Global Client Solutions review: failure to respond 102

These companies are all scams.. You are paying them to put your own money into a so called "secure" account. What's so secured about it? The only security is that they will secure a maint fee, process fee, and a dumb a** fee for joining with them. I am a training director for one of the largest collection agencies in the country, and I can assure you these people do not have a "hook up" with creditors. SAVE YOUR SELF THE HEADACHE AND DO THIS YOUR SELF. Why should you pay someone to settle a debt for you, that you can do yourself. Any of the following websites can teach you how to settle your own debt:

I am not affiliated with any of these

www.creditinfocenter.com
www.debtorboards.com

I have talked to hundreds of people, who swear these companies are helping them by contacting the creditors.. And guess what, they have not even dialed a single number. Is everyone aware that you can still get sued while working with these companies.. Some creditors or debt buyers are quick to sue, no matter what DSA(Debt Settlement Agency) you are with. A lot of the big boys like Citi bank & Chase are no longer working with DSA's because the take money from consumers, money that could be used to settle those same accounts quicker.

I am currently helping a friend from church deal with a problem from GCS.. And I am guiding him, and showing him how to do it himself. So far he just settled an 8k account for 2.5k with BOA(Bank of America) and they are giving him 6 months for a SIF(Settlement in Full). God bless, and please do not get scammed... And for the few post that keep protecting poor little GCS.. Get a life, we all know you work for them.. DUHHHHHHH! Just my 2 cents...

This complaint is just ridiculous. I actually feel bad for the consumer who wrote it! Do you even know what your talking about? When you have a company handle your finanaces such as credit card debt you should reallyknow who you talk to and what company your talking to. Im not understanding your thinking or your logic because Global CLient Solutions is NOT a Debt Settlement Company. They absolutely DO NOT call creditors.

Jeannie Pasley is absolutely RiGHt! This complaint is Not Valid or CRediable. Its Amazing to me how a consumer cld actually think Global Client Solutions is a Debt Settlement Company.

Mitzi

I agree. people need to understand what they are doing when it come to thier finances. if you have doubts call Cliff [protected] www.financialrescuecenter.biz

Has anyone heard of Destination Debt Solutions? I'm considering using them.

I am not sure what your issue is with them, but i think you might want to look more into who is doing the settlements and not the bank.

These people are CROOKS, LIARS, and CHEATS of the first order. I presently am seeking Federal d State criminal prosecution againdt, GCS, et alia. Civil litigation, too, is the works.
R/S
Jeffrey Ault
LOUISIANA

I would agree with part of this last comment, but most Companies do not collect all the money upfront before settelments are made. at least not Financial rescue center. biz... i would agreee that fees are paid over about half the term of the program. but our way of thinking is, how will this benifit the client if that is all we did was collect fees and they made no progress? our goal is to have at least one settled with in the first 8 months. you need to see progress or you are not in the right program. call [protected] financialrescuecenter.biz

Did any of you read before signing up...all most all debt companies collect all there fees up front, after all fees have been collected they then start working with the collection comapanies beginning with the smallest and working up until it is all paid off. I would READ your contracts before you start going to attorneys and wasting more money...remember you are the one who made this debt they are just trying to help you...

I have never had a Client ever had the need to call GCS because every client recieves a log in to see their account. but i can understand having to call in. they are the largest holding service for this. I have always made or help the client with their questions. but a log into the account is Huge. i am glad your service company helped you. Our average settlemtn is close to 35%.

My husband and I used First choice Debt Resolution, we were put ( by choice) on a 12 month plan to pay our $12k + in debts. First Debt actually reduced out Debts by 49%! That is HUGE! Of course we were set up with the accounts admin at G.C.S. While their staff is not the friendliest nor always efficient, they did everything they said they would do. We actually settled our debt 9 months early ( only 3 months in the program).When our automatic bank withdrawal and our settlement check crossed in the process G.C.S. refunded the 600.00 immediately. They made no excuses. My only compliant with G.C.S. is the time it takes them to respond to your voice mail. 99% of the time you call them, no one answers! So if you use a debt relief program that uses G.C.S. for their money management be prepared to cal 7 times a day so they will at the least call you back in a few days! over all, not a bad experience.

