How Will Debt Settlement Affect My Credit Score?
As the realization of the credit crunch exponentially impacts more and more people, individuals are bombarded with offers to reduce debt or recommendations to file bankruptcy. Although, these offers sound great, and being in the debt settlement industry my experience has shown me they do work for most if not all people that follow through with the program. The most frequent question that is asked is how are credit scores affected while enrolled in a debt management program. Let me first start off by stating that any and every debt relief or management program will negatively affect your score. In fact, anything short of paying off debt in a timely manner will negatively affect ones credit score. Also, this information is as accurate as possible in a general nature. Every consumer has unique circumstances that could vary results. Now, that disclaimer is out of the way, lets get to the facts.My first point: if the debt that you are considering is already with collection agencies, collection attorneys, or a debt buyer and is being reported as charged off; then debt settlement is going to be a respectable and intelligent decision. Once that debt was reported as being a charge off it cannot hurt your credit more than it already has. Additionally, paying the debt in full to the initial creditor will be literally throwing your hard-earned money away. So, if you were to pay back a fraction of that debt and have it reported as being paid in full, you would feel better, right …



