We have determined that the decision of a consumer to hire a professional to resolve past due accounts depends mainly on the scope of the problem, and amount of debt entailed.
If the delinquent account balances exceed $10,000 it is not recommended that a consumer attempt to resolve their own accounts. The reason is that reputable debt settlement companies charge fees based on the amount of the reduction and it simply more economical to let a professional handle the negotiation. They will achieve greater reductions which will more than pay for the fees, not to mention save the consumer time. In addition, large account balances ($2,500 +) seem to be heavily pursued by collectors, even to the point of lawsuit, judgment, garnishment or bank levy.
If a consumer has less than $10,000 in total unsecured debt to negotiate the consumer may consider handling this on his/her own. The reason behind this conclusion is that a professional debt negotiator works on a commission basis – a percentage of the amount they save the consumer. With balances less than $10,000 most negotiators will be hesitant to accept the assignment because the amount of work required is the same as balances of $50,000, but the expected fee is much less. In addition if the accounts in question have small balances (less then $2000) collectors are less inclined to pursue their attempts to collect the debt, making it more likely that a consumer could, on their own, negotiate beneficial resolutions. We recommend consumers seeking to handle their own debt negotiation to at least arm themselves with a general understanding of the collection industry, their rights as a debtor, and forms and templates that will assist and protect their interests.
