News on U.S. government agencies, U.S. politics, companies doing business with U.S. federal government. Read U.S. national and local news. This site is not affiliated with United States Government.
(USGovernment-News.Com, March 15, 2013 ) Worcester, MA -- Consumers with credit card debts they cannot afford to pay should be careful of debt collectors offering to settle a credit card debt for an original creditor, according to Mel Thompson, author of the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide and the debt blogs credit-card-debt-relief-4u.com and creditsabre.com.
If they cannot afford to, or even if they really cannot afford to, consumers would rather pay a lump sum settlement than have the uncertainty of non-payment hanging over them, says Thompson. That makes them vulnerable to a debt collector who claims he is authorized to settle a debt for the original creditor he is collecting for.
Typically, according to Thompson, who has a lot of contact with credit-card-debt-plagued consumers, the consumer “negotiates” an attractive settlement with the debt collector, perhaps only 20-30 percent of the original balance.
Then the debt collector tells them to send the lump payment for that mount and he will in turn send a written confirmation of the verbal agreement. “As you can guess,” Thompson says, “the consumer never receives that written confirmation.” The debt collector keeps 30 percent of the lump sum payment as commission and forwards the remainder to the credit card bank. The consumer still owes the untruthfully-settled remaining balance, he explains.
About Credit Sabre:
According to Thompson, credit-card-indebted consumers are weighed down by feelings of hopelessness that prevent them from properly educating themselves about their debt alternatives. Their search for help makes them prey to debt relief scams and debt collector lies, he says.
We are pleased to offer you this exciting, new, and entirely free professional resource. Visit our Free Industry resource center today to browse our selection of 600+ complimentary Industry magazines, white papers, webinars, podcasts, and more. Get popular titles including:
