One of the most difficult things facing millions of Americans is the inability to keep up monthly payments on credit cards and other debts. The position is probably far worse than at any time in our history, as a result of the economic circumstances of the last few years.
There is possibly nothing worse than looking at a pile of bills every month in the realization that you have no hope whatsoever of paying them all. The problem gets worse, not better, because credit card debts accrue interest even if you do not use the card. So your total debt is steadily and surely increasing, while your income remains the same. It is like staring down a dark tunnel with no light at the end.
How do you decide which debt to pay and which not to pay? Usually this will mean paying the creditor who is making the most fuss, which may, of course, include the unwelcome attentions of debt collectors.
Unfortunately, many people think that there is no way out and they have simply got to sort it out themselves, even though they know in their heart that the position is hopeless. They are simply unaware that there is a range of possible solutions that can help them become debt free in a relatively short space of time.
National Debt Relief’s credit card consolidation programs offer solutions that can help many people in debt, but they cannot help everyone. This is because certain debts, which we will take a look at later, are outside the scope of National Debt Relief’s services. However, the good news is that National Debt Relief can help most people, and at any given time is helping tens of thousands of Americans to become debt free and get back on their feet.
Our mission is to help individuals and families alike through providing debt settlement services tailored to your particular circumstances. No two people who owe money are in exactly the same position (other than that they owe money, of course), so our job is to analyze your individual problems and then create a program that will enable you to settle your debts and become debt free – usually within a two to three year time scale.
One of the most important things about National Debt Relief’s credit card consolidation programs is that – unlike other companies in the industry – we make absolutely no charges to you as a customer unless and until we have settled with your creditors and got your total debt reduced. Our job is to look at your debts, take into consideration the ones that qualify and then negotiate with your creditors to reduce the amount you owe so that you can reasonably afford to pay it off.
Why Would Creditors Settle For Less?
That is a very good question, but the answer is that it is simply common sense. It may come as something of a shock, but banks and credit card companies do not look at you as an individual. To them, you are simply a number.
Our skilled debt arbitrators add up what you owe and then demonstrate to the banks that you simply cannot pay it all. When we talk, they listen. They know that we have investigated your position closely and that if they do not listen, they may get nothing at all. There is an old saying “half a loaf is better than no bread”.
The truth is that they know that there are other options open to you, rather than paying them in full, or at all. For example, you could declare yourself bankrupt. If you were to do that, all of your debts, with certain exceptions such as child support and court ordered payments, for instance, would be legally written off and they would get nothing. That’s correct: if you declare yourself bankrupt you wake up tomorrow morning and you owe nothing to anyone. (While that may seem like an appealing proposition, bankruptcy produces other difficulties, such as possibly losing your home and not even being able to rent, that we will discuss in what follows).
So it makes simple business sense to the banks and credit card companies to take what they can get, rather than have nothing at all. In any event, if you have had the credit card for some while they have probably already made a considerable profit from you – both from you and from the fees that they charge to businesses who accept your card. Whatever else they may get from you in the future is better than getting nothing, so they take the pragmatic view.
Furthermore, they understand that – with a few exceptions – nobody deliberately puts themselves in a position where they are unable to pay their debts in full. The economic circumstances of the last few years have hit the average American hard and where it hurts – in the pocket. At best, wages are static, and in many instances falling, while the price of everyday staples is constantly rising. Whereas some years ago price rises, although inevitable, would occur, it would only be for a penny or two here and there. Today, prices rise by 10%, 15% and more. Something that was $2.40 last week is suddenly $2.85. Nobody can keep up with that sort of inflation on static wages for very long; something has got to give.
Accept that You Have A Problem
The first step on the road to recovery is to recognize that you have a problem and that you do need professional help.
You may wonder why you should pay for a professional service to reduce your debt to manageable proportions, but taken realistically you need to ask yourself where trying to deal with it on your own has got you so far, and where it is likely to get you in the future.
Of course, you might consider making the minimum payment on your credit card. The minimum payment can be very low indeed, and may be an affordable option for you and your family. However, the problem is that you will be paying exorbitant amounts of interest. Here is just one example: if you owe $10,000 and make the minimum payment, it will take 46 years to pay off the balance – assuming an interest rate of 18%. At 21% the same amount would take 87 years to pay off and you would have paid over $64,000 in additional interest!
