Debt settlement offers you relief from debts such as collection accounts
and charge-offs from credit cards, non-active utility bills, non-active cell
phone bills, repossessions, medical bills or any other debts with the
exception of student loans or taxes.  Also if you have an inability to get
credit because of collection accounts (old debts that are under 7 years
old on your credit report), debt settlement is a program that will provide a
comprehensive plan to pay off all of your negative accounts and
creditors.  Paying off your debts is only addressing half of the problem
though. To effectively raise your credit score and improve your credit
health you must establish credit as well as pay off your debts. Our debt
counselors will teach you how to  reestablish credit and a design a  
budget plan that you can live with.  Based upon your budget, we then
schedule a comfortable payment plan that allows you to settle your debts
for usually less than half of what you owe. Our professional staff counsel,
inform, and educate you on credit and the credit industry giving you the
tools to establish and manage your credit in the future.
Debt Settlement
Benefits of debt settlement are:
  • One convenient monthly payment that you can
    afford...
  • Program lasts 36 months or less...
  • Stops harassing phone calls...
  • Establishes credit while you are paying off your
    debts...
  • Gain the peace of mind knowing you are paying off
    your debts...
Proud members and
supporters
Certified thru
National Association
of Certified Credit
Counselors
Proud members and
supporters
2006
Members
2006 Members
Latin Chamber of
Commerce of the
Treasure Coast
We actively apply and promote
the principles and scriptural
guidelines of Crown Financial
Ministries
We are impact partners with Way
FM and support their ministry
Toll free: 888-541-1112 Ext. 1 or
Toll free: 877-5PARADISE Ext. 1
(877-572-7234) Ext. 1
Local:      772-933-3233 Ext. 1
Call us now...
Our credit counselors are always professional and resourceful
and we have access to a wide range of financial services.  In most
christian professional  who can. Your confidentiality is our
primary concern and we do not share your information with any
sources.
"Your Total Debt Resolution Company"
Here are the hard questions that you have asked and here are
our honest, straightforward answers to keep you fully educated
and informed on the debt settlement process

Q: How does this program work?
Q: Will this strategy work for me?
Q: What happens to my credit?
Q: What are the tax consequences?
Q: What about lawsuits?
Q: Can my wages be garnished?
Q: What are the differences between Debt Settlement and Credit
Counseling?
Q: What kind of debt can be negotiated?
Q: What if a creditor won't negotiate?
Q: Are there debts that can't be entered into the program?
Q: Will this strategy work for me?
While the debt settlement approach is not suitable for everyone, its flexible nature makes it applicable to a wide range
you should consider:

1. Do you have a legitimate financial hardship condition?
Most debt problems are caused by loss of income, medical issues, or divorce/separation. These are legitimate financial
hardships that can happen to anyone through no fault of their own, and any one of these situations can wreak havoc
on a household budget. The important point here is that the debt settlement system is not a "free lunch" for people who
don't feel like paying their bills. If you are over your head due to a hardship circumstance, and you'd prefer to work
things out with your creditors rather than declare bankruptcy, then debt settlement can provide an honest and ethical
debt relief alternative.

2. Are you committed to debt settlement as an alternative to bankruptcy?
Debt settlement is best viewed as a bankruptcy alternative, one that allows you to keep control over the process and
maintain privacy while working through your financial difficulties. As with most things in life, success is determined by
your level of commitment to staying the course, even when the road gets a little bumpy. If you are likely to give up at
the first rough spot, then debt settlement is probably not the best choice for you.

3. Do you owe more than $10,000 in unsecured debt?
We are the first to admit that debt settlement is strong medicine, and it should be reserved for serious debt problems.
While everyone's budget is different, most people can work their way out of smaller debt obligations. If you only owe
$5,000, for example, unless you are really in dire straits you can probably deal with that obligation the old-fashioned
way - by paying off the debt in full, over time. In other words, smaller debt loads are more of a budgeting problem than
a serious financial hardship. At PCDS, we use the benchmark of $10,000 for evaluating whether or not a prospective
client qualifies for our program. (Note: Exceptions are sometimes made based on hardship circumstances, so the
$10,000 figure should be used as a rule of thumb or guideline. If you aren't sure whether you meet the requirement,
please call one of our knowledgeable representatives at 888-541-1112 Ext. 1 for a free, no-obligation consultation.)  

Q: What happens to my credit?
The effect of our debt settlement program on your credit score will partly depend on your current credit status before
starting the program. Few people with debt troubles have perfect credit to begin with. In general, your credit score
(usually called the FICO score) will decline during the program, and will begin to improve again after you have become
debt-free. There are several key points to bear in mind here. We recommend against applying for new credit while
going through the program. It simply doesn't make sense to take on new debt while you're trying to tackle your existing
debt problem. So the short-term decline in credit score is rarely a problem for clients. Also, the credit score itself does
not take into account the debt-to-income ratio, which is used by lenders (especially in the mortgage industry) to
determine whether you qualify for a home or auto loan. In other words, you can have a high credit score due to a clean
payment history (even though it's been killing you financially to keep up those payments) and still be denied a new loan
because you already carry too much debt. By completing a debt settlement program, your debt-to-income ratio will
improve dramatically! Any way you look at it, the effects of Debt Settlement on your credit will certainly be less
damaging than the 10-year derogatory mark made by bankruptcy.

