In 2009, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) reported to have received about 119,549 complaints from borrowers suing creditors and third-party debt collectors for violation of their consumer rights. In this article, let’s discuss some of the grounds for complaint as stated in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA):

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To recover from credit card debt, many people turn to consolidation.  While there are a number of ways to consolidate, it is crucial to spend time considering the benefits as well as the possible consequences involved with your decision.

When stuck in debt, a borrower must never be hasty in taking any action.  Otherwise, you could end up in an even worse problem.  What are the common mistakes people commit when consolidating?

The risk of secured debt. Credit card debt is unsecured but once you take out a loan to consolidate, your debt becomes a secured one.  That means your creditor has the right to repossess the property you submitted in case you fail to complete your payments.
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If you are dealing with credit card debt or struggling with your loan payments, a trusted credit counseling agency can guide you on how to get yourself out of the crisis.  Through a credit counseling session, your financial specialist will assess your situation and create a personalized debt management program suited to you.

Nevertheless, complete recovery from bad debt will still depend on how well you respond to your credit counselor’s advice.  On this article, let’s discuss the things you can expect from a financial specialist and what you can do to make credit counseling work for you:
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So you want to try out debt settlement to eventually reduce your total debts. But the problem is you are not sure how to negotiate with creditors. After all, you want to retain the peaceful and conflict-free relationships you have with them. Still, in terms of debt, you have to uncover the hidden negotiator in you. But how?  Below are helpful tips that will allow you to negotiate your way to having discounted total credit, through debt settlement.

1. Know your rights. – The government has provided the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act to ensure that people who have incurred debts will be treated with much dignity and respect. This is achieved through debt collection laws that outline the rights of debtors. You need to know these rights, so that you could protect yourself from harassing activities of debt collectors. If your creditor is guilty of the FDCPA violation, contact the office of the attorney general in your state, or acquire informative pamphlets. In this way, you could ward off aggressive debt collectors while on your way to successful bad credit repair.

[Article: What You Should Know About the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act]

2. Get a good estimate of how much you can pay your creditors. – To achieve bad credit repair, you need to consider your financial status. Think about your monthly income and expenses. Soon, you could estimate how much available cash you have for debt settlement. In most cases, borrowers need to take out a debt settlement loan to pay debts.  Be sure to include how much you are going to pay your creditors, and when they can expect the payment from you. In so doing, you could provide your creditors a good picture of how much they could get back if they agree to settle. And eventually they may accept your offer for you to achieve complete bad credit repair.

[Article: Possible Options for Resolving Your Debt Problems]

3. Consider taking a credit counseling session. If you think you need help on managing your finances, you may consider enrolling in a credit repair guide program. Your counselor can provide you options on how to settle your debts more easily. A credit repair guide session will provide you sufficient motivation to negotiate your way to reducing your total debt.

[Article: How to Start a Personalized Debt Management Program]

4. Keep records of your deals. – Once a creditor verbally agrees to your offer for settlement, you have to make sure that you record the conversation or keep notes about the deal you have made. In so doing, you will have proof of your agreement. Ask for a written agreement of your debt settlement. In so doing, you can hold on to the debt settlement contract that will prove your liberation from other repayment obligations.

These four helpful tips will surely allow you to pay off reduced debts, on your way to becoming free from bad debt!

About the Author

Melanie Mathis is a credit analyst and a writer for 8 years. She has been participating in the programs of NHBS, Inc such as their continuous effort in giving out Free Credit Repair and Building Ebook. NHBS also has a list of recommended debt consolidation companies

A lot of people have one common enemy: bad debt. Because of this, many organizations and agencies come up with different credit repair services to help people with their respective battles with debts. Among these popular credit services include debt consolidation, debt management programs, and debt settlement. What are the differences among these three popular services? How does each program work? And what are the risks involved in signing up for one of these credit repair services? Let us discuss each of these programs individually for us to clearly identify the differences among them.

Debt Consolidation Loan

Debt Consolidation is a program in which you will receive a loan that will settle all your credit and debts. A bank or a credit firm will compute all your debts from different creditors and provide you a lump sum to pay for all your debts. After paying your debts, the next thing you need to do is to repay the loan, plus the interest and additional fees charged on it. You will be required to do so in single monthly installments until such time that you are able to pay for all the money owed.
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