders desperate even for a partial payment.  They do this because that is what the credit card companies need to even consider a debt negotiation. 

Bank Rate Debt Adviser Steve Bucci mentioned in his column, that consumers will hurt their credit score. While that is true, he may be overlooking the fact that most of these people do not have the ability to pay back their credit card companies with their present income.  It is also important to note that credit counseling and bankruptcy also damage the consumer’s credit scores.  According to debt relief advisor, Jeff Morris, “Getting more credit is not the top priority for a struggling American who are buried in credit card debt.”  Morris continued, “There is plenty of time to implement some credit repair programs after the person eliminates their credit card debt.”

eHow published an article recently that compared debt settlement to debt consolidation.  In years past many finance advisors would recommend debt consolidation to homeowners because they could take out a second mortgage to consolidate debt and debt settlement to non-homeowners because they were not eligible for secure home equity loans because they had no real estate to be used as collateral.

Here are the 3 steps that eHow reccomends when comparing a consolidation loan to a debt settlement program.
1. Compare the short-term advantages of each debt solution option.
2. Compare the long-term benefits of each debt relief solution option.
3. Determine which debt solution is best for you. Which program do you qualify for? Which one offers the best overall benefits? Which one can you afford?  Do you want to settle credit card debt?

Is your credit card debt is rising, but you are still unable to stop using your credit cards. Millions of Americans have become dependent on credit cards for buying products on a whim.  But, if you find yourself buried in credit card debt, you must purchasing with your credit cards and consider debt settlement or a debt loan that consolidates the high interest accounts into a simple interest loan that is more affordable.

1. Do you qualify for a debt consolidation loan?  Do own a home, have really good credit scores and enough home equity to qualify for a fixed rate second mortgage that consolidates revolving debts?  If not, consider debt settlement.  You don’t need to own a home and your credit score is irrelevant.  Many consumers that were turned down for a bad credit debt loan find a solution with debt settlement.  Simply closing your credit cards and negotiating with your bank is time consuming and rarely produces the results achieved by a professional debt settlement company.  Debt settlement has the ability to save you 40-60% by negotiating a reduced pay-off with your credit card accounts in 9-18 months.

American consumers continue to seek credit card debt settlement and relief because they owe more than $945 billion in credit card debt.  Last year President Obama signed a debt relief bill into law that is intended to limit the ability of credit card companies to raise interest rates and fees.  President Obama said, “With this bill we are putting in place some common sense reforms designed to protect consumers.”

The President signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 (H.R. 627).  This debt relief bill largely codifies regulations imposed by the Federal Reserve in 2008, but became effective on February 2010.  This debt relief bill limits the abilities of credit card finance banks to increase the interest rates of existing customers, charge account maintenance fees and assess penalties will be greatly restricted.

“20% of consumers are currently carrying credit card debt that has been charged interest rates above 20%.”  Card issuers will also be banned from enacting rate increases on existing balances due to “any time, any reason” or “universal default” and severely restricted from imposing retroactive rate increases due to late payment.  In addition, credit card companies will be required to disclose all terms of their credit contracts online and in language that consumers can see and understand so they can avoid unnecessary costs and manage their finances.

Complete details about debt relief and solutions like credit counseling, credit debt settlement and a secured debt consolidation loan are available online.

Millions of American consumers have been in jeopardy of defaulting on credit cards as the unemployment rate soars and interest on charge cards soars.  Debt Settlement Nationwide was pleased to announce that their debt negotiation program was helping people get their finances back on track.  With bankruptcy laws and mortgage underwriting tightening more and more consumers have chosen credit card debt settlement to relieve them of the high rate burdens that go hand in hand with unsecured debt.  Debt reduction is now available to more Americans because credit card finance companies are encouraged and incentivized to forgive credit card debt greater than $10,000.  Check out our debt settlement program with no application fee and no obligation.

With credit card debt at an all time high, debt settlement and bankruptcy continue to soar in popularity as debt relief has hit “main street.” Many critics sneer at the fact that the bankruptcy offers the same level of financial protection that debt settlement offers. Both have a negative impact on the credit score and both help the individual.

Well, if the two concepts are compared in such a literal sense, there’s no doubt that both are debt relief options. However, as one of America’s most favorite President said, there’s a difference in the security offered by a grave and security offered by peace. In case of bankruptcy, you will enjoy the security of the grave. However, you will find it impossible to lead a respectable financial life after that.  It will become public knowledge that you opted for bankruptcy. You will be publicly ridiculed for having failed to keep your debts under control. On the other hand, debt settlement is a completely different thing. You receive a boost from your lender in the form of 50% to 70% waiver. Even more importantly, you are offered 2 to 3 years within which you have the opportunity of repaying the balance amount in full.

