If critics are to be believed, there are no genuine settlement companies in this world. All of them are either fraudulent or incompetent. This is definitely not the case. There may be many con men in the field because of the fact that it is so lucrative and people are so eager to trust settlement companies to solve their problems. Rather than running away from settlement, you should make use of the right precautions to identify genuine companies.
Ask them to explain their fee structure. This simple transaction, irrespective of whether you know anything about debt settlement or not, should be sufficient to find out whether you have a genuine debt relief service provider in your hands or not.
If their explanations sound like an explanation of the latest nuclear missile project or an explanation of how NASA is going to land on Mars without using solar energy, then you might as well give the company a skip. If you are not in a position to determine how much you will be required to pay in a month even after getting their explanation, you’re probably dealing with a fraudulent company that purposefully wants to keep the fee structure very vague.
The association of settlement companies requires all its members to not only explain the fee structure properly but also help the individual to arrive at the specific amount that he or she will be required to pay as fees every month. The association does not ban variable fee structure.
However, it is mandatory to provide clear and specific explanation. It is indeed ironic that settlement companies are being criticized when the truth is that credit card issuers too follow a very complicated interest calculation formula. Nobody calls them fraudulent.
After you have got the fees structured explained, you should Ask the company whether you need settlement or not. This is a very tricky question. This is where the company will have to manage its desire to earn a profit with its desire to provide proper service. Make sure you ask this question to multiple service providers.
If there are some who analyzes in front of you and concludes that you may need a settlement, it is a good sign. On the other hand, if there are some who very clearly state that debt settlement is the best for you without even bothering to check other options, it is best to be careful when proceeding with such service providers.
