“Dear Damon,

I enrolled in a debt settlement program and after 8 months finally decided to stop the program because of information provided in this blog and by my creditors. I am going to follow Steve’s steps to try to recover my losses.

If I am not able to get any funds returned or get anywhere with this process, what can I do?

Kristina”

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The Answer

Hello Kristina,

Typically there isn’t much you can do if they don’t voluntarily offer a refund. They typically write their contracts to make sure they are able to keep the money if you cancel the program. Which is why a front loaded fee program is typically such a bad deal.

However you mention that it has been 8 months, so that tells me you signed up after Oct 27 2010 which means they may be illegally collecting fees upfront.

Unfortunately it is often a lose lose situation to try and sue a settlement company for a refund. You might have to front the legal fees and even if you win, you aren’t guaranteed to get paid.

So I would first follow the steps Steve has outlined. If you get the cold shoulder from the company, then contact me through my website and let me know the circumstances and I will see if I can offer a different perspective to the company and get you some money back.

Damon is a talented independent debt coach that provides in-depth assistance and consultations for people struggling with debt. If you want a personal debt coach to help you through a difficult situation or want assistance to find secret discounts offered by debt settlement companies I think Damon Day is an excellent person to contact for advice and assistance. He can be reached directly at DamonDay.com

If you have a debt related question you’d like to ask, just use the online form.