Hurting
Sag Harbor,#2Author of original report
Thu, August 06, 2009
I have successfully negotiated all my credit card debt via the credit card companies themselves and received excellent reductions - up to 80% - in return for reasonable payment plans. I was an excellent customer before I got into difficulties for a variety of reasons, and that was taken into consideration. Although credit card companies claim that they don't negotiate with RESQDEBT and similar companies, they probably do because there are plenty of people who will attest to the fact that RESQDEBT helped them reduce their debt. What these people don't realize is that they could have made the same phone call themselves and avoided the exorbitant fees charged by RESQDEBT, which are 15% of the saved amount of debt. In addition, "saved" debt is considered income by the IRS and may be taxed, so clients have to consider the real overall savings of working through RESQDEBT as compared to working directly with the credit card companies. RESQDEBT insists that their fees are collected first, and they do not start negotiations with credit card companies until they have collected enough funds from clients for their own fees and to start paying off the debts. This can mean that months go by, during which time late fees and fines accumulate, and customers are driven mad by endless phone calls from collection agencies. RESQDEBT asks clients to sign a "Limited Power of Attorney". They then send a notice of this agreement to the creditors. The exact same letter is sent to every creditor. Clients can remove accounts if they wish, and fees may be adjusted accordingly, but RESQDEBT will give them a very hard time about it. An agreement may also be terminated with 30 days notice. I have done this and asked for confirmation of termination several times, but have not yet received it. All client documents can be accessed via a login on the website, where all account activities are noted. RESQDEBT does not guarantee that late charges, harassing phone calls and other nuisances will stop even once negotiations have begun. They also claim that 6 months after a debt has been paid off, it is removed from the credit report, but I was told by Equifax and Experian that this is not true - the accounts are "noted" and anyone experienced in reading the reports can tell at a glance that a settlement was negotiated which may reflect negatively on the report.