Your credit score will come down. However, prompt repayment of the balance amount will itself indicate that you have controlled the finances. They will quickly identify that you have successfully overcome the problem and have shown discipline for the past 1 to 2 years. Remember that lenders are in the business of assessing risk. There’s no such thing as zero risk. You just have to convince your future lenders that you pose a low risk. If that is done, you can be rest assured that you will get loans despite having a poor credit score due to settlement.  Hence, do not to worry too much about the risk of settlement. The only point you should take care of is to avoid dealing with fraudulent companies. Choose the right resources like the debt relief companies online and even this debt risk will come down to zero.

If you have over $10,000 in credit card debt it would be financially prudent for you to consider a debt settlement. There are organizations that exist called “Free Debt Relief Networks” that are a great place to start in locating legitimate debt settlement companies in your region. They provide free debt help and know where to locate the top performing debt settlement firms. To get free debt help check out the link below:

If you have $10,000 in unsecured credit card debt, you have options for debt relief. US consumers are choosing between debt settlement, debt consolidation and consumer credit counseling. Debt settlement provides quick payment relief for debt elimination.  According to finance expert, Jeff Morris, “Debt settlement can save you 40 to 60%! “ 

Consider your options with debt consolidation loans and debt settlement from trusted debt relief companies.  Remember that with bill consolidation and home equity loans, there are qualification requirements for borrowers, so if you don’t have any equity you likely will not qualify.  Read the original article online > Debt Relief Options

The debt settlement selection has become a respectable choice for debt elimination, because it works. The debt settlement choice has become a more popular option for debt relief in recent years.  however took lots of effort and the credit definitely goes to the federal stimulus money. The federal stimulus package released as a part of the fiscal policy helped stand many financial units that were knocked down. The benefits of this trickled down to the common mass as well. Debt settlement has been one of the biggest benefits to consumers as a result of the stimulus money. If you have over $10k in unsecured debt you can realistically eliminate 50% of this with the help of a trusted debt relief company.  Utilizing credit repair after debt negotiations is an effective way to restore your damaged credit scores.

There are free online debt management classes are also available.  If you are considering debt settlement it would behoove you to use a debt relief network first. Debt relief networks are affiliated with several financial institutions and debt settlement companies and pair consumers up with legitimate debt settlement companies.

Did you know if your debt is more than $10,000, you can get a waiver of 60 % on it, and be able to clear off the debt in 2-3 years only? Taking advantage of the situation there are a lot of fraudulent companies out there who simply want to make money, without any intention to help people settle their debt.

Now you can earn up to $2,500 for just referring a client to Debt Settlement Nationwide. We offer a full suite of debt relief services, including debt settlement, debt management and debt consolidation loans.  In addition, we do all the work, process the debt negotiation application and more importantly compensate you for the referral.

Debt Settlement Nationwide provides debt relief solutions and there are no fees to sign up for these programs and much more.  Sign up now and start earning more income while helping improve the financial state of your clients!

Credit cards are what known as “toxic debts” meaning they are depleting your financial resources and they are tremendous burden on your wallet.  You’re willing to pay potentially several hundreds of thousands of dollars for one purpose to maintain your ability to obtain more debt while keeping your credit score good.  Most people in your situation are trying to get “out” of debt not keep it.

If you are to do a debt loan you will pay on that credit card interest for 20 to 30 years.  That is money you could put into retirement, other investments, pay your home off, etc.

If you were able to successfully settle that debt you could cut the balance down close to 1/2 of what you owe, make the “same” payments you’re making right now, and have it paid off in 2 YEARS – as opposed to 30 years.  Your credit score will dip a bit during the debt settlement but who cares?  You don’t plan on getting new debt – you’re trying to get rid of it.  When you pay everything off your scores should sky rocket.  I’ve been doing 2nd mortgages and have seen credit scores skyrocket very quickly.

Think about how much it’s going to take you to eliminate those credit cards. No matter what route you go, other than debt settlement, it’s going to eat up hundreds of thousands of dollars if you make minimum payments.   Don’t wait until interest rates go higher either, because it may become even more difficult to qualify for credit and you may be forced into bad credit debt consolidation.  You think your payments are high right now?

Interest rates are at an all time low.  When they go up your payments will skyrocket.

Keep it in mind.  This is a business decision that, if you can qualify, may be one of the best financial decisions that you ever made. Think about it and do the math -$25,000 versus potentially $250,000 in interest.  Article written by Jeff Morris