How trust worthy is American Debt Settlement Group?
I talked to someone from that group with the address
7590 E Gray Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
I want to know can I trust these people do help settle my credit card debt? How do I know it’s not a scam?
Stay away from any "debt consolidation" company that promises to cut your debt in half through debt settlement….This is a risky tactic of deliberately ceasing all payments to creditors and forcing your accounts into default to attempt settlements. You pay a monthly fee to a debt consolidator….this entire fee goes towards building a settlement account and to the consolidator’s fees to “settle” your accounts in the future. Your credit card companies will deliberately not be paid so that all the accounts will default/charge-off so that they can attempt settlements at around 50%. If you are current on your accounts, this process will ruin your credit rating for sure. Debt settlement is like a roll off the dice with your finances…You can never predict how your creditors will respond to the deliberate defaulting of your accounts…they might settle at 50%…or they might serve you a summons, take you to court…and if they win, you could be looking at wage garnishment.
None of these “debt consolidation” firms have the power to force your creditors to accept settlements. Your creditors have the right to refuse these terms and take you to court.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122394458494631223.html
February 10th, 2010 at 7:03 pmhttp://podcast.mktw.net/wsj/audio/20081013/pod-wsjlaise/pod-wsjlaise.mp3
If they want you to pay money up front to them, it is a scam. They are not able to do anything you cannot do yourself regarding your credit. (There is something they can do to you that you cannot do to yourself, but that is another story)
February 10th, 2010 at 7:03 pmMost debt settlement companies are scams. They take your money and let all your accounts go 90 days past due. Then they make lowball settlement offers. Not only will this trash your credit, but many credit card companies refuse to play and will immediately sue you. The settlement company won’t be helping with the lawsuit.
February 10th, 2010 at 7:03 pmWhy would you trust someone else to do something you can do for yourself? These people are going to charge you a hefty up front fee and probably screw up your credit much worse than it already is. They also will NOT miraculously cure your credit woes. Your report will still look the same, if not worse and your wallet will be much lighter after paying them their fee.
Don’t hire some company that will *settle* your credit card debt. If you are truly in dire straits, contact a not for profit credit counseling agency. They will NOT charge you a fee, put you on a budget with your creditors and get you into a plan where you will have your debt paid off in a fixed amount of years.
February 10th, 2010 at 7:03 pm