Beware of debt-repayment organizations

If you or anyone you know is making payments to a "debt repayment," "debt consolidation," or "debt negotiation" organization, they need to speak with Selby Legal for a free consultation immediately. Very often, these organizations take money from debtors who would have been much better off if they had spoken with an experienced bankruptcy attorney. Although these organizations are often non-profit, they are still making money off of good people who want to pay their debts but cannot, and do not tell tell their customers about the facts, benefits, and relief that bankruptcy can offer.

Very often, because of these organizations, I will discover that my clients have suffered a huge, unnecessary loss of money, and a hit to their credit score much worse than would have been caused by bankruptcy. If they had accurate information from an experienced chapter 7 bankruptcy attorney, they could have weighed all their options and made the best decision. 

I have had many first-hand examples of this with my former clients. One couple paid a debt consolidation company for over 2 years, just to find out that some of their biggest debts couldn’t be negotiated and were not getting paid. The credit card company sued them, and could have put a lien against their home. They had to file bankruptcy anyway, even though they had struggled to pay over $10,000 back through the debt consolidation company.

I have had clients pay for the debt relief company for a year, and then they find that their biggest creditor refuses all negotiations with debt relief companies, and that their payment would need to double for the plan to work. In fact, most people who call me after paying a debt repayment organization state that the payment went up, even though they thought it never would.

With all my clients that have used these debt services, they realize that their credit crashes as soon as they start the program. This is because late payments on credit cards have a large impact on your credit score. The debt consolidation companies don’t tell you how long it will take to recover your credit, and they leave out the fact that in many cases, you will have more borrowing power far sooner should you declare bankruptcy. This is partially because lenders want to lend to people who don’t carry much debt and don’t have a history of late payments. Bankruptcy clears debts and late payments off of your credit reports.

 Selby Legal can offer you the experienced help of a bankruptcy lawyer and foreclosure lawyer starting with one free consultation. Contact our office for more information.