Chloe Meltzer | December 01, 2022
Summary: Worried you'll never be able to pay off your debts? Find out if debt management or debt settlement is right for you.
When it comes to debt, there is never a situation that you hope to find yourself in. Whether that is student loan debt, credit card debt, or tax debt, paying off debt can be difficult and stressful. As debt piles up you might look for alternative options to get out of debt. Debt management and debt settlement are two different forms of debt relief. Although they are similar, they are not the same. It is essential to learn the difference between the two and decide what will work best for you.
Don't ignore debt collection lawsuits. File a response with SoloSuit.
There are a few main forms of debt strategies. Although this includes debt settlement and management, there are also other options as well.
Use SoloSuit to respond to debt collectors in 15 minutes.
Debt management programs are administered by nonprofit credit counseling companies. When comparing debt management programs to debt settlement companies, imagine debt settlement companies as a corporation, and debt management programs as a non-profit organization.
When it comes to a debt management program, you will work with a credit counseling company. They will work with you to negotiate your debt to reduce interest rates and fees. Sometimes you may also be able to negotiate lower payments.
Instead of reducing the overall amount, you will simply be able to pay it off slowly. Essentially they help you pay off your debt in a manageable way. This ensures that your credit score is not impacted, and you will not suffer financially in other ways.
Credit counselors look to teach you how to improve your financial planning skills. They can also teach you how to budget, and stay on track in the future.
You may want to choose a debt management program over a debt settlement company if:
Protect your property by filing a response with SoloSuit.
When first examining your options, debt settlement may seem like the better option. Debt settlement companies typically tell you to stop paying off creditors and debt collectors while you negotiate a lower payment. The next step involves the debt settlement company paying the creditors on your behalf.
Debt settlement typically only has you paying about 50% to 80% of your total debt balance. Although you might feel like this will save you time and money there is one major issue with this. The lower payment that was negotiated by the debt settlement company will be lower than your full outstanding balance. If you do not pay your entire debt, then your credit score will drop.
It is also good to note that debt settlement companies don't work for free. Typically you will be charged as much as 15% to 25% of the amount settled.
Because debt settlement companies do not pay creditors while negotiating, you may also receive collection calls. This means that you will be late on your payments, which gets reported to the three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax). This form of negative credit information stays on your report for seven years. Whether your settlement is successful or fails, your credit will be damaged.
When it comes to a debt settlement, you need to be careful. If you have settled for less than the full balance, you can also suffer from tax implications. This is because the debt that is forgiven will be reported to the IRS as income. You will need to pay income taxes on the money that you were forgiven for.
If you have an account that is extremely delinquent and in collections, you may want to choose a debt settlement company. This is because your credit score is most likely already very damaged, and there is no reason why this can hurt your score further. You may also choose this plan if you believe the creditor will accept a partial payment. Although you may not be able to fix your score, you may be able to at least pay less of the debt overall.
SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.
How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.
"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James
>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit: A Student Solution To Give Utah Debtors A Fighting Chance
Here's a list of guides for other states.
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