If you're thinking about using a debt consolidation or debt
settlement service to help you get out of debt faster and save money on
your monthly payments, make sure you do your homework before choosing a
company. There are definitely shams and scams out there.

First let me say that debt consolidation is "not" the same as debt settlement/negotiation, which most people don't realize.

Debt
settlement companies charge hundreds of dollars as an initial "admin
fee" to set up your account, plus a monthly service fee. The fees vary
depending on the company and the amount of your debts.

Such
companies take your money every month, but don't make monthly payments
to your creditors! Instead, they put it in a trust account, negotiate
your debts with your creditors, then make a lump-sum payment when
there's enough in your account to pay a creditor in full.

ADS debt Settlement has devised a membership driven web site to eliminate fees and still provide a quality informational site to guide the member to successfull negotiations.

This process
can take *years* depending on the amount of debt you have with each
creditor. (Or just don't make payments to your creditors.
You'll end up in the same spot without paying someone to help you get
there!)

Settlement companies don't ask your creditors to stop all
interest, late fees and overlimit fees from accruing. That means while
the negotiations are ongoing, your bills will continue to grow! This is why you need to be involved and not rely on someone else to settle your debts. This is what ADS debt settlement is all about.

And shoddy companies, which there are alot of,
don't tell you "any" of this up front. I call it "getting permission by
ommission" because they simply don't tell you how their program works
*before* you sign an agreement with them. Or after, for that matter.
But if you ask the right questions, eventually you'll figure it out.
(Or when the crap hits the fan. Whichever comes first.)

Let me give you an example of how debt settlement works.

Let's
say you have $20,000 in unsecured credit card debt. You owe $10,000 to
one credit card company, $6,000 to another and $4,000 to a third. You
agree to a 5 year plan where you pay $250 a month to the settlement
company. (After all, $250 a month for 60 months is only $15,000, so
you're saving $5,000 and you'll be debt-free in 5 years, right?)

The
admin fee will cost you $750. Your first 3 monthly payments go towards
that and nothing gets put into your trust account until your 4th month.

The
settlement company keeps $50 of your $250 payment each month for the
service fee. That means $200 a month is being added to your trust
account.

Most debt settlement companies claim to be able to
negotiate your debt for about 50% of what you owe. So let's use the
lowest credit card debt as an example.

If you owe $4,000 and your
creditor agrees to accept $2,000 as payment in full, it will take 10
months at $200 per month to have enough in your trust account to pay
off just that one credit card.

Ads debt settlement allows you to controll this process right from the start. You can see the pitfalls that take place if you are not in control.

But remember, your first 3
payments to the settlement company only paid the admin fee. That means
your first credit card settlement is 14 months *after* you started
sending them money.

So what's the problem? It's simple. Your
creditor won't agree to accept half of your actual debt unless, or
until, it can be paid in full. Otherwise, you're expected to make your
normal monthly payments.

Since you don't have $2,000 in your
trust account, and you won't have it until more than a year after you
stopped paying your creditor directly, they'll probably take you to
court and request that your wages be garnished long before you have
that $2,000 built up.

And what about your other creditors? Well,
they'll be waiting even longer to get their money from the settlement
company. The $6,000 debt will take 15 *more* months to pay off,
assuming your creditor waits that long and agrees to 50%. And that
$10,000 bill? You do the math.

On the other hand, if you signed
up for a 3 year plan with the settlement company, your debts would be
paid off sooner. But, the question is, will your creditors wait that
long? Probably not.

The facts are, you can negotiate with your
creditors yourself. Most will agree to take a smaller monthly payment
from you and stop all interest and fees from accruing. And, of course,
you'll save thousands of dollars in fees to a settlement company.

Before
signing up for any service, please be sure you check out the company
thoroughly. And don't let the words "non-profit" fool you either. Alot
of debt settlement companies claim to be non-profit.

Going back
to the example above, if you pay them $15,000 over a 5 year time frame
and they settle your debts at half of what you owed, they'll make
$5,000 from you. I'd call that a profit, especially since they might
not have actually helped you in any way.

Swith to ADS debt settlement since it is based on self help and take control of your finaces. Don't be fooled by their offer to make less payments this will ultimately case further financial hardship.

Most companies will
allow you to cancel your account and get a refund of what you've paid,
less the non-refundable admin fee and the monthly service fees. If you
feel you've been mislead about their program, don't hesitate to argue
til the cows come home. File a complaint with the Better Business
Bureau or hire an attorney if you feel you're getting nowhere.