subject: The Pitfalls of Do-It-Yourself Debt Settlement [print this page] The Pitfalls of Do-It-Yourself Debt Settlement
Many people choose to do debt settlement by themselves because they think they can spare some money; however, there are things that need to be considered when making such a decision. Experts recommend that you look at the advantages and disadvantages of do-it-yourself debt settlement before actually doing it.
A first thing that would interfere with your settlement process would be the fact that usually creditors don't want to discuss with clients directly. So, unless you are a very good negotiator there are chances that they will ignore you. Make sure that you know how to talk to them and how to make them listen; otherwise you will be ignore and you will annoy your creditor more. Many creditors do this because they know you have no power over them and you can't really do anything if this happens. A settlement company would definitely manage to intimidate them to give you a reduction.
Another thing would be the fact that you don't know all the laws and complications that a settlement implies. So, if you go for debt settlement yourself you will have to inform yourself about such things. There are many things that can appear during the process, like the fact that your creditor might refuse any negotiations and threaten to sue you. A debt settlement company would surely know what to do in such a situation, while a person who has no idea about debt settlement and laws might panic and give up on settlement.
The paperwork when you go for financial settlement might be hard to handle if you are doing everything by yourself. Having a debt settlement company do the negotiations, the paperwork and the talking would be the best decision you would take.
A good thing about hiring a financial settlement company is the fact that although they get a fee, their reduction might be bigger than you would ever obtain. So, you actually win more with a debt settlement company, even if you pay their fee. Take those into consideration before deciding whether you are doing it yourself or hiring a company, you might want to pay that fee.
Debt settlement is a legitimate alternative to filing bankruptcy and often makes sense for consumers on the verge of bankruptcy. There are also other debt relief options available so it would be wise to speak with a debt relief specialist to go over your different options.