Thanks a lot for your help. I'm actually in Florida. I will give you a call this afternoon. Thanks again :)

First of all it sounds like who ever put you into this program did not do a very good Job explaining it to you. there are fees involved in setteling the debts and they are deducted from your payment. I would suggest you COMPLETLY understand the program you are in so you can have a full understanding of what is to happen and you will be better prepaired. you should have Guidance throughout the program. i would fear you will be left high and dry. I would be happy to help if i can. what State are you in? visit financialrescuecenter.biz or call [protected] ask for Cliff

Hi again! I just accessed my online account with GCS for the very first time. They just debited my first payment last week. And I noticed under the "fees" tab there is an amount of $111.00 for about 2 years besides my monthly payments of $230.16. Could someone tell me what that is all about? Thank you :)

you have to remember. the creditor can only speak with you once a day. you have rights also. they can call 50 times a day if you do not answer. call [protected] and ask for cliff and he will help you. there are things you can do, but patience is the best thing to do.

Hi I just started with this program. I'm sure it will work because of what I've been reading and I this was really an answer from God. My only question is WHAT TO DO with all the calls from my creditors?!? My debt settelement company told me not to talk to them. But when they call and call and call...it gets on my nerves! Anyway, if anybody knows of what the best solution could be, I would really appreciate it. Thank you and God bless :)

You all really have no clue what is going on with your finances. Global Client Solutions (GCS) is a bank thats all just a bank. It is your debt settlement company that settles the debts NOT GCS. your payment goes in GCS and sits there after your debt company takes their fees and when a settlement is reached they tell you how to wire the mony to the card. If you do not understand this it is not GCS you should be mad it, it is your debt settlement company for not explaining it correct. drop your comapnay and go to www.financialrescuecenter.biz. they will explain it all so there will be no surprises when you are done. maybe this is why your in financail trouble to begin with, you didnt read what you signed.

don't deal with theses ###, they have took my money for 3 months and haven't donew anything, just a bunch of crooks that are taken advantage of the poor people in this counrty.

I went to Professional Dept releif and Global was my bank to recieve funds from my checking. After 28 months PDR did not settle my debt and Global said they will not take money from your account without your permission. Well they sent me a letter stating they would take $38 from my account for 60 months. What a scam after alot of money they took from me.BAAAAAA

I also am through GCS and went in with 17k in debts. Just yesterday I received a call from GCS and they settled my biggest account of $8, 900 for only $1700. The thing is it takes time you have to build your account balance first. Its not an overnight process. Im on a 30 month program and have paid off two acounts for $2700 when the amount owed was almost $12, 000. The company I went through was Aspire Financial Solutions out of California. My account is with GCS. So far I am pleased with the results and have had no problem communicating with them via phone. The only down side is that they get theirs money first...But what business doesn't? Just my 2 cents...

I object to all of these complaints becaue I been a client with them since 10/20/2008 and the service of the person Stephaine McClendon is the best person of that company, with the freindliest personalty ever, her phone number is [protected] x4006, and please let her know that Robert Daniels said he sent you. And metion my ID# G133169, the more you put down to your own account the quicker the faster the your debt is paid off. The best thing to do is save your money and pay the company as fast as you can.I just paid a whole $2200 towards my debt contract which knock it down to 13 mounths left. Then after the 13 mounths I will be debt free.

how to cancel agreement whit them. I try to send them email at cancellatins@consumerdcgroup.com but they reject my email? If someone have some idea or some way to cancel agreement please let me know. tnx.

Hi this is Ricky and I enrolled with a Debt Settlement Co. Networth Credit Services and they have settled two of my debts in seven months only however the debt amount was a little low. now three more are remaining but its working well. I am happy with the services. I spoke to Debt Officer JEFF - [protected].

I signed up 04-01-09 with Freedom. The contract called for 600 a month with half going to there fee, which was 3200.00.
After 11 months all my 600 would go to my account with Globel.
Everything was going fine then the phone calls started and never stopped.
I called Freedom and due to the fact half my money went to their fees, it was going to take time before my balance at Globel had the money to start to settle accounts.
They (Freedom) can not settle accounts without any funds to pay the creditors.
It's the old saying " Money takes and BS walks"
I paid a extra 3000.00 and once I did that, there fee was paid and all my money started added up.
So far, 5 accounts have been paid.
With the 3, 200.00 fee and the 4, 000.00 to pay off 5 credit cards, I'm still a +1800.00 over the original balance of the 5 credit cars settled.
I use Freedom Fidelity Management and very pleased but there was times I to thought I was getting scammed.

