Debt Problems

anybody ever had any experience or used Rise Above Debt Relief?

Public Comments

1. They have a good record with the Arizona Better Business Bureau - http://data.phoenix.bbb.org/commonreport.html?bid=97020005&language=1&bureau=&bbbid= But that doesn't mean anything in and of itself. You are usually better off hiring an attorney to negotiate your debts as most credit card companies won't negotiate with debt consolidation / debt relief companies. Also, the debt consolidation companies usually require you to pay huge upfront fees before they'll do anything for you and require you to allow them to direct debt money from your bank account each month.
2. I used Rise Above Debt Relief and couldn't be more satisfied!! And believe me, I did plenty of research. I compared them to Freedom Debt Relief, Credit Solutions, Debt Settlement USA, and others. As of today, Debt Settlement USA has 73 complaints, Freedom Debt Relief has 105 complaints and Credit Solutions of America has 1096 complaints and was reprimanded by the BBB. Here is why I used Rise Above. They were the only ones that offered me $25,000 cash if they didn't save me 30-60%. They were the only ones that had a nationwide law firm to settle my debts, and the only ones who would spread their fee over 2 years to help me negotiate my debts quicker. Really, it was an easy choice, but do your own research before you commit to anything!! (Checked with BBB, says they've been in business 5 years)
3. I know for a fact that they started this business just this year. A debt negotiation program takes an average of 2 to 3 years to complete. How many clients do you think would have successfully graduated in a couple of months. Do your research well.
4. They're a bucket shop. You should get a refinance loan instead. Check out loans-now.org and see if you can consolidate your debts. This company will take your money and leave you high and dry.
5. I run a competitive firm and they seem like reasonable guys if you are looking for debt settlement. pros of debt settlement is that you get a low monthly payment, and reduce your debts over 3-4 years (typically). however, you could get collection harassment and it serioulsy hurts your credit rating.
6. I have been working in the debt settlement industry for a little over 1yr now and found it to be very rewarding, However I can tell you that you always want to be careful with who it is that you are dealing with in these types of situations because of the nature of the business. I personally worked as a bill collector for some of the major creditors and banks out there some of which you may actually be dealing with right now, I was very successful in that line of work for about 10yrs and I have had first hand experience in doing the actual settlements on the creditors side and I know exactly what kind of people and mentality that you will be dealing with, if you decide to go behind with the credit card debt, It is necessary to negotiate with the creditors. The problem with debt settlement and some of the companies out there 1 of which I use to actually work for is that allot of the people that you will speak with come from the sales industry and their back ground is usually mortgage not credit or collections so in speaking with them they usually have very little in legitimate information to provide to you, and really have had little to no formal education in advising you in your current position. There are risks involved but if it is done correctly can be a great tool to eliminate debt and create great financial stability with very little recovery time and in some cases can sometimes can improve the credit during the program, it’s great alternative to Bankruptcy or credit counseling, but again make sure that the company is going to put their money where their mouth is. Questions to ask. Do they have a guarantee? Personally I have dealt with allot of these companies and know that allot of them will refund a portion of their fees if they were unsuccessful but that does you little to no good if they are unsuccessful in negotiating your debt because that was your money to begin with and isn’t really going to be much help in paying the debt off if your sued. Did they go through a budget with you to ensure that you could afford that monthly payment? Allot of companies like Freedom debt relief or credit solutions will sell you on the idea of a lower payment than what you have now, but with allot of the people that I speak to on a daily basis they are robbing peter to pay Paul each month so if you take away peter (or credit cards) can you still make all of your payments and have money left over at the end of the month, if not then you will struggle with the lower monthly payment and will ultimately end up dropping from the program latter on and will have paid allot of money in fees that you can not get back. What if any protection do they offer in a legal situation? More than 30% of the accounts will usually go into what’s called legal collections where the creditor or bank has assigned your account to a collections company that has attorney to file suite against you if they cannot reach a settlement or receive payment. This is usually a scare tactic used by the creditor because no one ever wants to be sued but should be taken very seriously and if you do not have an attorney negotiating with their attorneys then you are not properly represented and may not get the best deal. In the end the choice is yours and you must do what is most important for you’re over all financial interests, but do your research companies like Bills.com or other so called advice related sites are usually fronts for their companies and are used for lead generations don’t be fooled but fancy looking accreditations like USOBA or Tasc those organizations are usually setup by owners of the companies offering these services and do little to nothing for you the consumer as far as protection.
7. You should use credit counseling instead - or better yet, just pay your bills.