Some Debt Management Scams:

Debt management scam includes the much advertised grant programs which seem to be allowing free money to pay bills. One thing has to be realized that this is not possible as it would be not in the interest of the company providing the Debt management solution to give out grants and free money. Also it must be kept in mind that grants to initiate businesses require a lot of effort along with persistence.

Another type of debt management scam includes companies which come up with solutions to erase your debt in a legal way. Such companies generally claim that banks, mortgage and credit –card companies charge interest and other dues illegally. Thus, they are basically trying to look for loopholes to relieve you of your obligation to pay your debts.

Such debt elimination companies demand an initial fee of around $2000 and send a document on your behalf to your creditor which supposedly, relieves you of your obligation to pay back your debt. These documents are fake and can go by the following names:

Bond for Discharge of Debt

Redemption Certificate

Bill of Exchange

The only way to not fall for this lucrative scam is by being aware of it. Even after you have paid such debt elimination companies a large sum, you are required to pay back all of your debt which might leave you in graver financial situation.

Useful tips for avoiding Debt Management Scams:

It so happens that even after paying huge sums of money to the debt management companies, some people find themselves even greater in debt. This is due to the fact that they have been very carefully and deliberately scammed by those companies. The only way to avoid this is go for companies with a sound background instead of those companies which come up with the most tempting, very easy-to-do payment plans. These are likely to be frauds.

Beware of such companies which demand a high fee for enrolling in the debt management company. They might urge you to make “voluntary contributions” which is nothing but a fancy name for fees. They might not ask for your personal financial information as they claim they do not require it .e.g. bank account numbers and credit card numbers. Also they may not provide you with a list of services they would claim to have done for the debtor.

Also they might offer to through a debt management plan before they make sure that the debtor has understood how to manage money and how to budget his finances. They might even insist the debtor to make his payments according to the debt payment plan as drawn up by the scam company, before your creditors have agreed to the plan in case of the certain debtor. If so happens, you are likely being scammed.

So choose the debt management company wisely and try to gain all information about your finances firsthand so that you are able to avoid debt management scam.

A debt management plans involves a credit counseling agency who makes a full assessment of the debtors monthly finances and how much a debtor can afford to realistically pay to the creditors after his priority expenses like food, mortgage or rent are fulfilled. A plan for the payments is mapped out and discussed with the debtor in advance with any decision reached is by the agreement of the debtor. A list of debtors’ unsecured creditors is made who are approached by the company to discuss the possibility of reduced monthly payments. Usually the creditors accept these ideas put forward by the company as they benefit from it in the long run.

The debtor pays a single monthly payment to the company, which is distributed pro-rata amongst the creditors. Payments can be made in a cheque, standing order, or pay point form. Some credit counseling companies provide their services for twenty-four hours or on the phone. That way all the arrangements can be discussed over the phone without the need to meet the company members privately. It is necessary that any external contact with the creditor should be made through the company.

There are two types of credit counseling companies offering their services; the fee charging and the companies who help with debt management for free. A percent of the monthly payments is kept by the company charges as a compensation for their services. The larger the amount of the debt to be paid, the more money is kept by them. This is considered a disadvantage if the amount of debt is very large and takes a longer time to pay off as the fee of the company can also indirectly lead to bankruptcy. In addition, a fee-charging company is considered not to think in the best interests of the debtor. However, they also offer enhanced administrative services to the debtor.

The fee-free companies are more advantageous than the fee charging. The financial advice is offered for free without any money going to the company. These companies work through the funds from the sponsorship and donations and anybody can have access to them. Further advantage is that many of the creditors/lenders will freeze the interest charges if requested by the company as they will not feel that the money that should rightfully be theirs is lining the pockets of the fee-charging companies.

It is a common belief that anyone seeking the debt management services loses their credibility when in fact they already have lost it when they can’t manage their debts therefore no one should hesitate approaching the credit counseling companies as they will only help reduce your debts. Although, according to FICO, seeking credit counseling does not affect your credit rating.