All of these complaints are invalid, if you have any questions I am more than willing to explain in full detail.. call me at my office line... [protected]. My name is Sean.

First of all i don't know why people are complaining about GCS, they only process your payments, that's all. There are a lot of Scam debt settlement companies out there you just need to trust someone. You will know if they are skirting our then truth or not. Cease and desist letters will NOT work unless the account is already in with a 3rd party colection company. then they will work. There is a company call Strategic Enterprises that i know of that is very up fron and plays no games with you. this process is not easy and it takes time and patience, but it does work. There is also an organization called UCAN they use that will also help protect your rights during collections. they fight for you. you can also find your right from collectors on FTC.ORG. call Strategic at [protected]. i have had no issues, and i trust them. You have options when it come to your debt, and Debt settlement may not be for everyone.

I have had no problems with global client solutions they have settled 2 of my accounts for way less than half of what I owed and when I call I always get a hold of my account manager. I'm sorry that the rest of you are having problems. But it does not fall on the settlement company. If your creditors are still calling after a cease communication form has been sent to them then they are in violation of the law and you can sue them and get a maximum of $1000. They will tell you that they don't work with settlement companies but that is a lie I was told that by 2 of my creditors but they ended up working out a settlement agreement when they realized that we knew our rights. Also even though you are with a settlement company you can still get sued and that is the creditors decision to do that. It just depends on how fast they want to get their money lots of them are impatient.

I love how the God fearing Obamahater with built up internal rage and killing intent is speaking out.

I work for a debt settlement company (one not mentioned here) that also uses GCS. BEFORE you just pass me off as a settlement company lover or whatever bias, i really highly insist you read what I have to say.

GCS is not a giant scamming machine. Its register and insured by the FDIC, people...GCS is a seperate entity so that the debt settlement company doesn't really have access to your money (for your money's safety and peace of mind) other than the fees that are automatically deducted as per your contract that YOU signed on contract. the debt settlement company should have explained to you their program thoroughly for your understanding. All the important things have that "this call is being recorded for quality assurance" or whatever. Unless you did sign up with a scam or a ### settlement company, nothing is to blame.

The jist of the program is that the creditors have two outcomes with the people in debt that aren't paying because of "hardship".
1, sue their ### (what they call litigation) and either they could 'win' and get wage garnishment or other form of payment.
2, try to settle the account for less so that the people can pay at least some of it.

now why would the creditors do option 2 you might ask? for one, its cheaper and easier than doing all these legalities and etc. But its mostly because the people in debt have the option of -BANKRUPTCY-. If and when they choose bankruptcy, well guess what? the creditors get jack squat. so why not get something instead of nothing. that is the primary basis of the negotiations LEGIT settlement companies use.

the reason why the settlement companies dont settle at the beginning is cuz they dont have the funds yet or the fact that its too early for settlements. the longer u wait, the more pressure is basically put on the creditors: "why aren't they paying anymore? they must not be able to (hence HARDSHIP)." its LEVERAGE against the creditors cuz if ur making recent payments that means ur not in HARDSHIP.

when ur savings accrue to about half of a creditor's balance, they'll start settling with that account. reasons why they would not is because some creditors are notorious for sueing so they try to get those out of the way first.

anyways, hope this helps clear at least SOME doubt. do your research. read carefully. stop falling into the crowd of unhappy sheep. this isn't to say those unhappy sheep don't have reason to be unhappy. they just didn't know.

