In all my years as a unsecured debt counselor and arbitrator I have to be honest; I have never received a debt settlement on an account that is current. In my experience an account must be delinquent before any type of settlement can be reached. I have seen interest rates dropped, payment dates moved, people placed on hardship programs on current accounts but never have I been offered a settlement on a current account.
To suggest to anyone to stop making their payments to their creditors is illegal and against the law. Anyone who chooses to stop making their regularly scheduled payments to their creditors must decide on their own; if any debt management, debt consolidation, debt settlement program suggests this:BEWARE.
Now that we know this decision solely rests on our hands and we do decide to stop making payments to our creditors, what is next? Depending on the type of debts we have, we have the option to consolidate, manage the debt or negotiate settlements. Whichever is chosen is going to hurt your credit, you will be at risk of being sued, your pay could be garnished, liens placed on your property, etc… So why do people choose to default on their payments knowing all this? Simply because their debt has grown so much that they can no longer afford their monthly payments.
The question is: Do you have to stop paying on a credit card before you can debt settlement? The answer is YES! Settlements in most cases are offered after a period of delinquency of 90 days, sometimes sooner, sometimes later; usually the best settlements are given before the account charges off. Accounts usually charge off after 180 days of delinquency, the best settlement offers can be obtained at about 150 days delinquency.
If debt negotiation is the route chosen after it is decided to stop monthly payments there are several options two of which include do it yourself debt settlement or debt settlement through and agency. A new way of settlement has recently been introduced to the industry called ESP, which stands for Electronic Settlement Program. Contact a few debt settlement companies for details. Whichever program is chosen please take the time out to investigate the program and company that will be used to help eliminate the debt.
