is there anyone out there who upon having lots of unsecured debts and difficulty meeting the payments have turned to one of these debt management companies. i won't mention any names but a large one does advertise on t.v. and plenty more seem to be cropping up in national papers etc.. claiming they can negogiate to reduce up to 80 per cent of unsecured debts. sadly it looks like i may have to use their services in the near future and am very interested in hearing in confidence from anyone who has used them.ie: how did they get on , were the repayments drastically reduced? what were the charges like,etc?? also, if you had any equity in your property, could they ever touch it?? many thanks in anticipation for anyone who is able to help me out with these queries

-- debbie regan (regan@sweeney.karoo.co.uk), September 17, 2000

Answers

Before you make any decision on debt consolidation it may be worth reading the DTI's comments on extortionate interest rates that can be charged in this "second credit" market. This is the link:

http://www.dti.gov.uk/CACP/ca/extcred.htm

It is obviously a lucrative market judging by the amount of TV advertising now taking place.

-- Tony Hayter (Tony@Hayter.com), October 02, 2000.

Dear Debbie,

Yes,there is a reliable company that can take care and negotiate with unsecured loans for 40-60%, and making you debt free in 2-3 years.I am with the program and have settled already some of my credit card accounts.They charge initial fee of $300 and and two retainer fees, which are non-refundable.This is base on the total amount of your debt divided by the number of years you want to be debt free.Since this debt elimination program is usually a guarantee of 2-3 years debt free , I am with the 2-year debt elimination program.This will also automatically enroll you to their affilliated Credit Repair agency.If your Credit rating is A+, after completing the program your credit rating may just be A- or B+.You can E-mail me so I can give you more informations.I checked this company myself prior to joining and signing up with them and this is really a reliable company.Again,I have settled some of my accounts already and I have seen some of my friends and relatives' accounts settled too.But of course since there are so many out there with this type of business...Be careful.

liza

-- liza recto (JLCJL@Juno.com), November 11, 2000.