Q: What are the tax consequences?
Financial institutions are required to report canceled debts over $600 (the portion forgiven during the settlement
transactions) to the IRS, and the debtor is required to report that as income on their tax return. However, the IRS
permits you to offset any "income" from canceled debts up to the amount you were "insolvent" at the time the debts
were canceled. You are "insolvent" if you owe more than you own, or in other words, if you have a negative net worth. If
you're deep in debt, it's not likely that you have a positive net worth, so it's rare that a client would have to pay taxes on
the forgiven debt balance. The exception might be an individual with a high level of home equity, which might make the
overall net worth positive and thereby eliminate the insolvency exclusion. However, this is the exception rather than the
rule. Our view is that even in the unlikely circumstance that you might owe tax on the forgiven debt balance, you'll still
be way ahead of the game by eliminating your debt balances sooner rather than later.

Q: What about lawsuits?
While creditors have the legal right to bring a lawsuit for non-payment of a debt obligation, such lawsuits are far less
common than most people think. It costs money to sue someone, and a legal judgment is simply a piece of paper
detailing that you owe this debt to this particular creditor. The threat of litigation, on the other hand, is all too common,
even though debt collectors are not supposed to threaten legal action unless they are specifically authorized to bring
suit. In general, lawsuits can normally be avoided, provided you are willing to work out suitable arrangements with your
creditors through the negotiation process. Contrary to popular belief, most creditors would rather work things out
amicably in a negotiated settlement than spend more money taking a customer to court (with no guarantee of being
able to collect on a judgment). That's why thousands of litigation-free settlements are transacted every month all
across the country. Creditors won't admit it publicly, but our method works much better for them than forcing people
into bankruptcy through overly-aggressive collection techniques. While PCDS is not a law firm and does not provide
legal advice, we do want our clients to understand that the worst-case scenario is that a client might be required to pay
a debt balance in full in the event of legal action by a creditor. This is little different from the starting situation most
clients find themselves in, and again, it is a fairly rare occurrence.

Q: Can my wages be garnished?
If you listen to some debt collectors, you might be fooled into thinking that they will seize your very next paycheck
unless you make a payment right then and there. The threat of losing part of one's wages to a garnishment action is
truly frightening to someone already struggling financially. But this is mainly an intimidation tactic used by collectors to
scare people into committing to a payment schedule whether or not they have the funds available. Actual garnishment
actions are relatively rare, and do not happen without advance warning. First, a creditor must bring a lawsuit, obtain a
judgment, and then take an additional step to obtain authorization for the garnishment. Plus only one creditor can
garnish your wages at a time. No one can take your paycheck without court approval, and you must be given notice of
such court action through formal documentation. So don't be fooled by one of the oldest collection tricks in the book.

Q: What are the differences between Debt Settlement and Credit Counseling?
Credit Counseling preserves your relationship with your creditors as well as preserves all those years of payment
history that you have had with your creditors.  Credit Counseling is our number 1 recommendation for a debt solution
program.  This program requires that a minimum payment be made each month just like they require a minimum
payment from you now.  In most cases though the minimum payment is reduced so that this program is made affordable
so the client can take advantage of this program. However, if you cannot afford the payment on this program then Debt
Settlement provides much more flexibility than credit counseling in both the monthly budget level and the types of
accounts that may be enrolled. For example, if you have a really tough month and need to skip a payment, that
situation can be absorbed by a debt settlement program, whereas it will cause serious problems with a credit
counseling program. Further, if your accounts have "charged off" and gone into the third-party collections cycle, you
can still enroll those obligations in a debt settlement program where they will be rejected by a credit counseling agency.
With the Debt Settlement program you pay back just a portion of your debts.

Q: What kind of debt can be negotiated?
As a general rule, any type of unsecured debt can be successfully negotiated. An unsecured debt is one that is not tied
to a specific material item that could be repossessed by the creditor. So an auto loan, for example, could not be
included because the creditor could legally repossess the vehicle. Credit card debt, medical bills in collections,
department store cards, signature loans, unsecured lines of credit, and revolving charge accounts are all types of
accounts that can be included in our program. The main exception here are student loans, which in most cases are
government backed loans that cannot even be discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding. (Private student loans that are
not sponsored by the government can be included.)

Q: What if a creditor won't negotiate?
In the course of business, we have established contacts with the major banks, collection agencies, and collection
attorneys. Debt settlement is recognized as a viable solution by collection industry professionals, and at PCDS we pride
ourselves on the professional reputation we have established by dealing fairly with creditors. In the rare instance where
a creditor balks at accepting a reasonable settlement at the time it is proposed, it is often a matter of simply waiting for
a different phase of the collection process. Some creditors are more inclined to play "hardball" than others, but virtually
all of the major institutions eventually sell their accounts to collection agencies in order to get what they can for the
account. Since the collections agencies acquire these accounts for pennies on the dollar, they are more inclined to
accept a reasonable settlement offer, which still represents a profit on their purchase.

Q: Are there debts that can't be entered into the program?
Secured debts cannot be entered into our debt settlement program. This includes home loans, second or third
mortgages, equity lines of credit, auto loans, and financing contracts tied to a specific piece of property that may be
legally repossessed by the creditor. Federal student loans, although unsecured, must also be excluded from the
program. In addition, Federal and State taxes cannot be included.
Q: How does this program work?
Debt Settlement works by reducing the balance owed (principal) on your
unsecured personal debt accounts through the time-honored process of
creditor negotiation.   Most creditors are willing to accept 50%, 40%,
sometimes as low as 20% of the balance owed in order to close out an
account rather than lose the entire amount in a bankruptcy proceeding.
From a business perspective, it is a matter of the creditor receiving
something rather than nothing, as would be the case in most bankruptcies.
Of course, different creditors have different policies, but as a rule, discounts of 50% or greater are routine in the
industry. As a consequence of this approach, money that was previously wasted on endless minimum payments (most
of which went toward interest charges) goes toward reducing the actual debt balance. That's why Debt Settlement
through negotiation is the fastest debt elimination method short of Chapter 7 bankruptcy.