The secret that credit card companies don’t want you to know is that you don’t have to pay them in full! Oh really!? Have you heard this advertisement? I was driving to the office the other day and listening to the radio. For the umpteenth time, I heard this exact commercial. It says that there is a little known secret that the credit card companies don’t want you to know and it is that you don’t have to pay your credit cards in full and it is not bankruptcy. I have been practicing exclusively in the area of consumer bankruptcy and consumer law for the past 18 years and I don’t know what the secret is! I’m tempted to call just to find out! However, we all know if sounds too good to be true, it probably is NOT true!
What is the real deal?
What they are talking about is a debt management plan. Our lawyers have written extensively about this in previous blog posts:
If you are thinking about doing a debt management plan, when you are talking to a debt management company, ask specific questions and make sure you get answers to these questions IN WRITING. Here are some suggested and important questions to ask along with our blog posts about them in detail:
- If I do this plan with you, will there be any type of negative information coded on the trade lines on my credit reports?
- Can you assure me that there will be no negative information on any of my credit reports at all in any manner for doing this debt management plan with you?
- For the amount of debt that is forgiven by any and all of the credit card companies, will I be issued a 1099 for forgiveness of debt on the amount of debt that was forgiven?
- Will all of my creditors that I give to you be included with this debt management plan?
- Can any creditor not agree to be included in this debt management plan?
- Can I include secured debts such as home mortgages, vehicles, furniture, etc.?
- Do you charge any money upfront for me to do this debt management plan?
- Exactly how does your company get paid?
- Will you require that I enter into arbitration agreements within any contract or agreement that I enter into with you?
- Will any creditor that is included in the debt management plan be able to contact me in any manner and harass me at all while it is being paid in your debt management plan?
- Will any creditor be able to sue me for any debt that is included in the debt management plan?
If you are thinking of entering into one of these plans, please do your homework and make sure you have exact answers to all of these questions posed. Each of our locations has licensed attorneys available for a FREE consultation to discuss your situation even if you have already entered into one of these debt management programs. If you would like to do so, please contact our office that is most convenient to you for an in person, confidential meeting where we will sit down face-to-face and discuss your situation with you in detail. If you are concerned about your personal financial situation, that is the least you should do instead of discussing your private worries over the phone with a stranger at a toll-free 800 number.
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