I signed up with Freedom Debt Relief about 7 months ago and already got sued by one of the creditors. My husband and I both faced a pay cut and reduction in hours and of course suffered financially. Up to that point, we had perfect credit, never a late payment...NOTHING. When we contacted our creditors about our situation, they turned their noses up at us and said there was nothing they could do. Because of this we turned to Freedom Debt Relief. Bad Choice! Within 4 months, we got sued. We were able to negotiate with the Debt Collection "Law Firm" but guess who did the negotiating because no "third parties" could be involved...ME. I had to do all the talking and convince the law firm not to take us to court. We made a deal and then come to find out, Freedom Debt Relief can only make up to 3 payments for you...meaning that the deal I just made with the debt collector will be coming out of my own pocket on top of what I'm paying to FDR. That just made me sick to my stomach. How were we supposed to come up with additional funds to pay this creditor and give them their money. When I took a good look at all of the setup fees and initial blah blah blah fees, it added up to over $4000 (money in their pocket that we could have used). Their monthly fee was over $600. With all of that in mind, I could have talked to the creditors myself and settled some of the accounts. Now we're in an even bigger hole so after consulting with Money Management International, we were advised and are now on our way to filing for BK. That's the last thing we wanted to do. As for GCS, I can honestly say I've never had a problem talking to them and they advised me on how to deal with the account so that the debt settlement company can no longer access funds. Now the closure is pending and we'll be waiting for the refund check.

I would advise anyone thinking about debt settlement to first do your research and check out all of your options first. Definitely check out credit counseling or money management. If you can afford it, do it. There are a lot of companies that do this for nonprofit and no fees. All the money you put into it will definitely go to your creditors. As in my case, we did try the credit counseling but the budgeting was upside down so we had to take another route. Don't make the same mistake I did.

omfg! I'm another sucker. One day GCS told me that I was able to stop 1 monthly payment to them and that was it. 2 months later I told them I was in a bad situation where I lost my job and can't send any money at this time, they said that's ok Brian, take all the time you need, we're here for you. After reading the [redacted] I went to my account activity statements and said to myself hmmm, setup fee, bank maintance fee, account maintance fee, administrator fee, which one goes to paying off my creditors? the balance jumps to the next month and gets pulled by the next fee. Let me tell you something, if I didn't believe in God or knew there wasn't a God, I would be on a killing spree. I would also go after bubblegum and reddog57 and whoever else comes here not complaining, this is the complaint department, not tell us what we did wrong. I know who you are, you are part of GCS, YOUR JUST HERE TO TRY AND EASE PEOPLE, MAY YOU ROT IN HELL FOR ETERNAL LIFE!

I used Global Client Solutions for my deposits to the debt relief fpeople. They took all my money for fees and I never got one card payed off. I owed 40, 000.00 in credit card debt. I called the credit card people and negotiated directly with them. They have a person that will give you over 1/2 off your bill when you tell them you are going bankrupt. I only paid 12, 000.00 of the 40, 000.00 and now I am debt free. The debt relief people took my money and global client solutions kept it and gave my money to people that it did not belong to, the debt relief people. They piled up fees after fees till all the money they took from me was gone. Never once paying on my credit cards. I say do what I did, the credit card companies will negotiate directly with you and give you 40 cents to the dollar. that is less than half what I owed. You can get them lower if you try. I just say global client solutions was a learning time in my life where I gave someone money for nothing. and i mean nothing. My name is Teresa Workman and you can reach me at mtalready2004@yahoo.com

The original complaint should not be against GCS, but against the debt settlement company. I am also in debt settlement and I paid heavy fees with not much settlement for the first year. However, that is the contract that I signed. Clear Your Debt (AKA CY Debt, Orion Processing) is working my creditors and just today settled a $39, 000 for $9100. I am in a 4-year program but will be ending it early because we decided to use savings (401K) money to finally get completely out of debt. Whatever you do, I reccomend going to daveramsey.com first. If I had known about Dave Ramsey a couple of years ago, I would not have signed up with a debt settlement company. I would have settled my own debts. It may have taken more time, but it would have been better for the overall financial picture. We will totally debt free within 3 months!

go to this site for detailed info, i wish i had b/fore my family was swindled for over $10k ... many lawsuits have been WON against these 'credit repair' companies... http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre13.shtm
(following excerpt from the federal trade commission site link above)
If you see a credit repair offer, here’s how to tell if the company behind it is up to no good:

The company wants you to pay for credit repair services before they provide any services. Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies cannot require you to pay until they have completed the services they have promised.
The company doesn’t tell you your rights and what you can do for yourself for free.
The company recommends that you do not contact any of the three major national credit reporting companies directly.
The company tells you they can get rid of most or all the negative credit information in your credit report, even if that information is accurate and current.
The company suggests that you try to invent a “new” credit identity — and then, a new credit report — by applying for an Employer Identification Number to use instead of your Social Security number.
The company advises you to dispute all the information in your credit report, regardless of its accuracy or timeliness.
If you follow illegal advice and commit fraud, you may find yourself in legal hot water, too: It’s a federal crime to lie on a loan or credit application, to misrepresent your Social Security number, and to obtain an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service under false pretenses. You could be charged and prosecuted for mail or wire fraud if you use the mail, telephone, or Internet to apply for credit and provide false information.

