I'm not proud of it, but I've been there too. I can remember it like it was yesterday...

My mind was racing. I couldn’t focus to save my life. I couldn’t eat. I was too nauseous. I woke up with a knot in my stomach each morning. I’d stand in the hot shower wanting to crawl under a rock and die.

I couldn’t face my wife. I’d been hiding what I was going through just hoping things would work themselves out. She could tell I was stressed, but I couldn’t tell her everything, so I hid.

The creditors kept calling. They called my home phone, my cell phone, my brother's home, my mother's home, even my office. Its like they were taking my inability to pay personally. Its like they thought they would teach me a lesson or something. I hated them. I wanted to call them at their homes and make them feel like I felt. Instead, I just unplugged the phone.

Mind still racing…My wife had some family over and they kept saying how they loved our house. I hid some more. I kept thinking how embarrassing it would be if they found out how I couldn't afford any of it or how it'd look when they came to take our two cars away. I kept thinking about my wife and how I had failed her. I felt so helpless. I needed to find a way out. What was I gonna do?????

Who Am I And Why Should You Listen To Me?

My name is Brian Diez. You may have read about me in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Dow Jones Market Watch, Yahoo Finance, or Credit.com. I'm the CEO of Score More Credit and a nationally recognized credit expert. To put it bluntly, I'm the guy who will tell you the honest truth, so that you can make an educated decision about what's best for you and your family's future.

What I went through was real. I can't make that stuff up. You'd know it if I did. I truly understand how you're feeling right now. Hopefully its not as bad as my experience, but anytime you're in over your head financially, its a bad situation I wouldn't wish on anyone.

It's so hard to figure out what to do when your mind is racing and you're in panic mode. It's when you're at your most vulnerable that the sharks come out to feed. They smell the panic on you like a shark smells blood in the water from miles away. All you want is for the suffering to stop. You want the panic to go away...NOW. That kind of intense emotion can cloud your judgment. It can lead to bad decisions. Bad decisions can make your bad situation worse.

You Don't Have to Be Afraid

It's going to be ok. You'll get through this. Like my grandma used to say, "This too shall pass." Take a few deep breathes. You're not alone. I'm here to help.

Here's my promise to you. I won't lie to you or try and mislead you. I'll give you just the facts so you can make an intelligent and educated decision about what's right for you. Let me also add that I'll give you my opinion, too. I'll tell you what I would do or have done. You and others may agree or disagree, but it's the honest truth either way.

Let's get started.

Here's What You Need To Know

Debt settlement services, or debt negotiators, work on your behalf to settle your outstanding debts, often at a discount. They charge a set fee or percentage of the dollar amount they 'save' you. Debt settlement is considered a viable alternative to bankruptcy, both for you and the lender. More on that later.

There Are Many Benefits To Using A Debt Settlement Service.

Basically, debt settlement services use the threat of bankruptcy to get you a settlement. Lenders want to get paid now, not over 5 years.

First, they will contact the lender and notify them you're a new client. The lender is then instructed to stop calling you, which can be a big weight off your shoulders.

It can be argued that lenders may actually prefer to deal with a debt settlement service. Why? Because people are emotional. Neither you or your lenders want to be yelled at or judged. At least when they speak with a professional service its a standardized process. The service has an idea of when they'll be able to make an offer. The lender gets an answer without a confrontation. Emotions never come into play.

Of course, debt settlement services are also calling with a list of clients with whom they hope to negotiate settlements. If you're a lender, you want to take this call. What lenders hate most is not having communication with their clients. (You could conceivably drag a past due amount on for several months without going to collections just by calling your lender and telling them your situation. People rarely do that. Like me, they usually hide from embarrassment.) When a debt settlement service calls, they're getting answers and timelines on multiple clients. They can see the end in sight and its not bankruptcy.

If you're the debt settlement service, you're also in a great position to negotiate. You hold all the cards. That's why they're usually better at getting amazingly low settlement offers. Think of it as a volume discount.

Here's How It Works

1. You complete an application. the debt settlement service will review your financial situation with you to determine if you're a good candidate. You must be able to make monthly payments large enough to pay off your debt, or a fraction thereof, within at least 4 years. If you're unemployed, debt settlement cannot help you.

2. Once you've agreed on a payment plan, you'll begin making payments to the debt settlement service. The service either keeps the first few payments or a percentage of each payment, depending on their business model. I don't think any one method is better than the other provided the results are the same.

3. The debt settlement service will contact your lenders and notify them that you are in a payment plan and will make a settlement offer shortly. They are instructed not to contact you by phone, though, the truth is they will usually start calling again after a couple weeks.

4. The debt settlement will accumulate your payments in an escrow account and make a settlement offer when they have enough money. They should pay off one lender at a time, paying them as the offers are accepted.

5. After the last lender is paid, you're free.

Here's What They Don't Tell You.

So far, so good, right? Well, that's only half the story. That's usually the half most debt settlement services will tell you. Here's the rest of the story.

	Debt settlement will NOT improve your credit.  In truth, it will trash your credit score. The debt settlement service will not make monthly payments. Lenders want lump sum payments or they won't settle. Every month you don't make a payment to your lender, they're reporting you late to the credit bureaus. Those late remarks can stay on your credit report for 7 years.
	Debt settlement will not keep your lenders from suing you and placing a judgment against you. Here's the bottom line. If their attorneys think they'll get paid faster by suing you and garnishing wages or taking your car, that's exactly what they'll do. I can say from experience, if you contact them early, the odds of them suing are greatly reduced.
	There are tax consequences to debt settlement. This is a biggie. Let's say you have $50,000.00 in credit card debt and the debt settlement service gets you a settlement of $20,000.00. You will have a taxable event of $30,000.00 you must report on your taxes. Consult your accountant about how your taxes will be affected before hiring a debt settlement service.

