This post is intended to provide a forum for ZipDebt clients to post comments about their experience with the program. Recently, I spoke to a person interested in my program, and they told me that they didn’t bother to read any of the testimonials on my site because “everybody fakes testimonials.” Well, that’s probably true of many (if not most) debt-related websites. Not so with ZipDebt. ALL of my testimonials are real. No need for faking it here. But it gave me the idea of providing a way for clients to write in and post comments on their own.
Feel free to write about your experience of handling your own negotiations with training and coaching by yours truly.
Two simple ground rules for posting your feedback:
1. Please do not mention bank names or the names of collection agencies. (Two reasons for this: One, I don’t want to get drowned in blog-spam by debt collectors who work for said companies, or notices from their legal departments, etc. Two, settlement percentages are a moving target, and a bank/agency that settles for 30% today may stick with 50% tomorrow, and vice versa.)
2. Please do not include website links or html tags in your posts.
3. No profanity please (however tempting it may be to dump on your favorite debt collector). 🙂
Otherwise, please feel free to relate as much or as little as you care to share with others. The main purpose here is to help the folks who are struggling with their decision about whether to use this strategy in their situation.
Charles is amazing!
I recommend using him if you want to save yourself lots of headaches and money.
I wish I had known about Charles and Zipdebt much sooner, but in the end he really came through in helping me.
About 3 years ago, I signed up with one of the well known Debt Consolidation/Cancellation firms, and they promised me the world, and I fell for it.
I was not in great financial waters during/post recession, and I had accumulated over $80k in credit card debts trying to keep things a flot personally and for my business.
I was paying over $1600 per month in finance fees and I would never be able to pay off this debt at that rate in my lifetime.
I first called the banks, and all of them did not want to help, instead, they offered payment plans that would essentially keep me tied to them and in debt forever.
I said enough was enough, and I ended up calling one of the Debt Consolidation firms who promise that they can take care of this debt and handle all of the communications with the banks
in the course of 24-36 months. The idea is instead of paying the banks $1600/month in finance charges, you pay the Debt Company this amount into a special savings account, and they will start negotiating with the banks within 3-6 months.
That is how it was sold to me.
The truth be told, the Debt Consolidation company wanted me to deposit 12-24 months worth of funds before they would go to work on any of the debts, and in the meantime, I am passing the 6 month mark on not making any payments to the banks, and my credit is essentially ruined due to closed and non payment.
Then they (Debt Consolidation company) offered to payoff all of my debts by negotiating with the banks to get a 20-25% discount, and I would pay the Debt consolidation company back the 75-80% of the debt owed plus 29% interest!!
I told them to pound sand, and I started looking at alternatives, which I should have done early on.
I found out about ZipDebt and Charles via one of the Cosumer Debt forums and Charles was highly recommended.
At about this time, I was sent a letter from a law firm from one of the banks (approx. 1 year after I stopped paying), and they threatened to take me to court and get a judgement if I did not work out a settlement with them.
Charles helped me immediately. He reviewed the letter, which was the first letter, and he coached me in the way to communicate and negotiate with the law firm.
He also advised that I stop using the Debt Consolidation company, since the banks do not like this, and they will normally not want to negotiate with them, and instead threaten or even take me to court to see what they can get.
I took Charles advice, and coaching, and within 20 days, I was able to negotiate the biggest debt I owed $53,000, down to a $20k settlement with the law firm representing the bank.
I took the funds I had saved with the Debt Consolidation company to pay most of this off in one payment, plus funds I had saved myself and borrowed from family.
On my second largest debt, I then took Charles advice about getting pro active to settle and payoff my remaining debt vs. ignoring it. The last thing anyone wants to have to go to court, hire an attorney, and fight the banks legally, unless you want to claim bankruptcy.
I waited for about 6 months to save up some additional funds, and then I contacted the bank, which referred me to a collection agency representing them.
Taking Charles advice, I told them about my situation, and that I could not pay the debt, but I would like to work out a settlement, and I offered just 10% of what I owed.
The collection agency representative wanted a 50% settlement and would offer me 6 monthly payments.
I explained that I could not afford this, and I could go into monthly payments, since I was struggling to make ends meet.
Again, taking Charles advise, I did not agree to anything. I called the collection agency again, and for almost 2 weeks I did not get a call back.
I finally called the agency and asked to speak to someone else who could assist me, and my file was transferred to another representative, and within a week, and with Charles input and coaching I was able to negotiate a $23k debt down to $6k. No Joke folks!
Many of us have experienced some level of financial struggle and hardship. We are responsible for our debts, and if we cannot pay off the whole debt, it is better to work out a settlement with the bank and take care of it in a proactive manner vs. ignoring it and hoping it goes away (which it won’t).
Charles is a fantastic coach, and after 2 phone conversations, going over the details, and about 10 emails he helped me settle my major debts in a span of 8 months!
As of today, I am 99% credit card debt free, I am rebuilding my credit, and I am almost at the 700 score! I ended up getting rid of All of this in less than 1 year!
Thank you Charles and ZipDebt!
Charles offers a product with a lot of integrity, and it’s a reflection on his personal integrity and knowledge base. The amount of misinformation out there is stunning, and he has clarified not only the information, but the best practices to help folks get their lives back.
I purchased the course many years ago after the crash, didn’t implement it, and fortunately didn’t have any credit card judgments. But there are still collection agencies and zombie debt companies still calling, which can be very unsettling. I’ve recently sent several emails to Charles asking for clarification. I wasn’t expecting a reply since my package had long since passed its shelf life.
Not only did I receive the info, but received it quickly. You just can’t beat peace of mind.
Thank you so much — you’re the best!