If anybody needs more info or regarding Credit Cards or if you're in a debt settlement program and you need help call me I will be happy to go over the program to make sure you know what you're getting into. Here is my info.

[protected]

I have owned debt settlement companies in the past and have consulted with many of the companies in the industry over the last several years. Unlike most out there, I've been doing this for over 15 years. The biggest problem facing the industry is that many subprime loan brokers decided that this would be the "next big wave" of opportunity and believed that it's a quick way to make some money. Consumers are struggling more than ever to regain control over their finances. We have had negative savings in the Country for the past 5 years (meaning that once all disposable income has been spent, we spent even more; charging it). When the real-estate market crashed - many consumers saw the evaporation of the equity in their homes. At that time, credit card companies began lowering available lines of credit, bringing the consumer to really a "maxed out" status. What has further made this difficult situation even worse is that the credit card companies are not lowering interest rates they are increasing them. They are not asking for minimum payments they are now asking for more. In normal times I would commend this move. Minimum payments are only good for the banks, not the consumer. But to do it in a time such as these, only shows their greed. Get as much money as you can. Earn as much money as you can. Forget about them borrowing at just about 0%. They should be passing that break from the American Tax Payer back on to their customers (the American Tax Payer). If they really cared, they would be stopping or reducing all interest and creating a reasonable work out with consumers who are in financial trouble. Some have, but that is not the norm.

When you are faced with a situation that when you take all the money you earn each month and it goes out the door to servicing your debts, leaving you no emergency fund or any type of savings for your future or even reducing your debts overall (about 96% of your minimum payments go toward interest not principal) and you now have no equity in your home; that's a serious problem.

To determine a strategy to get out of the financial situation you are in requires your or (someone) to look at your overall situation. You need to determine your goals and address your concerns. You need to fully understand all of your options so you can make an informed decision.

Navigating this is difficult - most companies you speak with are interested in making money, true. That's why they are in business. However, any company that "cookie cuts" a solution isn't doing you a service, they are trying to make a sale. When you speak with a credit counseling company, they will "bash" the other types of solutions. They want to make a sale. When you talk to a debt settlement company they will "bash" the other types of solutions because they want to make a sale.

When faced with debt, you have 5 basic strategies - but before you can even determine which is best for you, you must first set up a budget. Not a 5 minute conversation over the phone with someone, you must set up a real budget. There are plenty of free sites and software out there that can help you do this. Once you know where all your money is going each month (and what you can adjust to reduce unnecessary spending) vs. what you have coming in, then you can figure out what is best for you.

1. Continue to make minimum payments - IF this is all you can afford do it smarter. In general, for every $1, 000 borrowed (at 18% interest) it takes about 6 years to pay off by making minimum payments. The best thing you can do for yourself is if the minimum payment was $25, keep paying that fixed minimum payment each month - not the requested "new minimum payment" each month. Stick to the fixed one you are making now and you will knock off at least a year in payments.

2. Debt Roll-Up - You have two options when applying this strategy. This plan is very effective, if you have additional money above the minimum payment requirements that the banks want you to pay.  Review your budget and see if there is anything you can cut out to add towards your debt payments. Once you have identified how much you can put towards your debt, you can either:

Option A - Apply the additional funds to the credit card with the highest interest rate first, and then move on down the line. or

Option B - Apply the additional funds to the credit card with the lowest balance first. Once paid off, you take that money and apply it towards the next credit card. Creating a "snowball" effect.

3. Consolidate your debt - This is where you take all of your monthly payments and consolidate them into 1 monthly payment. This usually requires you to put up some type of collateral - normally your house. You refinance - the debts are paid off and you have 1 payment to make to a lender. This is never a good idea - you are exchanging debt for debt (you are not paying it off). You are also now taking unsecured debt and making it secured (putting your home on the line). If you miss those payments, the lender can take your house. In addition, most studies will show that 80% of people that refinance to pay off credit card debt, go back out and recharge on the credit cards, putting them further in the hole.

