Tag: brain

Debt Settlement Weapon of Choice – Consumer Recovery Network

If you are new to the blog, click HERE to start at the beginning of my story.
POST #21
I have shared with you, again and again, that debt settlement is a process. It forced me to do a lot of research, tested my patience and resolve and challenged my brain. But I want to make one thing clear, I am not an expert. I am a FIRC (former irresponsible recovering consumer) who successfully followed the coaching and guidelines of the Consumer Recovery Network DIY program.
Several times I have looked back on this experience and wondered if I could have done it all on my own without the help of a DIY program.  There is a lot of free info on the internet. Heck, this blog itself shows you many of the techniques used to navigate the process.  After careful review, I have concluded that you CAN do it without the help of a company…..but I don’t recommend it.
Here are a few pitfalls of going solo:

Ozzfest 2007: Zakk's Solo 3
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  • Every situation and bank negotiation is different. You will have to improvise along the way. A wrong choice can kill the deal.

  • Timing is everything. Not all banks process the collections in the same time line. You will be doing some guessing.

  • The reps will lie to you. How will you sift through the BS?

I followed CRN’s DIY program. I listened to the CDs, read the workbook and had about 30 hours of phone calls with my CRN coach. Guess which was the most indispensable aspect?

The advice from my coach.

There were a zillion forks in the road during my debt settlement. All of the solutions came from discussions with my coach. I have shared many of these solutions already, but I want to add one last thing.
I knew was getting close to a settlement on these 2 big line of credit accounts. It would take a bit of fancy footwork, negotiating and quick thinking. There was critical phone call I had to make and decided to add an extra safety measure. This technique, appropriately called the Debt Settlement Weapon of Choice, can only be done when you have a coach. Hang on, this is a good one!
I called my CRN coach, put her on mute, then conferenced in the bank.  While I was talking with the bank, my CRN coach was listening in and emailing me questions to ask the bank rep. GENIUS!
We only did this once, during a critical call. It was a great help because, despite all of my preparedness, the flow of this particular conversation was beyond my expertise. I couldn’t distill the truth from the BS, nor could I determine the best questions to ask.
In short, you can do a full on “free” DIY by using info on the internet.  But for me, I concluded it was best to have an expert coach offering advice and counsel specific to my situation.  Especially when that advice was in real time during the conversation, via email!!!
Stay tuned. Stay afloat. Wealth and freedom are in your future.
Jonathan

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Debt settlement process ripened my debt like a sweet mango

If you are new to the blog, click HERE to start at the beginning of my story.
POST #15
Before I start today, I want to mention that I did a radio interview with Marc Pearlman on YourMoneyMattersRadio. It is set to air on Monday, May 3, 2010 on AM radio, podcasts and iTunes Radio. Marc is a top-notch financial advisor and runs an excellent consulting firm and radio show. Please visit YourMoneyMattersRadio and find out where you can hear the show.
Now back to my story.
After 100 days past due, things started heating up. As they say in the debt settlement business, “The debts are getting ripe.”

Ripe Red Apples - Ready for Picking - Filoli G...
Image by Jill Clardy via Flickr

Essentially, the debt moved to another department whose representatives (salesman!!!) were responsible for cutting settlement deals in the 50%-85% range.
On November 23, 2009 I was 132 days late on one of my accounts.
I called the bank for the 15th time and told them my story. However, since it was over 90 days passed due and the debt had been transferred to a new department, it was time to float the word “settlement”. I took a deep breath before I mentioned that word, thinking it would come at great resistance. I felt like a hospice nurse asking the family if it was okay to “pull the plug” on their dear loving family member. I expected the rep to be outraged by my egregious and forthright suggestion. Instead, the conversation didn’t skip a beat and the rep said we could work something out.
Wow! That was easy…..almost.

Their offer was for 85%.

HUH?

I said that would be impossible but I MIGHT be able to come up with $10K if I can make 3 payments over 3 months. The rep was hesistant and then put me on hold.
I was filled with excitement at the prospect of settling my first account. The fact that they were even considering a debt settlement was amazing!
But……
The rep came back on the line, and instead of addressing my offer, tried to get me to make a payment of $500.  He said if I make a payment of $500, it would prevent my account from going to “charge off” and give us more time to negotiate a deal.
Charge off is when the bank writes off your account as a bad debt and a business loss.  This is seemingly bad for me as a consumer because it hurts my credit rating. However, the ship had sailed on trying to protect my credit rating. I had already come to terms with that reality once I committed to debt settlement. Rebuilding my credit was another task to address once the debt settlement process was complete.  Sorry bank….you can’t lord that over me anymore!  As for making a payment to prevent charge off, that was another story and my CRN rep gave me some advice.

DON’T GIVE IN!!!

CLIFFHANGER!!!!!!
In the next post, I’ll discuss why that is good advice and how it worked out for me.
Stay tuned. Stay afloat. Wealth and freedom are in your future.
Jonathan

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