subject: Personal Debt Solutions - How to Control the Cost of Debt Relief and Get a Better Deal [print this page] The cost of debt relief is the amount of money spent on debt settlement or any form of debt relief in the form of fees of debt settlement companies, legal charges, paper work, etc. This is an additional burden on the already stressed and strained person who is unable to repay his/her debt fully. However, Federal Trade commission (FTC) has eased the burden of such people by regulating the debt settlement industry. FTC has banned the debt relief companies to collect any upfront fees. This means that the debtor who utilizes the services of these companies has to pay only after the debt is settled as promised by these companies. This has come as a great relief and has encouraged more and more people to opt for debt settlement over bankruptcy. Also, fake debt settlement companies which were just making false promises and collecting the upfront fees have been eradicated to a great extent because of the new rules laid by FTC.
To control the cost of debt relief, a person can negotiate directly with the creditor without taking the services of debt settlement companies. In this case, the debtor will have to put in more effort and utilize his/her convincing skills to settle the debt amount with the creditor but this will save him/her the hefty fees charged by these companies.
If the person who is not in a position to fully repay his/her debt opts to utilize the services of settlement companies, he/she can approach the debt relief companies set up by the government which charge nil or small amount of fees. Details of such companies are easily available on the internet.
The person who utilizes the services of private settlement companies must negotiate for the payment of a lower fee for a higher amount of settlement. One must try to get a better deal than the one promised by these companies. For this a comparison between the offers made by different debt removal companies shall be done. Also, it is important to keep everything in black and white. One must read the document thoroughly and make sure there is no clause which might have a negative effect on the debt settlement process.
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. For a free consultation from a debt relief specialist in your area check out the following link:
Personal Debt Solutions - How to Control the Cost of Debt Relief and Get a Better Deal
