DebitShield, anyone w/experience??

[FXDBLOCKHEAD]

Anyone with experience with this outfit???

http://www.debtshield.net/index.html

[davidb81]

ya it looks like those typical debt agencies where they take your bills and you make one payment to them then they pay the credit card companies. I personally havent heard anything positive about them. sometimes they send your payment late which only makes your credit situation worse. also with these companies you dont have the protection from the creditors that you do with bk. they can still call you and harass you. these plans usually take 3-5 years to complete. Hope this helps Good Luck

[FXDBLOCKHEAD]

I had only one conversation with them and there debit reducers not consoldators. It is a program but they neg. with each creditor along with more than one debitor to settle the accounts i.e. a debit portfolio of say 10 debitors with one bank.

The premese is to use the leverage of grouping debitors together. Its not a payment plan to the creditor. As side from there fee there is also tax implications such as having the tax libility for the forgiven amount of debit. I don't think, like you say, it stops the calls but in my case I don't care about the calls I don't answer the phone anyway.

My reasons for posting was to see if anyone engaged them and if they had any problems or success with them. This kind of arrangement is a last resort before filing BK. An option I'm considering.

Thanks for the reply.

[deepindebt]

I went with a debt reduction company called CSA. I paid them 1,750 dollars and got nothing but two lawsuits!! Plus, my debt increased by 5000 dollars in one years time!! There might be companies out there that will help but unsure about the one you asked about.
I personally feel these companies are a scam!!!! Talk with a lawyer before you do anything. I wish I did before I sought out help from CSA, they only gave me more headaches. Good Luck.

[StaciMM]

There are downsides to debt negotiation/settlement. First of all, its a gamble that your creditors will work with what the company proposes. Second, if your money is going to the settlement company I'm assuming you're not able to make minimum payments also-so your accounts get behind, grow w/ interest & penalties. Your creditors could ultimately file judgements against you for nonpayment.

The best possible result is that in the end, 1-2 of your accounts may be settled while the others are much worse off.


Edited to add:

"Will this stop late fees?
Fortunately, your program will include the interest or late fees in your total debt balance. While we cannot stop creditors from adding late fees and interest, we will negotiate your debt down to just a portion of what you owe. Your savings are much larger than any interest or late fees that would accrue."

I'm not sure that this is 'fortunate'. Also, the FAQ states 24-36 months is typical for a full program. I believe the charge off window for most credit cards is 6-9 months of nonpayment. Unfortunately, if you try the program and decide its not for you, your credit accounts are much worse off. Even though this program offers a 'guarantee' it can't do anything ot make the creditors reverse the effects.

[sunshine08]

We used Kimberly Credit, they are out of Florida. Don't even think about them, they are a rip off.
We were in a "50" month plan after over 25 payments, we weren't even close to half, they were paying late, the interest rates were not very good, esp. MBNA. They blamed us for late pay, WE needed to change the due date, WE needed to do such and such... The interest rates we had on most of the cards before filing were really pretty decent, but you have to stop making payments and not have contact with the company, and THEY are the "NEGOTIATORS". Trust me, they ain't .....!
I will have to check but NC sued one CC here .
They also told us all late fees, overlimit fees etc would be waived after 3 continuous months of on time payments. I never saw it, our payments were NEVER LATE. You could also only send the correct amount, no extra. Of ocurse once you are in the program, they have a zillion excuses.