Here is how the credit counseling call goes. I would like a quote for 80,000.00 dollars of debt for debt settlement, a two or three year program, I am doing a little shopping. Shopping? Is that like buying food in a grocery store? Or, new clothes? Of course I am being sarcastic. Because after ten years of being a credit counselor, people who are in desperate shape with their creditors, never begin a conversation that way.
So my first question is what type of debt and how far behind are you? The answer is, no, I am not behind I just do not want to pay back all the money. The first problem here is that he is really asking me to be his accomplice and help him not pay his creditors, when in fact, he is able to.
The second problem is that no hardship exists. Part of the enrollment process in any debt settlement program is to provide a narrative of the hardship and why the consumer must take the drastic step of a settlement program, instead of maybe a debt management program which is far less damaging to the consumer.
The reason for the hardship narrative, which the debt collector will attempt to verify by pulling the consumers credit report to see if it holds true, if it does than the collector will be more cooperative in providing a lower and easier settlement. If the collector does not believe the narrative and thinks there are funds or assets that really exist, than they will be far less inclined to cooperate, and do everything to try and maximize the settlement, including, litigation. I am guessing that at this point you see the problem, when someone is just trying to get out of paying their debt for no good reason.
I can assure you that there are plenty of counselors who would happily enroll this person, but not this one. I would attempt to place the consumer in a debt management program, but, not lie for them. In this scenario, nothing good will happen. The settlement program will be difficult for the settlement attorney to pull off, and in the end the consumer will not be happy.
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Yours Truly
Steven Ciantro
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