Contents1 More and more Americans are relying on debt settlement services to settle their credit card debt in order to start fresh.1.1 More consumers are utilizing the GFS debt settlement program than ever before.1.1.1 The only states that are not
eligible for debt settlement services are Washington, New Hampshire, South Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin and -LSB-...]
For example, a North Carolina woman and her husband fell deeper into debt, filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to save their home from foreclosure, and took second jobs as janitors after paying $ 11,000 to two Florida
companies for debt settlement services they never delivered.
Many firms advertising an
offer for debt settlement services are nothing more than lead generation firms that may sell your information to several potentially unscrupulous firms.
In addition to mandating enhanced disclosure requirements modeled on current and proposed TASC standards, the FTC rulemaking prohibits debt settlement companies from accepting fees from a
consumer for debt settlement services prior to the actual settlement of the consumer's debt.
People entitled to restitution refund checks were consumers who «entered into agreements
for debt settlement services with Defendant during the period of time from December 20, 2008 through May 21, 2013.»
Unfortunately, in order to broaden the ability for consumers to
qualify for their debt settlement service, most debt settlement companies offer long - term debt settlement programs that are very dangerous for consumers.
One of the easiest ways to calculate if it might be time to reach out
for debt settlement services is to compare your level of unsecured debt to your income.
According to the FTC, debt relief companies are required to give customers a number of disclosures about the costs and possible risks of signing up
for a debt settlement service, including:
Under a North Carolina law that Cooper helped win, it's illegal to collect advance fees
for debt settlement services.