3. Credit Counseling - Credit Counseling or DMP’s (debt management plans) as it is often called, is one way to get out of debt. Normally, a credit counseling company will negotiate a reduced interest rate on your credit cards.  On average, you can expect to pay back your entire balance at a reduced interest rate, usually between  6-12%.

Credit Counseling was actually created in 1951 by lenders (yes, the credit card companies). They founded the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) - board members were the same people in charge of the lending institutions.

At that time, they were really a lobbying arm for it’s members (banks and credit card companies) and also concentrated on consumer awareness towards financial literacy to help them avoid bankruptcy. There are now over 1, 000 active credit counseling organizations, both “for profit” and “non-profit”.

Credit Counseling was created to give a consumer a “safe haven” or a place to get some breathing space when they were over extended. A counselor will review the consumers budget and will extend offers of repayment back to their creditors (DMP’s) that fit within a reasonable fixed amount of time and interest, that both the creditor would accept and that the consumer could afford. Most creditors will reduce or forgive interest, reducing the consumers monthly payments to around 10-20% of what their original payments were. You may hear companies advertise about cutting your payments by 50% - if they are offering credit counseling, it won’t be the norm. It’s usually 10-20%.

In exchange for offering these services, credit counseling companies receive a “fair share” of the revenues collected from the consumer. Usually 4 - 15% of the debt collected. They also normally charge a consumer a set up fee - which they may call a “contribution” and a monthly fee.

THIS PROGRAM WILL HAVE AN EFFECT ON YOUR CREDIT PROFILE but it will allow you to become debt free in about 2 to 7 years, depending on your debt and your budget. 

While you are in the plan, some creditors require that you include every credit card that you owe. You will also be required not to incur any new debt while you are participating in the program.

You will save thousands of dollars in interest and will eliminate your debt much quicker than if you continued to make the minimum monthly payments directly to your creditors.  Once enrolled in the program, they will also try to have late payments and over-the-limit fees forgiven. This usually takes place once you've established a six month track record of good payments.

In order for credit counseling to work, you must have sufficient income to pay your basic bills and be able to support a payment plan.  Be sure that you do not miss a payment to the credit counseling company. You should make sure that your payment arrives in time for your funds to be disbursed to your creditors. Otherwise, you may be charged additional late fees and other charges, which could also adversely affect your credit profile.

HERE ARE THE DRAWBACKS OF CREDIT COUNSELING: you pay 100% owed, with interest and your credit report is still effected. You may have to put every credit card company into the plan. If you cancel or are dropped from the program because you did not maintain your payments, your creditors will have a right to go back and retroactively charge all the back interest (and any other fees and penalties) they were entitled to. This basically means that if they were charging you 18% interest and they reduced that interest rate down to 6%, if you quit the program 12 months later, they can go back and charge you the missed 12% in interest payments you owed them.

If the credit counseling company receives a % of the revenue that they collect as a "contribution" from the bank, how can you be sure they are getting you the best reduced interest rate possible? Why push a reduced interest rate to 3% instead of 6%? But again, knowing this will help you make an informed decision. It's still not a bad solution. You are getting a reduced interest rate and you are getting out of debt in a much shorter time but don't believe that these companies are really advocates for you, the consumer. Ask the credit counseling company how much they are making from each creditor to "service" your debt. See if you can negotiate better terms with them.

4. Debt Settlement - This strategy works best if you can not manage the FIXED payment strategy or the Roll-up. When deciding if it is better than Credit Counseling or Bankruptcy, only you can be the judge. However, there are some general “rules of engagement” that you should understand before you take on this endeavor.

Debt Settlement, in simple terms - is when you and your creditor agree to settle your debts that are owed to them, at a reduced balance. For example: You have $15, 000 in credit card debt and they agree to take a payment of $6, 000 to settle your obligation to them in full. Upon payment of the $6, 000, nothing else would be owed to them.

Debt Settlement or Debt Negotiations as it is often called can be right for you if you have a financial hardship, can't or don't want to file for bankruptcy or can't see how you will pay off all of your bills and still save for your future retirement, your kids education or if something catastrophic happens.

