This is a guest post by Marc Brown, a financial writer. He manages his own personal finance blog and has helped a lot of people with free counseling on debt settlement.
The reason behind rising settlement companies are the recent economic melt down that has been a cause for people losing their jobs and huge slash in the salary.
People are defaulting on their accounts as they fail to repay on their unsecured debts. But the scam companies are taking advantage of these vulnerable people and it is shrouding like a black cloud over the debt relief market.
If you are intimidated by this fact and thinking how to distinguish a fraud from a reliable company then read this points below.
The fraud companies can package their service well to attract more people that will enable them to earn some easy cash. The advertising hoardings might read that they can eliminate half of your debt and get you back in your financial track within few years. If you believe in this claim then half of their job of deceiving you is done.
Here are few steps that will help you to distinguish between an authentic debt settlement firm from fraud companies:
1. When you enroll with a company ensure that you have a written document of your dealings with it. Read the agreement paper properly before signing it. See if they have mentioned about the fee structure in the clause paper. Ask them about the monthly fees they will charge for their services along with the initial fee. If you see that the company, you are dealing with is not transparent in their dealing then avoid enrolling with such company.
2. Acquire more information before you enroll with a particular company. The website of the company can give you information on its legitimacy. If the company is Better Business Bureau (BBB) accredited then the logo will be there in the company website. Association with BBB states its credibility and authenticity therefore you can enroll with such companies. You can check whether the company is trustworthy or not by reviewing the details from the Attorney General and Federal Trade Commission’s Office. Even the video testimonial and client feedback forms can be checked to verify their treatment towards the clients.
3. Your personal information might not be required by the debt settlement company. If any company asks you to provide information regarding your social security number or account information then you might have been trapped by a fraudulent one. A genuine company will only ask you to give name of your creditors, the total amount you owe to each of the creditors along with the interest rate on it.
4. Look for someone who has recently enrolled with a debt settlement program and got an effective result. Then take the contact information and enlist with their service immediately. Your friends and family can suggest you reputable and trustworthy companies that will help to prevent you from getting into the maze of a fraud company.
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