Looked at like that, it doesn’t seem such a great idea when you compare it to National Debt Relief’s credit card consolidation programs which could see you debt free in less than four years.
Another option is to take out a loan to pay off all your debts and simply make the one repayment. There are a couple of problems with this, not the least of which is that you will be paying the loan back over a much longer period, and obviously paying a correspondingly huge amount in interest.
However, there is also a secondary problem with taking out a debt consolidation loan, and that is getting the loan in the first place. Banks and finance companies are usually very willing to provide a debt consolidation loan – provided you have good credit. Obviously, the problem here is that if you owe money to all and sundry, you probably do not have good credit, so won’t qualify for the loan in any event. You really are in a Catch 22 situation.
What About Bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy may be one way out of your difficulties, but can mean getting into other difficulties.
Every state has a bankruptcy district and some have more than one. In total there are 90 bankruptcy districts in the US and each has a bankruptcy judge who will decide each individual case.
As an individual your case will normally fall under laws known as Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.
Under Chapter 7 you will be obliged to liquidate assets in order to pay off your creditors, so you can potentially (and very probably) lose your home and your car, together with family heirlooms, savings (if any) and other items of value. These will be liquidated in order to pay your creditors – the first in line being secured creditors. In most cases there is insufficient money raised to pay the secured creditors in full, so the unsecured creditors will get nothing at all.
You may have to attend the court to be questioned about your income. If it is greater than a certain level set by the court, you may not be able to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 and will have to do so under Chapter 13.
Under Chapter 13, if you have a middle to higher income, you will not be allowed to discharge all of your unsecured debts and the court will approve a plan whereby you make repayments over a period of between three and five years. The total amount to be paid will be calculated on your expected income over the period. After this, any remaining debt will be considered discharged. The advantage – if it can be called that – is that you will usually be allowed to keep certain assets such as your home and car.
Any professional will tell you that bankruptcy should only ever be considered as a last resort.
National Debt Relief’s credit card consolidation programs are altogether a far better way of discharging your obligations and becoming debt free in as little as two to four years.
As an organization, we have built up relationships over the years with the banks and credit card companies and they know and trust us. Our job is to look at your individual circumstances and then propose a settlement to your creditors which is in the best interests of all involved.
You need to know that creditors are not obliged to agree to your debt settlement proposal and may not do so in the first instance. However, our job is to negotiate, and we can frequently get them to agree to a plan even if, at first, they were not happy about it. We negotiate, and we negotiate hard on your behalf. Remember, we are not charging you any up front fees – you only pay us if we make a successful settlement for you.
We can often obtain huge settlement agreements on behalf of our customers, reducing say $10,000 owed to perhaps $3,000 or $4,000. Sometimes a creditor may not agree to reduce the debt, but may agree to freeze interest, or perhaps extend the term of the loan. Whichever way we do it, our job is to arrange a settlement that you can afford and that will ensure that you are debt free as quickly as possible.
There are some qualifications and some debts that we are unable to settle. For each account you wish to enrol with us the individual balance must be over $500. Each must be unsecured. The total of debts you wish to enroll with us must be more than $7,500.
We can settle debts on major credit cards, store cards, medical bills, credit unions, personal loans (not including personal loans from your current bank) and collection accounts resulting from the above type of loans. In addition, we can include some secured debts and some private student loans under certain circumstances.
Debts that we cannot include are motor and vehicle loans, mortgages, child support, and federal student loans.
Getting into uncontrollable debt can come about as a result of unexpected expenses such as divorce, unemployment, medical bills, loss of income, and even a death in the family. With few exceptions, nobody chooses to get into an amount of debt that they cannot handle; it is almost always as a result of outside or unforeseen circumstances, and it is never a nice situation to be in.
Our friendly, qualified, and helpful staff will never judge you. We are here to help and advise and will do so with a sympathetic ear. Sometimes, we may even tell you that we are not the right people to help you and may suggest a different approach. We are not here simply to take your money – we genuinely want to make a difference to all those Americans who are suffering through no fault of their own.
The most important thing for you to do is to take that first step. Call us today to talk to an experienced member of our team, or go to our website – http://www.nationaldebtrelief.com/ – and click on the Contact link at the top right of the page. One of our friendly staff will get back to you right away.