With mayors, senators and attorneys general on the trail of unregulated debt settlement companies that have apparently grown vitally by creating debt settlement subsidiaries, the end seems near. As early as next week or no later than June 15, 2010, settling your clients’ debts may be a thing of the past. Talk about having the rug pulled out from under you if you’re still relying on the remaining 20 “green states” for debt settlement. His claim, explained in the Reader’s Digest version; Debt settlement sales agents promoting debt settlement services have been recorded saying, “stop paying off your credit cards, I can settle your debt for 25 cents on the dollar.”
Now think about it, stockbrokers, financiers, real estate agents, etc. they all have to be licensed and regulated as a means of protecting the public, so why aren’t these phones terrorists? There are unscrupulous telemarketers who are taught to read scripts who have no idea of the impact paying off debt can have on your credit score, tax consequences, etc.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.) is planning to introduce a bill this week that would ban upfront fees from the debt settlement industry and limit the total amount charged. It would also allow consumers to cancel the program and receive a refund.
You’d probably want your debt settlement sales agents not to claim to be affiliated with government agencies or federal stimulus programs, as they too have been registered by federal agencies. Emails are even popping up with copies of sales scripts prompting sales agents to tell potential customers that they’ve been monitoring their credit score and that it’s been dropping rapidly in recent months when, in fact, this is anything but the truth. People’s lives are at stake, and when a confident sales professional is armed with the answers to questions he already knows customers are going to ask, it’s clear who has the upper hand.
At this point, if you are still prepared for the business of debt settlement vs. lawyer-based debt resolution program, your friends and business associates may not see it well as daily news is published in major newspapers like Reuters, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, CNBC , ABC, NBC, FOX just to name a few, exploiting each and every word that is said about the debt settlement industry.
Let’s be specific. “It’s attractive beyond words,” Sen said. John D. Rockefeller IV (DW.Va.), who heads the committee, told the hearing. “These debt settlement companies are kicking people when they’re down.” It’s no wonder America’s reputation is known for cannibalizing each other and is likely to find prey in the next emerging industry.
Friday, April 23, 2010, “A government investigation into the burgeoning debt settlement industry found that many companies misled consumers by claiming to be affiliated with federal stimulus programs and overstating their ability to reduce consumer loans,” reported the Washington Post.
Fast forward so you don’t have to deal with this issue. Many call centers, mortgage bureaus, credit repair companies, loan modification companies, and the like have already moved from the once-thriving
green state model to the most widely accepted and consumer-friendly attorney-based debt resolution model. Advantages include the ability to service 48 states while receiving compensation from a debt resolution attorney in each state.
Once your client finds value in your fully explained attorney based debt resolution program, they immediately receive a call from a paralegal welcoming them to the program. Your client is now a client of a law firm that has a fiduciary responsibility to its clients based on their law license. Finally, the paralegal gives her client her contact information and tells her to call him directly in the future. wow. This is the icing on the cake for not being locked out of the debt settlement industry altogether.
