Under Rules, Debt Negotiation Firms Cannot Charge Up-Front Fee
With credit card debt mounting in difficult economic times, progressively more people are looking for help that does not come in the form of bankruptcy. Most of them are turning to credit card debt negotiation services, companies that help customers negotiate with credit card issuers to pay off part of their debts in exchange for a release from the rest.
It’s a simple idea. A customer’s credit debt reaches the stage where he can not repay it, and he is left making monthly minimum payments. This drains her income and makes it much harder for her to begin paying down the outstanding balance. He can do one of only a few things: seek bankruptcy relief, settle a payment plan with the credit card company, or try to settle the debt. Bankruptcy would destroy her credit and a repayment plan would only decrease her monthly payments, not the balance.
The consumer can instead turn to credit card debt negotiation services. These firms sit down at the bargaining table with credit card companies and negotiate for lump-sum payments, generally 40 to 60 percent of what customers owe. In exchange, the credit card company will release the customer from the remaining debt.
Unfortunately, credit card debt negotiation services, a comparatively young industry, do not have a fantastic reputation. Until recently, it was possible for predatory companies to charge excessively steep up-front fees and promise unrealistic settlements. They didn’t always tell customers what they were getting into, often leaving them even worse off than when they began.
But in 2010 the Federal Trade Commission stepped in and began totally regulating the debt settlement industry for the first time. These new rules made it possible to really weed out the disreputable credit card debt negotiation services from the honest. Originally, Federal trade commission rules covered just debt negotiation firms which directly called customers; now the rules cover these kinds of companies.
First, the Ftc has banned upfront fees. This means debt negotiation companies must reach negotiation agreements before charging their clients. This gives these companies an incentive to reach the settlements they promise and prevents impractical promises.
Second, credit card debt negotiation services are necessary to fully inform consumers about several things, including the likely length of negotiations, the cost to the customer, and the possible negative effects of trying to negotiate debt. For instance, in order to force credit card firms to settle, debt negotiation companies often tell consumers to stop paying the credit card companies and instead put the money into a dedicated account which will later be used to pay off settlement amounts. Credit card companies are more likely to bargain if they’re not getting paid. Credit card companies usually won’t bargain while you are still paying them. But this technique can sometimes backfire if the credit card issuers refuse to settle, since customers now owe not only the outstanding debt but the additional fees and interest that built up while the bills were not being paid. Settlement companies must now disclose this risk to consumers.
With these rules in place, credit card debt services are a much safer bet for consumers. Though some firms are still suspect, that is true of any industry. The majority of debt negotiation companies comply with these rules and offer consumers a reliable means to resolve their debt.