Way back in 1997, I settled my first consumer debt account on behalf of my very first client, long before “debt settlement” became a normal approach to eliminating toxic debt levels. Over more than a quarter of a century since then, I’ve been privileged to help thousands of people tackle their debt crises and move forward into debt freedom. As we reached the years of the Great Recession (2008 to 2010), my workload exploded and I found myself busier than ever. One of the things that has surprised me the most in recent years is the number of folks returning for help, in debt all over again.
How can that be? Doesn’t debt settlement permanently wreck your credit score? No, it doesn’t! It causes the score drop steeply, but only temporarily. That’s because the banks and lenders out there WANT to get you into debt again, NEED to have you paying sky high interest rates in order to return a profit to shareholders. That is just the way the credit world works. So when I’m doing a consultation with someone and they ask me about credit damage, I try not to laugh. “Do not worry about getting credit again later on,” I tell people. “You should be far more concerned about getting back into debt all over again and becoming a repeat client.”
Now, having said this, I want to immediately correct the false assumption many will make. The vast majority of consumers I’ve worked with did not get deeply into personal debt because they were foolish, poor at managing money, or went crazy with spending. No, they got into debt because LIFE happened. One partner lost their job and was out of work for a while, when the budget was tight to begin with, so the debt piled up. Or a medical crisis happened, impacting the ability to work and earn money. Divorces are another frequent cause of financial devastation.
Yes, of course there are people who get into debt because they cannot control their spending, or because they have a gambling addiction. But this is only a small fraction of the consumers who struggle with a mismatch between income and expenses, leading to mounting levels of personal debt.
I have two main motivations in publishing this blog post. First, I’m still here in 2026, helping consumers with my Tailored Debt Settlement approach to managing excessive debt. Second, I want to encourage my former clients to reach out if they need help again, without shame, fear, or embarrassment!
What prompted this is a recent situation where a former client had gone through the debt settlement process with me in 2016. They successfully settled all of their accounts, and yes, got their credit back in subsequent years. Then life happened once more, another set of emergency situations arose, and they got back into debt all over again. This scenario is a good illustration of what I was discussing above. The credit damage from the prior round of settlement was not a permanent stain, just a set of temporary blemishes. In more recent years, obtaining new credit was no problem, and then they fell deeply back into debt due to a variety of medical crises and family emergencies.
The reason I’m focusing on this particular case is because the client in question was so deeply embarrassed by having gotten back into debt after working with me, they decided to hire one of the large debt settlement firms that saturate the Internet with advertising. It was a disaster, as expected. The company settled one account, let the others spin, and then the lawsuit threats started. People need to understand that the big debt settlement firms IGNORE LAWSUIT RISK to their clients. They do not care, period!
Gradually, I was able to work with this consumer to extract them from that difficult situation, help them take over control again of the debt accounts, and then put a plan in place to handle that mounting risk.
If you are a former ZipDebt client who needs help again with burdensome personal or business debts, just reach out to me! Please DO NOT BE EMBARRASSED. I won’t judge you, criticize you, or scold you for needing help again. I understand that debt can get out of control for many reasons. If you would like to discuss your current debt situation, please submit a consultation request via the form displayed on this page or email me via [email protected].
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