Debt Settlement - How can I avoid being scammed?

Debt settlement will only work if you are with a good, reputable company. Because the industry is unregulated, you must beware. Here are some telltale signs of a scam:

1) They represent that this will not harm your credit, or that it is better for your credit than a bankruptcy. This is false. Your credit rating will be negatively affected. There is no doubt about this. (Any program other than paying your debts in full, on time, will have a negative impact on your credit). However, if you are behind on your bills, your credit may already be bad. But, since our program is designed to have you out of debt soon, your debt to income ratio will improve significantly and you may be able to get new credit. At the end of your debt settlement program, we give all our clients a packet on how to rebuild your credit.

There is also an excellent book on rebuilding credit by Steven Snyder called Credit After Bankruptcy. Although it applies to post bankruptcy credit rebuilding, most if not all of the principles described in the book work for rebuilding credit regardless of your situation. We highly recommend the book.

2) They will accept monthly payments and settle your debt over 3-5 years. This will simply not work, and it is not in your best interest for 2 reasons. First, if you wait more than about 18 months, you will almost surely be sued by multiple creditors. With the low payments you are making, you will not have the funds in your account to settle with all of them. The pressure will be too great and you will probably end up filing bankruptcy for protection. All the money you have paid to your debt settlement company will have been wasted! Second, you cannot begin to rebuild your credit until you are done settling all of your debts. If you wait 3-5 years, you are just prolonging your poor credit rating.

The reason this is essentially a scam is because they make all of their money on the front end and they may not care if you end up leaving the program. They get paid a bunch of money and do basically nothing.

3) They ask for a high up front fee, or a fee that is paid primarily in the first year. This is a huge signal and it goes hand in hand with taking low payments over a longer period. If they charge a large up front fee, such as $2000 or more, than you can be fairly sure they will not care if make through the program. We saw one client who paid $2500 down, and then $300 per month for a year. The first year of payments were to go to the settlement firms fee as well! She paid about $6000 and then was overwhelmed by lawsuits. (The firm did settle one debt for her). She ended up filing for bankruptcy and lost her $6000.

Our up front fee is a reasonable fee, based on the number of creditors you have. It usually ranges from $600-$1000.

4)They state that they can settle your debts at 25-40 cents on the dollar. Although settlements like these can happen, they are extremely rare. You should expect settlements of approximately 60-75 cents on the dollar, including settlement fees. Beware if you get promises of unrealistically low settlements. If you expect to settle all your debts at 25 cents on the dollar, you are probably going to be disappointed. We have the experience to get you the lowest settlement value available.

Our goal is to give you accurate information so that you can make a sound financial decision. We will be frank with you about your options, and we will give you excellent customer service. If you are looking for firm with the highest level of experience, and one that can get you out of debt fast, give us a call or fill out our online consultation form now.

Debt Settlement Services - Our Debt Settlement Company will help you settle your debt with ease.

Debt Settlement

“Let us show you the light at the end of the tunnel.”

* Save thousands by settling debt now

* Avoid Bankruptcy

* Be debt free within months!

* Eliminate financial stress

 Trident Debt Solutions, Inc. is a highly specialized and qualified debt settlement company that get you out of debt fast.  Your situation is first reviewed and managed by an debt settlement attorney with more than 10 years of experience with debt relief.  We get paid only when we succeed in saving you money.  This means do not take a client unless we can successfully get you through our program.  We are an ethical and experienced firm, with employees who are kind, courteous and easily accessible.  For more reasons why we may be your best and safest choice, please read the “Why Choose Us?” section.

If you have more than $10,000 of credit card debt, want to avoid bankruptcy, and can make a significant payment toward settling your debts (either a lump sum of money or a monthly payment of 4% of the balance of your debt) you qualify for our program.  Take a look at the “Our Services” section to see real life examples of how we have helped clients in the past.

Learn more in the “Debt Settlement Basics” section and then fill out the free, no obligation “online consultation.”  We will reply with a summary of your options, and whether or not you are a good candidate for our program.

If you are not a good candidate for our program, we offer detailed information on alternatives for you in the “Other Options” section, so you can make an informed decision.

What is Debt Negotiation?

Trident Debt Solutions, Inc. provides alternatives to bankruptcy to individuals and businesses in all 50 states.  We offer 2 primary alternatives, debt negotiation  and mortgage lending to people with less-than-perfect credit (also called “sub prime lending”). 

We can help you if you have credit card debt of more than $10,000, you have a lump sum to settle that debt (or real estate with equity), or you can make a payment of at least 4% of your total debt per month.

Here are two examples of how we helped clients become debt-free:

Lionel M. came in with $35,200 of credit card debt.  He was able to give us a lump sum to settle with.  We settled those debts, including our fees, for $22,200, saving him $13,000.

Lawrence A. had $71,000 of credit card debt.  He also had a lump sum to settle debt with.  We negotiated those debts, including our fees for $44,000, saving him more than $26,000.

Here is an example of how we can help you if you do not have a lump sum:

            Susan F. has $50,000 of credit card debt.  She does not have a lump sum but is able to make a monthly payment of $2000.  (The monthly payment she makes is 4% of her total debt, and this is the amount we require for monthly installment clients.).  With this 4% payment, we can have her out of debt in less than 18 months.

Here is an example of how we can help with sub-prime (i.e. bad credit) mortgage lending:

            Dave R. wanted to refinance his home to pay off credit cards at a lower, tax-deductible interest rate, but was denied by the bank.  The bank said his FICO score was too low.  Further complicating the issue, most mortgage companies only lend 80% of the home’s value.  In his case, he could only pull out $18,000, where he had $30,000 in debt with 2 credit cards.  We were able to refer him to a mortgage company who could get him qualified and charged a fair rate of interest.  With the $18,000 he pulled out of his equity, we settled the $30,000 of debt he had.

Lastly, we offer a bankruptcy referral resource.  If you need a bankruptcy attorney in any state, click here.