5 Legal debt relief programs to save money and credit

Budgeting and bill payment

A proper budget gives you debt relief assistance in the following ways:

Debt management

The right debt management program can help you get debt assistance in these ways:

Debt consolidation programs

These debt relief services help you attain financial freedom in the following ways:

Debt settlement

A perfect debt settlement program helps you get out of financial problems in the following ways:

Bankruptcy

This legal program helps you cancel your debts through Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

How to choose the best debt relief programs for yourself

Lots of debt relief companies and programs are there. But which one is the best? Here are the 6 ways to find out.

• 1 Know what is debt relief first
• 2 Check out the reviews of debt relief services first
• 3 Search in Google with the phrase how to get debt relief
• 4 Analyze the results and get familiar with all the programs
• 5 Make a comparative analysis of all the credit card relief programs
• 6 Think, evaluate and join a program

Frequently asked questions

Q How do these programs affect your credit?

Ans: It depends on the program you’re choosing. If you opt for debt settlement, your credit score may drop slightly since you’re paying less than the original amount. But you can always rebuild your credit in the following ways. Debt consolidation or management helps to improve your credit score gradually. Honestly speaking, it’s all about the utilization ratio.

If a debt solution (be it settlement or consolidation) helps to lower your overall utilization ratio (balance-to-limit ratio), then your credit score will increase. Suppose, your overall utilization ratio drops from 90% to 20% after settling or consolidating credit cards. In this scenario, your credit score will improve.

Just make sure you don’t close your credit card accounts since that would again affect your utilization ratio badly. If you have a high utilization ratio on one card, you can counterbalance by having a low overall utilization rate.

Q What is a hardship program or assistance?

Ans: Hardship programs are a bank’s loss mitigation effort for collecting debts. Usually, banks offer these programs when existing account holders fall behind their payments due to financial hardship like job loss or prolonged illness. These programs create a repayment plan as per the affordability of account holders. So it becomes easier for them to make payments.

• Q: What happens in hardship programs?

  Ans: In a hardship program, creditors lower the interest rate, reduce fees, and pull down the minimum payment amount so that consumers can pay off the credit card balance. The idea is to help consumers and also reduce their loss margin.

• Q: How long does a hardship program last?

  Ans: Usually, it lasts for 6 months to 1 year. In some cases, it can last permanently till the balance is paid off.

Q How much do these programs cost?

Ans: You don’t have to pay any upfront fee to OVLG for settling or consolidating your debts. All you need to pay is a success fee of 15% on the total enrolled debt. You have to pay the fee after a debt has been paid off. You have to pay a monthly consultancy fee of $50 for 30 minutes consultation with our savings consultant, tax attorney, and budgeting consultant. This fee is adjusted with the success fee after your debt is paid off. If you opt for budgeting and bill payment services, you have to pay $50 for the first 10 monthly recurring bills. Thereafter, you have to pay $5 for every extra bill.

Please note: The fee structure varies from companies to companies. OVLG charges a very nominal fee for managing your debts. But most law firms charge a higher fee for settling or consolidating your debts. Some fraudulent companies don’t even follow the FTC rules and guidelines. They charge an advance fee without doing anything. Know more about OVLG fee structure

Q What should you avoid when you’re overwhelmed by debt?

• Don’t ignore your secured debts for paying off unsecured ones
• Don’t borrow against your retirement saving accounts
• Don’t use cash-out refinancing for clearing unsecured debts
• Don’t make hasty decisions just because collectors are harassing you
• Don’t pay a single penny without getting a written agreement

Q Will I have to pay tax after the program?

Ans: You have to pay tax if the creditor forgives more than $600. Suppose, you accrued a credit card debt of $20,000. Obviously, you didn’t pay any tax on that amount since that was not your income. You used the money for fulfilling your needs but didn’t pay back your creditor. Thereafter, you enrolled in a debt relief program, negotiated with your creditors, and convinced them to reduce your payoff amount. If the creditor agrees to reduce your payoff amount to $11,000, you have to pay tax on it since the IRS will consider $9000 as your income.

Q My husband and I have $30,000 in credit card debt. My monthly income is $900. Can you tell me how to deal with it? Should I consider bankruptcy or am I overthinking?

Ans: Well, you don’t need to file bankruptcy for paying off your credit card debts. There are other ways to get rid of debts. You can enroll in a debt settlement program to lower your outstanding balance. OVLG can help to reduce your debt at an affordable fee.

If you don’t want to settle your credit card, then you can use a consolidation program to pay back your creditors. A consolidation program helps you pay off debt at a lower interest through an affordable payment plan.