http://www.prodebtreduction.com/debt-settlement/debt-settlement-companies.html Debt settlement companies focus on helping you get out of debt in the fastest way possible. en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT Weblog Editor 2.0 How Debt Settlement Companies Can Help You Most debt settlement companies have one goal: To get you out of debt in the fastest way possible. Usually their focus is on credit card debt, but they deal with other kinds of unsecured debts too. It's easy for debt settlement companies to get you out of debt fast because that's the nature of debt settlement. Before you go to a debt settlement company for help, you need to have a significant amount of money saved up. Otherwise, you'll be wasting your time. Why? Because most debt settlement companies will ask you how much debt you have, then ask you how much you have saved. They need to know this because they're going to try to get your creditors to reduce your debt down to the amount you have saved. That way, you can pay off your debt in full (which, by the way, will be expected if your creditors agree to this). Usually you can get the amount you owe reduced by 50-80%, with 50-60% being more common than 80%. You might wonder why your creditors would agree to this. It's because they realize that if you are talking to debt settlement companies, the next step may be non-payment or bankruptcy. At least this way they'll get their money. Maybe not all of it, but they figure something is better than nothing. The catch is that once your creditors agree to some kind of settlement with the debt settlement companies about your debt, they will want you to pay them immediately. Also, that debt settlement company will report your decision to consolidate or negotiate to the three credit reporting agencies, and it will be like having a late payment for each creditor on your credit report. Ouch! Before you decide on debt settlement, weigh the pros and cons. Only then can you be sure that the debt settlement programs you finally decide upon will be the right ones for your situation. We all have different sets of circumstances and our decisions have to be made based on these. Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT