How Debt Settlement Works
Part 1 of the 4-Part
Debt Settlement Series
Debt Settlement Risks
Please read through this material to become familiar with the various considerations you should make when thinking about settling your debts.
Much of what you’re about to learn has little to do with our services. However, it’s still important to understand this information — especially if you don’t currently have a way to settle your debts right away and are considering a longer-term approach.
When you have the financial resources to settle all of your debts relatively quickly, most of the major risks associated with debt settlement are significantly reduced.
Jared is very passionate about sharing this information because he personally witnessed — while working in the collection industry — the financial devastation that many people suffered after enrolling in long-term debt settlement programs. The problems we warn you about have little to do with who you hire to help. Instead, they stem from the common long-term method that most debt settlement companies use, which makes the process far more dangerous and unreliable.
There Are Two Ways to Do Debt Settlement
Most debt settlement companies use the long-term approach. This method is typically advertised as a 24–48 month program. During the program, you have to save up money to settle your accounts one by one. This drawn-out approach keeps you in an adversarial position with your remaining creditors throughout the entire process. Meaning that this method of debt settlement leaves you extremely vulnerable to lawsuits until you resolve your final account.
The second approach is to settle your debts more quickly using the financial resources you already have available. This is the approach we use. Most of our clients finalize their negotiations in about 6 months. Some finish sooner. Some take longer. Resolving accounts within this shorter window helps prevent them from escalating further, which can make settlement more expensive and difficult later on. It encourages a more cooperative relationship with your creditors so you can move forward with less stress and greater peace of mind.
Compare the Two Ways to Settle Debt
Compare Methods
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Long-Term Method
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The Strauss Method
How Debt Settlement Actually Works
Many people confuse debt settlement with credit counseling. In credit counseling, your monthly payments go directly to your creditors through a structured repayment plan. Because the accounts stay current under a mutually agreed arrangement, credit counseling is a non-adversarial approach since the accounts are paid each month.
Long-term debt settlement works quite differently.
Generally speaking, with the long-term method, money is automatically drafted from your checking account and held in a dedicated savings account instead of being sent to your creditors. Once enough money has built up — commonly every 6 to 12 months — one account is settled. This process then repeats over many years until all accounts are resolved. This one-at-a-time approach is what makes it so dangerous, since your accounts are financially ignored until it's their turn to be settled.
The institutions you owe money to generally don’t want to wait years to be paid. Based on the typical collection cycle, lawsuits can begin as early as 4-6 months after you fall behind. This is why long-term debt settlement is a flawed model that doesn’t work well for most people. It puts you at risk without the necessary resources to resolve the problem. Debt settlement should only be pursued if you’re financially positioned to complete the process relatively quickly.
Long-Term Debt Settlement vs The Strauss Method
Long-Term Method
- ✗ Typically advertised as a 24–48 month program, which most creditors are unwilling to wait for.
- ✗ High risk of being sued by multiple creditors when you have several accounts.
- ✗ Getting sued by multiple accounts is common and comes with the risk of attorney’s fees, court costs, and post-judgment interest. This makes your settlements much more expensive than they could have been.
- ✗ Outcome is difficult to predict due to the long timeline and risk of expensive legal settlements.
- ✗ A 2020 study commissioned by the debt-settlement industry found that 22% of enrolled consumers settled all of their accounts within 48 months. The study also showed the same 22% within 60 months.
The Strauss Method
- ✓ Most of our simultaneous debt settlement clients complete their negotiations in about 6 months. Some finish sooner. Some take longer.
- ✓ Much lower lawsuit risk because you're not waiting years — you're settling in months.
- ✓ Low risk to possible attorney’s fees, court costs, and post-judgment interest since these fees are only associated with lawsuit-related accounts.
- ✓ Much more predictable outcome since you'll be settling your accounts quickly and close together, not years apart.
- ✓ The reason debt settlement completion rates are so low is because the industry enrolls people who lack the financial resources to get the job done. The secret sauce is simple: you need the money to settle them.
Why Our Approach Works So Well
When you’re behind on your debts, the best thing you can do is resolve them as quickly as possible — not ignore them for years.
That’s exactly what we help our clients do. Our entire approach is built around helping you resolve your debts as fast as possible.
Since 2002, Jared's typical client has finalized the negotiations on enrolled accounts in about 6 months. Some finish sooner. Some take longer.
This level of success comes from a combination of limiting his service to people who can settle quickly and Jared’s deep insider knowledge of how creditors and collection agencies actually operate. He was named Collector of the Year for a major debt buyer and held several senior leadership positions, including Corporate Trainer, Collection Manager, and Director of Collection Operations.
Jared saw firsthand, from the debt collector’s perspective, how long-term debt settlement programs generally hurt rather than help people get out of debt. He also saw that debt settlement can be very effective when done quickly.
What If You Can’t Settle Quickly?
If you’re not currently in a position to settle all of your delinquent accounts relatively quickly, debt settlement probably isn’t the best option for you right now.
In Part 2 of this series, we explain how accounts typically progress over time and introduce an alternative we offer — a structured Payment Plan service for charged-off accounts.
Key Takeaways
- • Long-term plans have a low completion rate. A 2020 study commissioned by the debt-settlement industry found that 22% of enrolled consumers settled all of their accounts within 48 months.
- • Most of our clients complete our simultaneous settlement service in about 6 months. Some finish sooner. Some take longer.
- • The longer it takes to settle, the higher your risk of being sued. This risk is amplified by the number of accounts you're behind on.
- • Settlements on lawsuit accounts can be much more expensive than they could have been before attorney placement.
- • If you can't afford to settle a lawsuit, the end result will likely be a judgment with possible court costs, attorney's fees, and post-judgment interest being added to the balance.
- • We only recommend debt settlement when you have the ability to settle all of your delinquent accounts relatively quickly.