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Best Debt Negotiation Companies

Choosing the best debt negotiation Companies

The best debt negotiation companies offer service via local offices or telephone, however; the most effective way that these companies operate is usually by the Internet. Many negotiation and credit counseling services are nonprofit, but take CAUTION: Just because the organization is non-profit does not mean that its services are free or even affordable!

The best debt negotiation company should have standards. These standard include:

1. Demonstrate reputable services- the company is able to advise you on managing your money and debts, the company can help you to implement a budget based on your PERSONAL financial needs and obligations, these companies should also offer free workshops and information. (NOTE: This is a red flag in the reputability of the company! They should be interested in helping you to negotiate your debts and counsel… NOT just make a dollar!)

2. They should give you free information about itself and its services.

There is nothing wrong with asking for information on services, and the company should be willing and able to assist you with information on these services. If the company does not want to release information, this is often a red flag! As well, this information should be free! Hey, you are in debt! Why in the world would you PAY for free information?!

AUTHORS NOTE: Avoid companies that push a DMP, or a Debt Management Plan, before they spend a significant amount of time evaluating your financial situation.

Do your homework!

Finding out information from the debt negotiation company or credit counseling organization is essential in choosing the best debt negotiation company. Find out if the company offers other services. A company that offers a range of services is best. Especially those that offer budget counseling and classes.

Also, let me emphasize the importance of those debt negotiation sources, that offer free information and educational material. This is a good way to tell what kind of company you are working with.

Another sign of a quality company is if the company offers you ways to avoid becoming in debt in the future. You do not want the company to just solve your immediate problem, but you want to stay clear of any possibilities that you may acquire this situation again in the future.

In your search for the best debt negotiation company, make sure that you ask questions. As many questions as you’d like! Ask the company up front, what their fees are. You need to know, and if you can get those fees in writing even better!

Is the company licensed to work in your state?

This is an important question to ask. You want to make sure that the company you are dealing with is even licensed to work in your state. Because there are at times issues with scams within the debt counseling services industry, some states do not allow certain companies to operate in their state. Make sure you ask this very important question. A good company, once they receive your application, will tell you up front.

Other tips and advice for finding the best debt negotiation company.

1. Formal agreements- DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING without reading it first! Make sure that you look over all of the details of your contract.

2. Qualifications of the Counselor- Find out what the qualifications of that counselor are. Were they trained under an accredited or certified organization?

3. How employees are paid- Looking at the way the employees are paid is HUGE! Are they paid on commissions? Note: Just because a counselor is paid on commission does not necessarily mean that it is not a reputable organization. This is just a flag that you want to be aware of when signing up for services.

HOW DO I SIGN UP FOR DEBT NEGOTIATION SERVICES?

REMEMBER do your homework! Using articles, or a lens, blog, and other sources of information (Sources such as this one) will help you to find debt negotiation and credit counseling services.

The best thing to do is go online and APPLY!

Applying at various sites for debt negotiation services is the FREE and quite simple. This is the FIRST STEP in finding out about the various companies!

Apply at multiple sites, then do a compare and contrast of the services and offers.

Make sure that when the counselors calls, that you use the information provided above to find out about the company!

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Thought of the Day – Family Conflict (Part I): How the Past Affects The Present

Passover was a dreaded holiday for me as a teenager growing up in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was a time when my uncle, who thought of himself as a “lay Rabbi,” rose at the head of the table and straightened himself out as if he was the Chief Rabbi in the grandest synagogue in Europe. He ceremoniously opened the Haggadah, the text recited at the Seder on the first two nights of the Jewish Passover.

As he began reciting in Hebrew the narrative of the Jewish exodus from Egypt, my aunt looked adoringly at him. At the other end of the table, my mother rolled her eyes, my father grumbled curses under his breath, and I pretended the conflict and anger I saw didn’t exist. In this week’s three-part series, I’ll share some of my thoughts on the nature of family conflicts occurring at holiday gatherings.

Family Conflict and Reduced Inhibition and Expectations

Family gatherings during holidays are supposed to be happy events where we shove personal issues to the side, forgive past wrongs, and the “good” of the family is most important. The expectation is what happened in the past is irrelevant now, and the joy of the moment; Passover, Easter, or other holidays will sooth over unskillful behaviors as warm milk does to an upset stomach. Neither anecdotes are always successful.

Our Present is Based on Our Past

We don’t live in a vacuum where our lives were immaculately conceived. You don’t need to believe in Freudian psychology to understand what a person does in the present carries with them their past.

I’m sure my uncle’s love of the family during the Passover Seder was genuine. For a brief time, he was able to reinterpret or ignore how his past behaviors hurt the family. Unfortunately, those on the receiving end couldn’t forget. Regardless of how genuine his love, my parents couldn’t go beyond his past.

Upcoming Holidays

We would like to think the joy of a holiday or it’s greater meaning will overshadow “petty” disagreements. In the 1960′s many sociologists wrote about the role of rising expectations in social turmoil. They believed inequities and injustices weren’t as important in creating conflicts as was the belief things could be changed.

It may be prudent as you approach the new holiday season to adjust your expectations of what’s possible during your family gathering. You may not have a “want to-be” Rabbi in your family, but don’t expect your cousin’s irksome behaviors that irritated you forever to vanish because you wish they will.

In the next part of this three-part series, I’ll talk about why family truths are always relative. In the final part, I’ll suggest some attitudinal adjustments that worked in my counseling and coaching of families dealing with crises.

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Presentations to Non-Profits for Car Wash Fundraisers

Giving a business presentation to a nonprofit group is very similar to what a sales team does when it pitches its services, ideas or innovations to a corporate Board of Directors. Having done many business presentations in my life it came natural to meet when I was asked to talk to a PTA or parent teacher association about an upcoming fundraiser in which my company would be assisting the washing of cars.

It was amazing to me how the word got out around town and soon I was giving presentations to nonprofit groups all throughout the community and surrounding communities. There of course were all sorts of objections and questions from parents. Such as; how many chaperones will be needed, what do you get out of it, how much money will we make, why should we do a carwash fund raiser?

The funny thing is that we would make no money doing these fundraisers and yet I was defending the carwash fundraiser business plan for their nonprofit group. I learned a valuable lesson that day in that is sometimes not what you are selling or in this case giving away; people have to see your motivation or they do not trust you.

It is the same when giving a business presentation. If you offer to your products or services too low of cost and they don’t see what is in it for you they are not interested because they think you are tricking them. It was amazing to me that people could not see what was it for me.

Exposure for my business and a chance to give back to the community which has treated my business so well for so many years. What’s wrong with that? Do you know what happened after the fundraiser? They gave $200 to each other crew-members who volunteered that day to work with the kids. Because they still could not understand why we were helping the community. Go figure. Consider all this in 2006.

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