Maybe your situation doesn’t allow you to participate in a credit counseling program or that you just can’t see your self making payment, after payment, for the next 5 to 8 years without any real benefit to you or your future.

Debt Settlement is a very effective way to get rid of your debts, but it is also one of the most aggressive.

Before we look at applying the Debt Settlement Strategy, it’s important to understand how the credit and collection system works. At least in general. There really isn’t any creditor out there that will normally settle an obligation for less money, if there was no hardship or if all of your payments are current. It just doesn’t make sense to them. They also have rules and “big math solutions” that show them historical data when a client stops performing on their obligations (basically, what the odds of recovering their money are, as time goes by). But no one in their right mind would allow someone that was continually making all their minimum payments (which we all know the banks love) to just one day ask for a 50% discount to pay the obligation off in full. Can you imagine if the banks allowed this? Everyone would just call them up and dump their debt.

You also must understand that if a creditor is going to accept a settlement offer, you are going to have to have that money available as a lump sum. If you offered to make monthly payments on the settlement, then the creditor will say - “NO - why not just make those smaller monthly payments for now and continue to pay me each month, until you can afford to make the normal payments with us again”. There is no incentive for them to take monthly payments on a settlement.

Without getting into too much depth, in order to settle your debts, you have to have the funds available at the time the settlement offer is made or negotiated. The problem with most debt settlement companies is that they charge 10-15% of the debt under management as their "fees". These fees are usually what we call "front loaded" - meaning that the first several months in payments are going to them, not into savings. Therefor, when you get creditor calls (the original creditor does not have to stop contacting you - regardless of what anyone tells you) for several months because you are behind and you look at your savings account 8 months later - you can get discouraged and rightfully so. Now when a debt is in "collections" and no longer with the original creditor, then the FDCPA (fair debt collections practices act) can kick in to afford you some protections for creditor harassment. If you are going to do debt settlement, ask for a complete breakdown of their fees and how the truly get paid. How much money will you actually have saved up over the first 12 months if you decide to use their program.

You should fully understand how the process works once you fall behind on your payments to your creditors. You should understand about "charge off" requirements that you original lender has. How collection companies work. How debt buyers work (yes, there are companies out there that buy these bad debts from the banks for pennies on the dollar; they may purchase your account that you owed $10, 000 on for under $1, 000. You still owe the $10, 000 but once you know that they purchased the debt for $1, 000 - you have leverage and can get a better settlement. Knowledge is power.

Here is what you must know about choosing debt settlement as an option: Debt Settlement is an aggressive approach to debt reduction and is appropriate for debtors with a serious amount of debt or who are considering bankruptcy.
After the debt is settled, the creditor will send a letter stating the debt obligation was fulfilled, and will report to the credit bureaus that the debt has been “settled for less than full amount”, “paid” or “Settled”.
The IRS can consider the forgiven debt as taxable income, however, they do have form #982 available for special hardships.
That your credit-rating will be harmed while you are in the process of settling your debts; creditors will not settle on an account that remains current. Since you are not making your payments, your credit reports will get "trashed in the process". You will have lates, chargeoffs and collections being reported until the debts are settled.
You will continue to receive active phone calls from your creditors during their delinquency.
Since you are delinquent in your payments, the creditor still has a right to remedy, including suing you for the monies that are outstanding.

NOW LETS DEAL WITH THESE "SPECIAL SAVINGS ACCOUNTS" - When debt settlement first started, a consumer would send a monthly payment (the amount they have to start setting aside so they can settle their debts) to a debt settlement company. They would put that money in their Trust Account. What happened was that some of these companies mixed those funds with their operating funds. Currently, their are laws that prohibit this practice. If you are going to use a debt settlement company (that is not a law firm), you can either "self save", which usually never works; or you will be set up with at Third Party Processor (hence GLOBAL CLIENT SOLUTIONS). This is actually set up for your protection. I'm no fan of Global - I think they charge excessive fees and are not very responsive when dealing with clients as the postings above indicate. But really they are in place to prevent a debt settlement company from having access to the accounts without your authorization. However, when you sign an agreement with a Debt Settlement Company that gives them permission to withdraw fees per month, out of the account, you have authorized those payments and Global really can't do anything about that. If you are having issues with stopping the ACH - you can simply open up a new bank account and don't put any more money into the one that they are attempting to ACH. You should also send out a notice of cancellation to your debt settlement company. Please be sure to read their agreements as to cancellation and refund policies, what fees are being charged and how they are being paid, before you hire any company.

