How do I know if the debt settlement company I'm working with is competent?

Question

I'm so worried about getting screwed by an incompetent company. Also, I checked with Debtmerica and they're trying to charge me a 15% fee to do the debt negotiation. I've checked with a few other places too and somebody recommended going with an attorney-based debt settlement company to get better results. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

I've recently looked up some debt settlement companies for my sister so let me give you a little info:  

1) Always ask if the company is a member of TASC (The association of Settlement Companies)  They are the Better Business Bureau of Settlement companies and make sure these companies are operating within compliance regulations.

2) Always ask how much it costs.  Usually there's a setup fee, a servicing fee, and a negotiation fee.  The setup fee will usually range from $100-$200.  The servicing fee can go anywhere from $70-$10/month.  The negotiation fee ranges from 8%-15%.

3) It would definitely behoove you to check out any attorney or attorney-based company to handle all your debt settlement as they are stricter on compliance guidelines.

Try going to:  www.tascsite.org and looking up some companies.

A good blog I read:  http://iclosem.wordpress.com  has some great articles on debt settlement. I would definitely look into that.

I was listening to the Howard Stern show the other day and it looks like KC armstrong just signed up for debt settlement with this company called Envision Debt Solutions (www.envisiondebtsolutions.com).  I ended up sending my sister there as they answered all my questions right.  They have an 8% retainer fee (since they're an attorney based company) and all the contracts you sign are with the attorneys.  They were actually very courteous and professional and guided my sister through the whole process.  Give them a call at:  800-515-9603