Artists Trust Seattle

Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 at 1:49 am

Offers debt relief € ~ â € ™ preying on consumerism € ™ s trust

Howa € ™ d like to lower your monthly credit card payments credit â € "guaranteed? Itâ € ™ s an offer that sounds very attractive to anyone struggling to pay their accounts. A growing number of companies around the country say they can do this either lowering their interest rate or reducing the amount owed.

But beware! Some of these programs of debt relief are scams run by con artists who canâ € ™ t keep their promises. If you fall in tone, you could lose hundreds of dollars in fees and is in worse financial shape. Youâ € ™ ll as much as when I started, in addition to other charges late fees and other penalties to pay.

Carol in North Carolina was willing to share their personal horror story with me all the time that did not use his surname. It started with a phone call from a management company debt. The representative told Carol that she could get your creditors to reduce interest rates. This would allow Carol to pay your credit card, mortgage and car loan debt three to five times faster.

â € œShe I specifically said it would save at least $ 2,500 in a very short time and is likely to save more, â € Carol said in her statement to the Federal Trade Commission.

Carol was skeptical, especially when he heard the price was $ 499. But the seller assured Carol that was going to see lower interest rates during the first 30 days of the program and that these savings would more than cover the fee.

â € œShe spoke with such confidence and enthusiasm that I was moved to tears, â € said Carol. â € œI was excited and hopeful to know that eventually would be able to pay my debts.â €

However, didnâ € ™ t turn out that way. Despite repeated attempts, Carola € ™ s â € € œfinancial Consultants does not rates could fall in any of their credit cards. The company will not reimburse Carola € ™ s share of $ 499 as promised. The Commission Federal Trade has sued the company.

A widespread problem
In recent years, the Federal Trade Commission has sued more than a dozen companies debt relief. â € œThey simply lie to consumers, â € says the FTCA € ™ s Alice Hrdy.

FTC announcement IRS investigators have also found some sort of advisory services that claim to be nonprofit, when in reality they are a company with purpose profit. The tone nonprofit can make a potential customer confidence about subscribing to this service. â € € ™ re attacking the œTheyâ Consumerism ™ € s confidence, â € says Hrdy.

Some of the bad apples in the industry to fool people about your payment. â € œThey well say there is no fees involved or only a small fee, â € Hrdy explains. Sometimes, donâ € ™ t mention fees at all.

Bruce, who lives near Seattle, was signed with a company that is committed to cutting its interest rates. He was told to send them a check for $ 265.

â € œIt was my understanding clear that the money went to pay my credit card accounts, â € said Bruce. Proved to be a â € € œreferral feeâ you find a company that supposedly would help him.

â € œIt was an unpleasant experience, â € says Bruce. â € œThey basically stole € money.â

href = "http://settle-credit-card-debt.com/" target = "_blank" title = "Debt Settlement Program" Programs> Debt Settlement
Some companies now say they can negotiate an agreement on a single time with all your creditors to reduce your principal by as much as 50 to 70 percent. In this way, say, your monthly payments will be reduced dramatically.

â € œThat is virtually impossible under any circumstances, â € said Travis Plunkett, legislative director for Consumer Federation of America. Well € ™ s why CFA warns consumers not to use the debt settlement program. â € œThey are promising something that canâ € ™ t deliver, â € says Plunkett.

Credit counselors â € "a better option
Charles Helms president of Consumer Counseling Northwest is a lot of people who have been burned by these fake programs debt relief. â € € ™ œItâ s horrible, â € he says. Since most of them have a large fee in advance, theyâ € ™ ll take anyone who can pay.

â € œThe goal is to enroll, not to successfully complete the program, â € says Helms. â € hereâ € ™ s OESO someone who is financially damaged to start with and then these companies just go out and take the last of their resources and kill any hope they have to get out of that € situation.â

With a legitimate credit counselor, there is no right answer for everyone. They sit with you and give you a free and objective assessment their financial situation. At Credit Counseling Northwest, saw 6,000 people last year and found that debt management was the right choice for only 19 percent of them. The rest were given a plan to resolve things on their own.

With a consolidated personalized payment plan must be able to pay your credit card debt in 3 to 5 years. You write the counseling agency a check each month and do not pay all creditors.

Do your homework
Front the mounting bills can be frightening, but getting target = "_blank" title = "Debt Relief Order" debt relief> is not a decision should be based on a commercial radio audience and receive a sales call. You want to find an organization to design a plan specifically debt relief for you.

Shop around. Compare a couple of services and get an idea of how they work. The loan officer must spend at least 20 to 30 minutes with you in order to obtain a complete picture of its finances. If you donâ € ™ t do that, youâ € ™ re not really get any advice.

Ask lots of questions and get answers in writing. Ask about fees. The Consumer Federation of America said that shouldnâ € ™ t pay more $ 50 set-up fee and no more than a monthly maintenance fee of $ 25. If the agency is vague or reluctant to talk about fees, go elsewhere.

Donâ € ™ t rely on the names or the claim of a non-profit status. Check out the Better Business Bureau or local consumer protection.

About the Author

Where have all the bohemians gone? Where should I move? Need help?!

I currently reside in Portland, Oregon. I moved here a 2.5 years because I wanted to live around other anarchists, bohemians, misfits, feminists, atheists, socialists, homosexuals, and all other anti-Republican anti-Focus on the Family, anti-McWalMartkulture type of person left in this country (everybody else seems to have fled to Canada.) The problem is that all the yuppies in California have decided they want to come and live here too! And everyone here knows what happens when a group of white people with money and trust funds and parents Rich decides to move to neighborhoods: income soars, ugly, faceless condos spring like weeds blacks and other poor people have to move to the suburbs, work gossip quickly just trust fund, with its many degrees that mom and dad pay artists and musicians leave because they can not afford live there again, etc. Could Olympia, WA and Seattle, WA to be comparable to Portland's culture or the yuppie plage spread there too?

The answer unfortunate is that the "plague" is everywhere, and spreads. Olympia looks very cool, too Bellingham. I have not lived anywhere. I lived in Seattle and liked it except it's too big for my taste, and forget that it is affordable! I always thought it was actually a little less than mediocre even Portland. Living costs are somewhat lower in places like Austin (if you like hot summers), or Fayetteville, AR (generally conservative, but increasingly bohemian and varied than it seems), but neither the place is actually more affordable - only smaller than the Pac NW. I lived near Austin (good music, diverse population - Relaxed, with a "live and let live attitude generally surrounded by a bunch of GW Bush country). I'm still looking for a utopia United States as well, and is not sure if there is one place. Canada has much to offer in terms of what you're looking for, but certainly not perfect in all forms of use. (Mi daughter has a friend who lives near near Vancouver, BC). I seriously seeking in New Zealand if it were not for the other side of the world!

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