FTC ruling

Why FREE Debt Settlement Advice Can Often Be the Most Expensive

Virtually every single debt relief company offers a “free consultation” where you can call a toll-free number and speak with a counselor about your situation. Depending on whether you’re seeking debt settlement advice or information about credit counseling, there may be different titles for this position, such as “debt counselor,” “certified debt consultant,” or “senior debt advisor.” Buyer beware! After 16+ years in the industry, I can tell you...

DIY Debt Settlement Myth #10: My Credit Score Will Be Better If I Hire A Company To Settle My Debts

This is the tenth and final post in a series discussing the most common myths about do-it-yourself debt settlement, as compared to hiring a third-party company. In this article, I’ll discuss the myth that settlements negotiated by professional debt relief firms carry less credit damage than self-negotiated settlements. Before the FTC really started to crack down on the industry a couple of years ago, the entire subject of credit...

DIY Debt Settlement Myth #7: A Debt Settlement Program Will Stop the Collection Bombardment

This is the seventh in a series of posts discussing the most common myths about do-it-yourself debt settlement. It’s common knowledge that your phone is going to start ringing off the hook the moment you begin missing payments on your credit card accounts. Virtually all major creditors have automated dialing systems that are triggered off the lack of a payment being recorded by the due-date, and the bombardment can...

DIY Debt Settlement Myth #5: I’ll Be Protected Against Lawsuits If I Enroll With A Debt Settlement Company

This is the fifth in a series of posts discussing the most common myths about do-it-yourself debt settlement. As consumers shop for a debt relief solution and talk with the sales reps at various debt settlement firms, one of the first questions they will usually ask is, “What about creditor lawsuits? Won’t they just sue me to recover what I owe?” There’s no question that taking the path of...

DIY Debt Settlement Myth #4: Settlement Companies Get Better Deals Because They Have Relationships With Creditors

This is the fourth in a series of posts discussing the most common myths about do-it-yourself debt settlement. The claim that debt settlement companies have relationships with the major creditors is a major part of the sales presentation for traditional settlement programs. I call this the “volume” objection, and of course, it’s total nonsense. The pitch goes something like this: “We are a big company and every day we...

ZipDebt vs. Traditional Debt Settlement – How Do We Stack Up Against the Competition?

In my blog post on “The Future of Debt Settlement,” published a little over a year ago, I assessed the state of the debt settlement industry in the wake of the FTC rule-change that banned the advance-fee model for third-party debt settlement. To summarize, in that earlier post I described the in-progress breakup of the industry into three different groups: (1) companies closing down or suspending all marketing operations,...

$16 Million in Credit Card Debt Settlements by ZipDebt Clients in 2010!

Who says you can’t settle debts on your own? In 2010, clients of my ZipDebt program reported settlements totaling more than $16.2 million of debt, primarily credit card debt balances. In my blog post of July 2009, “Debt Settlement Done Right,” I outlined my success tracking statistics and included a progress report on settlement activity through mid-year. At the time, we reported 737 settled accounts representing more than $10...

Automated Debt Settlement Systems – More Trouble Ahead for Unwary Consumers

In my October column, I wrote about the future of the debt settlement industry in the wake of the FTC ban on advance fees. As I noted, the companies attempting to comply with the FTC ruling concern me more than the “loophole diehards,” who I believe will go out of business or be shut down anyway. Many in the “compliance” camp are already promoting untested business models as though...

The Future of Debt Settlement

Today, October 27, 2010 is “D-Day” for the debt settlement industry. The second part of the recent FTC rule change goes into effect today, banning advance fees for third-party debt settlement. So it seems like an auspicious occasion on which to blog about the future of debt settlement. In my August blog post, I wrote about my expectations for the future of the industry, and in this article I...