Do it yourself debt relief is not easy. You need to be careful about how you do it because it could end up costing you more than what you can afford to pay. Debt negotiation is usually best left in the hands of a more capable professional but in some cases, this is not a luxury that we can afford. The service fee may not be big but for someone who is trying to pay off a lot of debts with limited resources, it can be significant.
This is usually why some people muster the courage to negotiate their own debts with their creditors. It may be hard, but it is not impossible.
Here is where we hope to help you out. There are a lot of rules when it comes to debt negotiation but 3 of them stand out among the rest.
Do your research
First of all, you want to do your research. What you lack in experience and expertise can be compensated with adequate research. Apart from the process of the debt relief program, you need to research the laws that will help you too. Things like the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) is a good place to start. You can read about it through the Federal Trade Commission or the FTC.gov. The idea is to identify the laws that details your rights as a consumer. You need this information because debt negotiation involves haggling. You want to make sure that you know when the creditor is bluffing or not. When you have the information that you need you can plan your strategy.
Be sincere, patient and consistent
The next important rule is to be sincere, patient and consistent. You want to be sincere because if the creditor finds out that you are only trying to get out of paying what you really owe, then they will not be cooperative. But if you are sincerely in a financial crisis, you just have to be patient while negotiating with the creditors. In most cases, you will be negotiating to lower your debt and that means less profit for the creditor. You should expect that they will not agree immediately. But if you are patient, it will all work in your favor. Just make sure that you are consistent in your story and never agree to a payment that you cannot afford.
Document everything
When you have reached an agreement, you may want to put everything that you have discussed or agreed on in writing. You want to make sure that you agree on the same thing and that the creditor will not go back on their word once you have lived up to you side of the bargain. Every important detail must be stated in the document and it should be signed by a person of authority in the creditor’s office – or at least an authorized collector.
The task of negotiating your debts is not an easy task to accomplish but with the right knowledge, you can make it happen. Just make sure that you learn your lesson this time and make better financial choices in the future.
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