Debt Settlement Industry Under Investigation

The NY Times is reporting about problems with the debt settlement industry. I have spoken to many clients who wasted time and money with debt settlement companies who did very little to help and who sometimes made things worse.

Some clients have told me that before they came to me they made payments to a debt settlement company and later learned that the payments were being held the whole time and had not been turned over to the creditors. The end result is predictable – the client eventually gets sued by a creditor that the client thought had settled. My warning to all clients is to exercise caution. Unless you actually see a written settlement agreement signed by a creditor, you are dealing with a ticking timebomb. Verbal assurances from a debt settlement company (often one that is out of state) are worthless in my view.

Here is the article.