13. I had a family member that tried this program and they are worse off than when they entered.
That is unfortunate to hear. Some debt settlement companies will use a monthly payment schedule whereby they receive their entire fee in the first 6 -12 months of a client entering their program. This method does not set aside any money for settling debt. Because of this, a client never has any of their debts settled and it feels like they are throwing their money away. At the same time the creditors are continually calling to try and collect.
Usually after three to eight months a client will drop out of the program and be in a worse situation than before. In fact the debt settlement company is counting on this happening, because they have profited and not had to do any work for their client. Companies like this give the industry a bad name but there are ways to protect yourself.
Carefully review the payment schedule that is provided to you by the debt settlement company. Make sure that a sizable portion of your monthly payment is going towards settling your debt. The Consumer Debt Law program we represent provides for settlement deposits from the start. Clients are also provided online access to their account for review at any time.