Quite frankly, you do not have to use Global or any other 3 party processing to do debt settlement. The only requirement is that if a company is going to assist you in settling your debts, THEY are not allowed to handle any funds. However, by using a system with Global, it gives the debt settlement company access to view the accounts, in one convenient place. Negotiators can review all files and see which accounts can be settled under 1 general roof. It's pretty unrealistic to think that if each person set up their own savings accounts with their own banks that any outside company could network all that data together to see which client accounts actually have funds available and which ones don't, etc.

The last option someone should look at to resolving their debts is Bankruptcy. If none of the above solutions fit your situation, speak to a bankruptcy attorney.

Contrary to what you all might feel, there are people out there that provide a legitimate service and really do take your best interests to heart. You are not just a number or a way that someone can make money off of. Most of these solutions you can do yourself. Although some of you may be better off hiring a company to do it for you. You just need to understand how the process works so you can make an informed decision.

I'm not plugging my services but I am more than happy to assist anyone that are having these types of issues. Feel free to shoot me a message with questions, etc.

I tried to cancel the automatic checking withdraws because it is causing me more grief than the credit card companies. Guess what this cost just as much money and is more stressful than enrolling in the plan. How do you stop them from taking the money out.

I agree with everyone I was blinded in my own problems. Then someone called to give me a magic pill that will make it all go away. My problems did not go away it only get worse. Rocky Mountain Bank & Trust hold my money and Clear Your Dept stole my money. They didn't clear any dept with my creditor but took they fee which was all my money. People they are the agents of the devil they are no good in there motive. Your problems won't go away until you take the responsibility and solve them your self. The client solutions, clear your dept agency there all evil they cannot help. The only help you will receive is to dig your own grave to bury you. The problems only become bigger because you ignored it all. Think people, you save more money with the money you give to these agencies for help, you can do the job for your self. If you can't communicate well find someone you can discuss your problem on your behave and settle with your creditors for yourself. These banks, credit solution agencies are all out to make money. The service fees can pay off a credit card company. DON'T USE THEM. THEY DON'T HAVE YOUR BEST INTEREST IN MIND
CLEAR YOUR DEBT IS THE WORST THEY ARE CROOKS, THEY WILL STEAL YOUR MONEY AND DESTROY YOUR VERY LIFE. STAY CLEAR AWAY FROM THEM.

I've been with J Hass since May and I have had good customer service not a thing to complain about. This morning I decided to check them out again on the BBB website. To my surprise their rating has gone down quickly to an F. BBB form says 2 serious complaints. I am waiting until 9am Arizona time to contact the Arizona BBB @ [protected] to get answers. Then I am contacting J Hass. This is very unsettling to me because I have paid them quite a chunk but not enough to do a settlement yet. I can't just walk away and I am sure they will not refund my money without a fight.

Scarey - Could you tell me how much in fees GCS took out for their bank fees, not the fees with the debt settlement company? I've been thinking about debt settlement and the company I was looking at uses GCS. I saw Ingrid say GCS took $8.75 a month. But my company has a $9.50 fee for Global and I saw a lawsuit in New Jersey where it said that GCS took $15 a month. I want to understand all the fees as good as possible before I make my decision and I'm worried there are hidden fees that their not tellin gme about.

Praise The Lord 8-)

I was scammed once by a debt settlement company however I was able to retrieve most of my money. With GCS I read the contract and I was sent a breakdown of my payments however I was told that their fee was taken out from the back end only to realize that the fees are being taken out in the beginning. I'm going to ride this storm out because I was scammed once and I truly believe the "you'll reap what you sow" and if you sow a bad seed, you will reap a bad seed! So GCS I'm staying in the program and if you're sowing bad seeds, you'll reap it in the long run. Again we all are using this company for the same reason, of over extending our credit whether it was for our wants or needs! "FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL"
Have A Blessed Day. 8-)

Ciao,
Luigi

I too have been in the program since Oct. 2008. Happy w J. Hass. Not happy w/negotiations. 3 out of 5 accounts have already sued me and it hasn't even been a year yet!