opinions on debt negotiation?
I have been researching on options for debt and have been finding the
info here very helpful. I guess you can say I would be a prime
candidate for BK as I have no assets, little income, etc. but I am
determinded to explore all other options first. I have contacted one
of those debt negotiations firms that claim they can get your debt
reduced by about 50% for a 12% fee. The only downside being I will be
reported late for the months it takes me to save enough money to make
a settlement however, my CR will read "settled in full" upon
completion. I have also been reading a book that claims I myself can
negotiate with my creditors and possibly settle for 20-30% if I can
convince them I am seriously on the verge of BK and have no assets
that they could stand to collect. The key word being CONVINCE. It
claims that this is all they would stand to collect otherwise if it
were turned over to collections, etc. Has anyone ever been successful
at this? Tried? If these DN people can do it, and apparently they
can from what I've checked out, why can't I? And yes, I have a friend
that could and would loan me the 20-30% to pay them off upon
agreement. I have excellent "people skills", however, not too good at
being firm with someone on the phone. Any (constructive)advice? I
am pre-tty far in the hole....
-You can try to settle it for yourself. Debt negotiation companies
charge you an outrageous fee. And they do not carry more weights than
you do.
-It is very unlikely that you would be able to settle with credit
card companies for 20-30% of