In this show, I share some critical information and advice with you on how not to become a victim or get scammed when you are searching for debt relief help.
Having financial problems can be scary enough but who can you trust and who should you turn to when you are looking for good options for bad debt? This show will tell you what you can easily do to find and investigate the most appropriate solution for you when you run into money troubles.
Transcript
Hi, this is Steve Rhode, your Get Out of Debt Guy from Get Out of Debt dot org.
Here’s the latest practical money, credit and debt advice to help you enjoy life more.
You know what scammers call people with money worries or problems? Suckers.
This show is going to be devoted towards helping you avoid being scammed when you are down and out financially. If you know someone who is living through money troubles, forward this show to them as an act of kindness and concern.
Being stressed out and worried about money troubles is completely natural. It’s a typical emotional reaction to an unfortunate part of your life. People who find themselves at just such a crossroad frequently make unwise choices on how to deal with their financial problems.
Rather than get an outside opinion about what is the best thing to do, they instead start calling some debt relief companies and asking how they can help. Surprise, they will most all offer some easy solution.
The problem is that the panic of the financial situation clouds the otherwise clearer vision the person in trouble naturally has.
You would no more think that it was wise to go into the first car dealership you pass and ask if they have any car they can sell you, and then buy it. But that’s exactly what people do when they are facing money troubles. They call the first company that promises help and then blindly believe the sales pitch they hear.
I suppose part of this is a desire to believe the claims the salesperson is saying in hopes of making the pain of the situation go away as fast as possible. It does seem like a logical reaction to want to latch onto the first solution that seems magical, in hopes of quickly putting your fear and angst behind you about your debt.
During this show I’m going to give you a number of actionable tips to help protect you from scam artists and crooks.
The first is to make it a point to promise me you will evaluate all of the possible options to dealing with problem debt before you lock on to any option.
If you want to know what the typical solutions and options are, come visit me at GetOutOfDebt.org and use the free get out of debt calculator to help identify the more appropriate options for your situation.
Coming up I’m going to tell what the next thing you should do is after you learn what your best options are and how to avoid making a key and critical mistake many do.
This is Steve Rhode, your Get Out of Debt Guy from GetOutOfDebt.org, Stand by.
Living through money problems is intimate and personal. It makes us feel like we’ve failed or somehow a loser. But just because we feel that way, does not mean that’s factual.
Money troubles happen for a wide variety of reasons and many of those reasons are beyond our control. Sometimes bad debt just happens to good people.
When you are contacting a debt relief company, be it for-profit or a non-profit charity, I need for you to listen to what they have to say with a sales filter on. Even the non-profit credit counselors are trying to sell you something.
All debt relief companies are generally trying to sign you up for their program so they can make money off of you. And trust me, I’m not trying to be cynical here, just dead honest.
All debt relief companies make money by making you their client. Some fudge with the truth a little bit. Some just flat out lie and seem to make up an alternative reality. And nearly all oversell the solutions they provide and do not provide an overall fair and balanced assessment of your situation.
In the world of debt relief there are three major camps. Generally the credit counselors hate the debt settlement providers, The debt settlement providers hate the credit counselors and they both hate bankruptcy attorneys.
What adept debt relief salespeople are really good at is knowing how to emotionally manipulate you to believe their grand promises and magic claims that your debt problem can painlessly go away. They know that to sell you on emotion is going to seal the deal faster than any other approach.
Here is where you need to be strong, smart, and assertive in order to protect yourself from being scammed.
If a debt relief salesperson is trying to persuade you they’ve got a solution for you, listen to their sales pitch. And filter what you hear just as if you were listening to a used car salesperson.
What I mean is it would be smart to listen and verify.
The salesperson is going to listen to clues from you and jump on those. If they hear you say that having good credit is important or avoiding bankruptcy is your number one goal, they will tailor their sales pitch on the fly to target those areas and make their solution sound so grand you’ll be salivating to buy it.
Coming up I want to talk about what to do after you’ve talked to one debt relief salesperson and how to best protect yourself.
This is Steve Rhode, your Get Out of Debt Guy from GetOutOfDebt.org, Stand by.
The best insurance and protection you can have to avoid being scammed by debt relief help is education. The more you investigate and contact people of the different debt relief camps, the more informed and aware you will be so you can make the best decision that’s right for you and your situation.
On your journey to investigate options you should talk to a credit counseling group, a debt settlement company, and a local bankruptcy attorney. Once you do this you’ll be better able to decide what path is right for you.
As part of any examination of options I do always try to strongly suggest that people should speak with a local bankruptcy attorney. While they might want to emotionally avoid bankruptcy, they need to understand what bankruptcy really would do for their specific and particular situation.
Understanding what role bankruptcy might play is critically important since out of all the possible options to dealing with problem debt, bankruptcy is the only one backed up with the power of the law to stop collectors and creditors in their tracks and make the debt go away in just a few months so you can get a second chance and a fresh start.
Here is a wise tidbit of information: You didn’t get in debt overnight, you don’t need to jump at some solution overnight, you’ve got time to investigate your options.
I’ve lived through money problems myself. I know how scary and raw they can feel. I completely understand that you want the situation to get resolved somehow. But in order for you to get the best chance at a great outcome you really need to approach finding a solution as if you are shopping for a car.
Check sites like GetOutOfDebt.org for guides and helpful information, go kick a few tires, learn what real world results are, and take the companies you are considering using for a test drive by calling or visiting them.
And then, feel free to check them out. Make sure they are licensed to operate and research them on the internet. See what other people are saying about them.
Coming up I’m going to give you the most important question you need to ask and answer to best deal with your debt issue.
This is Steve Rhode, your Get Out of Debt Guy from GetOutOfDebt.org, Stand by.
The number one question I want you to answer, alone, and with your spouse or partner is this: In addressing your current financial trouble, do you have a greater responsibility to fix the past, or the future?
Launching into a debt solution where you make payments for the next five years to try to fix past debt is one approach. But if you do that at the detriment of being able to save money and have a financial safety net moving forward, that could just be foolish.
Do You Have a Question You'd Like Help With? Contact Debt Coach Damon Day. Click here to reach Damon.
Maybe it’s better to use your financial stumbling and learn from the mistake and take that knowledge to do better moving forward.
Regardless of what answer you come up with, It’s a serious question and a contemplative point to ponder with some introspective effort.
No matter what you decide though, just remember two things.
1. Don’t make any assumptions. investigate your options thoroughly. And,
2. I’m always here to help.
This is Steve Rhode your Get Out of Debt Guy.
If you want more advice or you want some free help, be sure to visit me at GetOutOfDebt.org. And while you’re at the site, don’t forget to subscribe to this podcast for even more practical tips and advice.
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