Online Debt Consolidation
Our program differs from others in that it involves debt negotiation - otherwise known as good old fashioned American haggling. If you have ever haggled over the price of a purchase, you basically understand the process. Exactly the same thing can be done for your debts.
Just imagine you could wave a magic wand and turn that $25,000 of credit card debt into $12,500 or as little as $9,000. Wouldn't that make a HUGE difference to your financial future? While most people are skeptical that this approach is possible, if you have a professional debt negotiator on your team, the odds are very good that he or she can cut your debt by 50% or more.
Why Is This Option Possible?
For a moment, put yourself in the shoes of the collection department manager at a major credit card bank. You know that bankruptcies are at an all-time high, that many consumers file bankruptcy at the drop of a hat, and that the chances of collecting any money get worse as the debt ages.
Let's also say you have the opportunity to close your books on a delinquent account by collecting fifty-cents for every dollar owed by the debtor, or take a chance on never collecting a single penny by trying to hold out for the full account value.
You also realize that once the debt leaves your bank (usually after six months or so), it will go to a third-party collection agency. The agency will take at least 15%-20% commission right off the top of whatever they collect, and they are unlikely to collect more than 70% of the debt, even using the most aggressive tactics. So you'll probably never retrieve much more than half of the money anyway. When you look at it this way, collecting 50% does not seem like such a bad prospect.
Negotiating For Yourself
Now, the way we've described it, it sounds like a piece of cake. You might be thinking, "OK, I'll get on the phone and do this myself."
What will happen?
You'll reach the "customer assistance team", and the representative will inform you that other banks may settle for 50%, but that their bank never settles for less than 85%, under any circumstances. But, of course, they do have a wonderful hardship program for you.
After you've called five or six banks and received the same treatment, you'll probably end up with the idea that debt negotiation doesn't work. The problem is that the banks will rarely take a debtor seriously.
The banks are quite prepared for the amateur do-it-yourself negotiator. They have the telephone scripts all set up so that by the time the conversation is over, the caller feels guilty about the money owed, and their dubious hardship plan sounds like a great deal after all.