Established, regulated industries such as those in the credit counseling arena follow strict state-mandated guidelines, and are subject to numerous controls and audits. Other services, including debt settlement and debt negotiation, are newer, and are subject to less government oversight.
Recently, the FTC has issued laws for the debt settlement/negotiation industries, but there are still many bad apples not wanting to abide by these laws.
In deciding between debt management companies, make sure you know what kind of questions to ask. One of the better ways to discover which company is a good candidate to meet your financial goals to get out of debt is to call them, and speak to someone at the company. For example:
- If a debt settlement company collects the majority of their fees in the first 12 months of a program, do you think they really have a financial incentive to be there for you in the later months of the program? This is a major violation of the new FTC laws, yet it is still being practiced. Did they just pop up over night?
- Do they give you multiple options to choose from when it comes to the debt management program, or do they only offer a single program (one size fits all)?
- Do they have a track record of providing good service while helping thousands and thousands of people get out of debt?
Since 1997, the management team at Debt Free has designed consumer friendly programs which have helped tens of thousands people with their debt. By offering both credit counseling and debt settlement services, consumers are able to choose the debt management program that best fit their needs. They offer top quality credit counseling services, and their debt settlement program was designed to model the credit counseling industry in that they do not collect front loaded settlement fees.
Speak with a counselor at Debt Free today. The call is free, and within 15 minutes you can have a financial plan to get out of debt quickly, and be debt free.
