“Dear Steve,
We had an over 700 credit score but now we are dodging creditors. We were already living “pay check to pay check” – and recently myself and my husband have had some dr bills car expenses household expenses and it has been difficult to meet our monthly expenses. I have had to use our credit cards to pay for medical and now they have been maxed out with fees.We use to have an expense acct to pay for the drs 10 copays now wit this new co we are paying up to $75 a visit- with no expense account. What is the minimum I can pay to the drs so they dont send us to collections? And how do I settle with paypal who calls me all the time wants me to pay them 700 fees or put me on a payment plane. and I have spoken to Greenshields Financial service for debt free 3 year program???
Pam”
Dear Pam,
Greenshield Financial is a debt settlement company. They say so right on their home page. – Source
Based on your situation I can’t see how a debt settlement program would significantly benefit you since it looks like what you really need is immediate debt relief with protection from creditors. The only solution that offers you the most relief and consumer protection is bankruptcy.
The Greenshield site makes the following statement about Chapter 7 bankruptcy. “On the negative side, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays on your record for 10 years, and a creditor on a secured debt still has a right to the collateral on a discharged debt.” – Source. My concern is that their seems to steer you away from bankruptcy without a comparison to debt settlement. In fact the success rate of bankruptcy is much higher than the success rate for debt settlement. A debt secured by collateral in debt settlement would have to be paid in full or the collateral surrendered, and the bad credit from debt settlement will be reported for 7.5 years.
Their site also makes the claim that “…debt settlement can be a quick and inexpensive way to rise out of your debt…” – Source. But if you went the Chapter 7 bankruptcy route your debt would be eliminated in months and it would cost about $1,500. The debt settlement route would take years and cost you probably 15% of the total debt you have.
Unless you want to wind up in collections, risk being sued by creditors, or having your wages garnished then you should click here to find a local bankruptcy attorney and go talk to them.
In your current situation it seems to me that the most prudent approach is to prepare yourself for a better future than trying to repair past mistakes and deal with medical issues on top of that.
Please update me on your progress by
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