Is Debt Settlement Better Than Bankruptcy?

This is where some opinion comes into play, but I'll back it up with facts.

When you file for bankruptcy, you'll have to pay an attorney ($300-$4500) to file for you. They'll freeze your debts and add 10% for the trustee.

If you make enough money, you'll qualify for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. You'll have a payment plan to pay off your debt over a maximum of 5 years. You'll have to pay the full amount of the debt off and the bankruptcy will stay on your credit for 7 years.

If you don't make enough money, then you'll have to file a chapter 7. In a chapter 7, they not only freeze your debts, but your assets too. They'll sell everything they can to pay your creditors. That includes your house, car, or whatever. Once everything is sold, your slate is clean, except for your credit report that will show your chapter 7 for 10 years. That's 3 years longer than the damage from debt settlement will stay on your credit report.

There are also a number of debts that cannot be included in a chapter 7 bankruptcy. They are:

• Taxes or fines and penalties owed to governmental unit

• Money, property, or services or credit obtained fraudulently

• "Luxury goods or services" with a sum value of more than $500 incurred within 40 days before the filing of your bankruptcy petition

• Credit card "cash advances" totaling more than $1000 taken within 20 days before the filing of the bankruptcy petition

• Alimony and child support

• Student loans

• Debts resulting from driving while intoxicated (drugs or alcohol)

• Damages for willful and malicious injury to another entity or their property

• Any debts not disclosed in the bankruptcy petition

If you don't have income, then a Chapter 7 is really your only solution. If you do have income, then you have to choose between debt settlement and a chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Personally, I'd Choose Debt Settlement.

Get your free, no obligation, debt consultation.

Not All Debt Settlement Services Are The Same

You may have heard some horror stories about debt settlement scams, especially on the internet. More often that not, the scammers use false advertisements and out right lie to get you to sign up for their program. For instance, they'll tell you that they will fix your credit. Later you're shocked to see your credit destroyed. Or they'll promise to negotiate a lower payment for you. Later you find out they never made any payments.

Just by reading this report you're already better educated than 99% of other consumers. The probability of your being scammed is now minimal. If anyone makes any outrageous promises, you'll recognize them and know not to do business with them.

On a more basic level, though, some debt settlement services are better than others. I have a service I use for my credit repair clients, when they don't qualify for credit repair because they can't make their monthly debt obligations.

Here's What Makes This Debt Settlement Service Special

We both know that a debt settlement service is going to take your payments, place them in escrow, then make offers to settle when they've accumulated enough money. We also know that they get better deals than you or I because they are negotiating with volume, so it stands to reason that...

Major Benefit #1: The More Volume A Debt Settlement Service Handles, The BIGGER Their Discount.

Here are the actual numbers from my debt settlement service's first quarter negotiations:

My service is literally settling millions of dollars of debt every month. They won't promise you that they'll wipe out 70% of your debt. If you want to be lied to, you're in the wrong place. Some people get better results than others. These are the averages. Just the facts, like I promised.

Get your free, no obligation, debt consultation.

Major Benefit #2: My Debt Settlement Service Keeps An Attorney On Retainer

Attorneys by themselves are generally bad business owners. They spent all their time learning the law and zero time learning about customer service, business operations, marketing, etc. As a result, they tend to charge a lot, provide horrible service, and get a lot of complaints, until they run their business into the ground. I wouldn't recommend going to an attorney run debt settlement service. Still, they're useful when it comes to settling debts.

My service keeps an attorney on retainer for compliance reasons as well as for some negotiations. Having an attorney on retainer provides an air of credibility in negotiations with certain creditors. Several creditors have established in-house policy and procedure that dictates zero settlements with settlement companies. However, in those unique cases, my service is able to employ the services of their attorney. Doing so saves their clients a significant amount of money with these few creditors.

My service also uses their attorney to write hardship letters on your behalf, at no extra cost. This acts as leverage when threatening bankruptcy to motivate a lender to accept a settlement.

And last, but not least....

Get your free, no obligation, debt consultation.

Major Benefit #3: My Debt Settlement Goes Further To Stop Your Creditors From Harassing You.

They've created a special device for their clients. It's called DAAN.

DAAN is super easy to install. It simply connects to your existing telephone line. When creditors call, DAAN refers the creditor/collector to their national call center where the caller is given notice the debtor is attempting to resolve the debt. 

Get your free, no obligation, debt consultation.

Is Debt Settlement Right For You?

Debt settlement isn't right for everyone.

	Can you make monthly payments?
	Do you have at least 8k in unsecured debt, with no individual line less than $500.00?
	Do you want to stop your creditors from calling?
	Do you want to take action and put this entire situation behind you?

If you answered YES to all of the above, then you may be a candidate.

I'd like to help you. I can't make any promises, but I sincerely believe my service is the safest and most effective debt settlement service available.

If you'd like a free debt consultation, simply fill in your information below. There is NO obligation to proceed and there will be NO high pressure sales pitch.

Even if you're not sure, I'd recommend you take the free consultation. Its better to get all the facts first, weigh your options, then make your move. Just don't wait too long or it may be too late.

All the best,

Brian Diez

Credit Expert and CEO Score More Credit

PS: If you can't keep up with your bills, then you're better off acting sooner rather than later. Get your free, no obligation, debt consultation and find out what debt settlement can do for you.